CLEAR hardwood finishes? -- moisture cure, etc.

[ransley]

I cant understand how clear over new wood can look bad, ive seen to much red oak that never looks bad after a light sanding, Unless its Water Damaged and old and oxidised. Give it a light sanding and think about water damage and getting your money back if it still looks bad. There has been alot of flood damaged wood from southern floods, I can imagine it was purchased cheap from insurance companies and reboxed, that stuff doesnt just get junked. Pay a pro floor guy to come over and get his opinion. New lightly sanded red oak looks great with any clear finish that ive seen over the last 35 years. The wood and finish will darken over time a shade or two, I would go clear with only the last coat being a lower sheen if thats what you want in a finish.

[JayB]

I'll have to test that out. I assume you mean a wood sealer, but I'll try it.

[dadiOH]

He said wood *FILLER*. One would assume that is what he means. Paste wood filler.

A sealer - a different thing - might help depending on what it is.

[JayB]

Yep, that and few other stupid choices on my part turned this whole thing into a big mess. So, for now, I am just going to slog my way through this and chalk it up as an expensive and seemingly neverending learning experience. Next time, prefinished hardwood for sure -- just install it and walk out the door with nothing to finish. Plus, by buying unfinished wood, and too low of a grade of wood to boot, I ended up with way more wasted wood than I would have had with prefinished wood. Oh well.

:o) You still have a good solid floor that will take lots

I like the story about the cabinets and it almost putting you over the edge. I know the feeling.

[norminn]

A wood filler is for filling defects.

[norminn]

Not a stupid choice at all...until one has a good amount of experience they are not likely to realize there are "grades" of unfinished woods. I'd be willing to bet the floor will look beautiful and very few people will notice what you have concerns with about the appearance of the wood grain. Red oak is still gorgeous stuff....hell, just advertise the rental as "rustic red oak flooring throughout" and charge an extra $100/month :o)

[dpb]

[e-mail] wrote: ...

And the proper ones properly prepared and applied also for filling porous grain in woods like oak to help prevent excessive stain takeup if the stark contrast isn't the desired effect.

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[Jim Weisgram]

Pardon me for jumping in, the main reason I see usually stated is to get a smoother surface, since the filled pores will not have "divots" after the topcoat is applied. Sometimes people will actually tint the filler to enhance the contrast. Not me, though.

[dadiOH]

Apparently you are not familiar with paste wood filler.

[norminn]

I've used wood filler to fill in rotted wood storm window frames. Tried it on furniture, but the oak furniture I tried it on really didn't need it....the finish, in two or three coats, filled the grain just fine. The OP sounds like a relative newby, and getting wood filler in the right color for an entire floor is not, IMO, a task for a newby.

[dadiOH]

Uhhh...OK. Didn't work very well, did it?

[norminn]

Not the same kind used for furniture, I'm sure, but it served the purpose. My daughter has a nice little bungalow and it was obvious the storms hadn't been used for years....standing on garage floor, the bottoms of the worst ones had rotted away to the extent they were just ragged along bottom edges. I stripped old alligatored paint from exterior trim for most of the regular windows and repainted. Recaulked around windows, of course. When it came time to consider the storms, I figured that with careful handling the filler would make them fit well enough to keep the weather out of the house :o) Slapped on the wood filler, repainted, reglazed some and put them up. My daughter replaced all of her windows last year, and the storms were probably still up :o)

[Floors]

use a matt finish, the best wat to get an almost in visible finish Check out