Can a darker oak wood floor be lighten up?

Moving into a house with dark oak wood floor (real hardwood not the engineered wood with a thin veneer top) and I would like the floor to be a lighter color like maple. If there a way to stain or bleach the floor to make it a lighter tint?

Thanks,

O
Reply to
orangetrader
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sand it and just coat it with water base don`t stain it.

Reply to
m Ransley

Usually the bulk of the stain can be removed with a professional sanding. This can lighten the color or even revert it to almost natural. Changing the color may be more of a problem. Your best bet is to get a local refinisher to look at the job.

Colbyt

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Colbyt

Reply to
nospambob

stain or bleach? no. sand and redo? yes.

randy

Reply to
xrongor

Oak by nature is darker than maple. However, any clear finish will darken it even more. There *is* a way to avoid that surface finish darkening - I often use it on cabinets but I don't know how well it would work on a floor. For what it's worth...

  1. Sand to bare wood.

  1. Apply white oil paint mixed 50/50 with thinner and *immediately* wipe off all that is possible (I use paper towels). You would have to work in sections of about 6 -10 sq.ft. and be careful that overlapped areas don't have more residual paint.

After the surface dries, top coat with a clear finish. The wood won't "pop" like it would without the thin, invisible paint layer. It will be approximately the color of the raw wood plus whatever color is inherent in the top coat. The color also depends upon the smoothness of the wood...if there are still sanding scratches the paint will catch in them and the floor will appear lighter. Experimentation is the key.

What's happening is that the thin paint coat is acting as a sealer preventing penetration of the top coat. That's good since you can keep a lighter color but bad for adhesion. Which is why I'm not sure how well it would do on a floor...any scratch, chip, whatever would be darker if repaired with a new top coat. Works well on cabinets though.

Also, since the paint is being used just to seal, not to color, any sealer should work as well.

Another way is bleaching the bare wood with oxalic acid but that isn't something you should try.

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dadiOH

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William Brown

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