PostPosted: Tue Dec 27, 2005 4:37 am Post subject: Reply with quote Edit/Delete this post
Hi William,

Long time no hear from. Hope all is well. I'll tell you what I know and try and walk you through it. It's pretty easy really. But a couple of things first. It hasn't been my experience that w.o. doesn't stain as well as r.o. I think it takes stain just fine, if not better, than red. But that could be personal taste. For staining floors, I think you are sanding them too fine. Which would be ok IF you water pop them. Since you like to really sand those floors super fine, I'll not try to get you to change that if you are having good success with your sanding and are happy with the results. So here's how to water pop without having a problem. I actually do it a little easier and I'll tell you how I do it but you may want to wait before you give my method a try. For a 500 ft floor, you'll need a plastic dish washing pan and about 1&1/2 gal. of clean water. Also some terry towels for wiping. Apply the water like you would if you were staing (ragging on) with the grain. Get the wood evenly wet but not soaking or puddling. You don't need to saturate it but you cannot miss any areas. Wipe up excess as you go. Once you've done the whole floor, allow to air dry overnight. You can use fans after you've popped it but not during. The floor must be absolutely dry. It will be overnight. Now, you're ready to stain. You'll notice that real smooth floor is now kinda rough and fuzzy. That's good! That's what we want. Since you're staining dark, you don't have to worry about getting the floors dirty but don't be foolish either. All the rules for staining apply here. Avoid dragging heavy things around or marking the floors in any way. Soft soled shoes and good knee pads only. On my knee pads, I'll wrap them in towels to prevent them from marking the floors. Now rag your stain on and allow it to soak in a bit. And don't rub too hard. Just take off enough till you get the effect you're going for. Do it in rows and sections like everyone does. Apply evenly and wipe off evenly. Take your time! I charge a lot to stain a floor dark because you must work with the stain and you need to take your time. OK, now you're done staining. How's it look? It should be dark and even, if you did it right and used a good stain. Use something slow drying for your first go round. Like Dura Seal regular stain; not the fast dry stuff. Now you must let the stain absolutely DRY. It could take days. Fans will help. DO NOT OVER HEAT THE HOUSE! When dry, apply the finish of your choice. For waterborne, I like the Bona method, Apply two coats BEFORE buffing. For OMU, apply the first coat somewhat heavy because you need to fill the raised grain and buff LIGHTLY. You need to be careful not to buff the color off. Try using a maroon pad only. You can smooth it more between the next coat. THat's it! You're done.
Alternate way (my way): Instead of ragging on water and stain, I use a Padco Painting Pad. I'm VERY good with this tool because I've used one for 25 yrs. I can do lots of finishing procedures with it and I screw it on a pole and save the knees. Try it out some time. For water popping, it's sorta like a sponge mop but better with more control. Same for staining

Well, there you have it; my way. I hope it works for you and good luck!