I am new to refinishing. Using the drum sander went fine. The guy at the store said the stain (minwax) could be applied with a roller. Rather than reading the instructions I did as he said. Now there are bubbles in the finish.

What do I do?

Did you shake the can of finish before you opened it and started rolling the finish. (you did mean finish, and not stain, as the topic says??)

I didn't mean to say "finish" - I actually rolled the stain. I didn't go any further when I saw all the bubbles in the stain. I gently stirred the stain before applying.

Are you staining, or are you painting with stain?


Wipe on, wipe off.



Never heard of anyone applying stain with a roller. Finish topcoats, yes.

What sort of store told you to use a roller for stain? Wal Mart?

You overapplied and saw predictable results.

The guy in the store used the phrase "roll the stain" but to be fair I think he meant for me to use a 9 inch lambswool applicator. (Being a new DIYer in flooring, I hadn't noticed these yet.) He said to test for color using a tiny can of miniwax. If I liked it, come back and get a bigger tin and all the other stuff. I didn't want to wait in line when I went back so I didn't ask for help. If I had they probably would have given me the lambswool to begin with. Live and learn, eh?

So we re-rented the drum sander, (which we had needed for another room anyway) and did it better that time. Stain is on and looks pretty good.

Now we're beginning the poly process. The house was built with hardwood even in the kitchen and downstairs bath. Any suggestions for me?