I am completely new to the remodeling and finishing world. We recently moved into a home that needed updating. The floors were the worst part of the homes remodeling needs. As a quick and semi inexpensive fix we sanded the original hardwood and began to stain. A normal stain would not penetrate the wood for whatever reason (husbands sanding abilities may be to blame but i would never tell him that). So I resorted to a gel stain. Turned out great actually! I applied poly afterwards for sealant but the floor scratched rather easily despite that effort. So now Ive been looking into whitewashing and m really loving that look. I have seen several posts where people have stained then applied the white paint and proceeded to sand to get the desired distressed look. So I'm wondering if that method would still apply to our gel stained floors. Any tips or suggestions are appreciated as IDK what the heck I am doing haha

Scuffing the floor to allow adhesion of the next coat of color or finish is the first step. For a coat of acrylic paint and a coat of water-based poly-urethane I would recommend 150 grit sandpaper folded into thirds, after cutting the sheet in half, and hand sand the floor for your preparation.