I had work done on my house that damaged my floors and resulted in patching a big section of hardwood floor. I have Vintage red oak natural and they patched the section with the same brand. Unfortunately the original floor has turned yellow from 5 years of sunlight and it does not come close to matching! Looking for advice! They installer suggested refinishing the whole floor as the only way it will match. By taking off the poly finish and the first layer of wood, it should all match given its the same brand wood. I understand I am getting into a messy job therefore I wanted some advice before giving the OK.

Will the original floors match the patch if the whole thing is sanded down?
Given its factory finished hardwood, its there anything I need to know about refinishing - will it still have the bevels, and watch type of poly should I use?

Thanks for any help on this. What a total nightmare!

Your situation is not that uncommon. I am asked to repair damage to wood floors done by other trades all the time. When patching a factory finished floor, the old and new rarely match perfectly unless the older area was recently installed. Even if the color matches, just the wear and tear will "distress" the older flooring so that it will not match that well. In your case, a refinish is about all that can be done, outside of replacing the entire floor. I cannot say if the factory bevels will remain as I have no idea how large or small they are. Plus it depends on how much wood the sander removes. Not many finishes can compare to the durability of factory finishes. I'd opt for Bona Traffic as perhap your best option in a finish.

Thanks Gary very much. So it sounds like my only option to match the patch is a total refinish.


Do you have any idea whether oil vs water poly best matches what factory finish natural red oak looks like? Not sure which one to pick, as I would like to try my best to be consistent with the other floors of the home.

Thanks for your advice, its really appreciated!

An oil based sealer will impart the color you will need, over which the Traffic finish can be applied. The sealer can be tinted like a light stain. Quite easy to do for the experienced finisher.