I am getting ready to refinish my oak flooring, and wish to use a stain to darken the wood, topped with waterborne poly. Does anyone know what kind of stain to use- water-based, oil, gel- to go under waterborne poly? Would a dye, such as those used for staining furniture projects, hold up? Does a sealer need to be applied before or after the stain? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
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I think no one has replied to your post because this question gets asked about once every month around here. Do a search in the archives and that should get you some answers. Hopefully Taunton has had all the stuff transferred from the old web site.
Hey Scott.
As you probably know, finishing is very "product" based. You have a water poly you want to use so work with your supplier and the manufacturer to recommend stain that will be compatable with finish.
You don't want to seal before staining with oak.
I just finished a maple floor and had trouble because of incompatable products. My customer wanted a paste wax finish without poly.My supplier recommended a clear stain first and then the actual stain. The clear stain sealed the floor and we had to re-sand. Then on the recommendation of my sander, we wiped the whole floor first with a moist rag(water popping is what it's called).Then we stained and in our case waxed. No problem. He water pops all his floors. Raises the grain and lifts out minor imperfections.
Good luck- oak is easy to stain-I think you need water based stain(water on water) but check and double check with supplier and manufacturer who often have 888-no charge # on can.
silver