applying india ink over minwax stain?

We have sanded our hardwood floors applied the minwax ebony oil based stain and the results were not nearly as dark as we wanted and they were uneven and blotchy, we do not want to resand.

I have been reading about india ink and was wondering if I could: Apply India Ink over the first coat on minwax stain Then apply 2 coats of semi-gloss floor poly

Would this work? If so, should I used oil or water based poly?

Another option I was considering was adding some of the ebony stain to the poly, applying 1 coat and then applying 1 coat of just the pure poly.

Reply to
jasmineabadir
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What species of wood are you trying to stain? Maple is so hard that it does not absorb stain readily, even when it does it is not deep, a scratch can expose the almost white wood through your dark stain. Other woods will absorb stains more or less depending on species. I think india ink would not be a good idea for a floor. Too difficult to control, it is opaque not transparent and it is water based, it won't like being applied over an oil stain. Another coat of stain would be a lot easier.

Reply to
EXT

They are mesquite floors. We will try your idea of another coat of stain...should we try and only restain areas that are lighter? Or do you we just stain the whole uneven floor? What about our idea for adding some stain to first layer of poly?

Reply to
jasmineabadir

restain areas that are lighter? Or do you we just stain the whole uneven floor? What about our idea for adding some stain to first layer of poly?

YOU ARE STAINING MESQUITE FLOORS????????/?????????

Do you know what they would look like with a clear finish?

Normally I say do what you want but you have a premium wood floor because of the way it looks naturally.

Reply to
Leon

Hey smartass ... I'm sure they look great with painted cherry cabinets!

;)

Reply to
Swingman

restain areas that are lighter? Or do you we just stain the whole uneven floor? What about our idea for adding some stain to first layer of poly?

You would be better off, IME, concentrating on the lighter areas IF you have the expertise. Just adding more stain to the entire floor is just going to keep most of the contrast between the light and dark intact.

Unless you're willing to start over, which may still be your ultimate solution, you really need some professional help to do your floors justice.

Continuing on your current course, and judging from your questions, you are on a collision course with making matters worse ... get some competent, professional help, ASAP, _before_ doing anything else.

Reply to
Swingman

and the results were not nearly as dark as we wanted and they were uneven and blotchy, we do not want to resand.

poly, applying 1 coat and then applying 1 coat of just the pure poly.

I'm having difficulty seeing through my tears to type this. Covering the grain on Mesquite should be unlawful. You mention in another post that the Mesquite had an orange tint? Perhaps someone used shellac on it. Mesquite has beautiful grain and I (personally) wouldn't call it "orange". I'm almost tempted to offer to come and refinish the floor for you. Hopefully it can be sanded down to the original wood and given a clear, water based finish of poly.

Max, wishing he had enough Mesquite to cover the floor in the den. :-(

Reply to
MaxD

Best advice so far. No reason to comment further.

I have done awful things to wood and wood products so that I can make my house payments. I am not proud of myself, but I figured that if I didn't do it, someone would.

There are things I can never understand, and blacking out mesquite s one of them. A nice toner would have pulled the whole floor together as one color... but never black.

It is hard to remember that in matters of taste, the customer is always right...

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Fresh sanded Mesquite often has an "orangy" tint.

Reply to
Leon

Why do I keep thinking that this floor may be in a rental property and the owners are unaware of what is going on?

Reply to
Leon

Leon, I'm trying to picture that. It's been awhile since I've had any Mesquite to mess with but I guess it could be called, "orangy". ;-)

Reply to
MaxD

LOL Absolutely not orange but a fresh cut or sanded spot on much is brown with a cast towards yellowy red. :~)

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Reply to
Leon

We own our house.

Reply to
jasmineabadir

Well our mesquite floor in OUR house was a light mesqhite wich was a light brown orangy tint.

Reply to
jasmineabadir

brown orangy tint.

Update: Ok I think I understand that I shouldn't use india ink. I will forget about that.

What about if I mix 1:4 ratio of same minwax stain and oil based poly and do one coat...especially in areas that are lighter, then apply coat of oil based poly by itself on top. Would that work?

Also before doing that I was thinking of using a rag damped with mineral spirits to lightly remove a little stain in one area that is specifically way darker than the rest...

Does anyone think that process would turn out ok?

Reply to
jasmineabadir

Ok. ;~) We certainly appreciate your thick skin and putting up with us/me and our/my unyielding opinion about what you are doing.

Reply to
Leon

n with a cast towards yellowy red. :~)

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I don't know that I've ever seen any mesquite. Looks pretty darn nice, to me. I often visit this website. It has a variety of samples for comparis ons of woods.

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Reply to
Sonny

------------------------------------------------------ The obvious solution is to install black carpeting.

The owners get the color floor they want and the floor gets protected from an owner who truly doesn't appreciate what they have.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

t brown orangy tint.

There are a lot of variations of color when working with mesquite, and a lot has to do with the exact specimen. In the artists colonies north of here, there was a thriving business in mesquite furniture of all sizes and types, kitchen ware, cutting boards, and just about anything you can think of. Flooring was/is still pretty popular, just unaffordable for most.

Since it is a native here in South Texas, there is all manner of uses for it. Some folks burn it, some barbecue with it, and personally, I like to chuck it up and turn it on the lathe. It is extremely tough and hard, and like Leon said, the shrinkage from green to dry is almost nonexistent.

I have seen fire engine red mesquite, brown mesquite (barbecued with that stuff), pink, orange red, orange yellow, etc. In fact there is so much variation on the coloring the folks that sell it around here no longer let you select your pieces based on color since the red stuff is the most popular. They wind up with a lot of the brown stuff that isn't really popular or dynamic.

If I were you and were still going to color that floor, I would use deck paint. Sherwin Williams has some great stuff and they have it in satin, semi gloss and gloss. If memory serves correctly, they even have black.

Although I do finishing and refinishing as part of my living, I wouldn't try to even out a bad stain job. Not only is there no end to touching up, but it will never, ever look right. It will always look second rate. Paint would be easy to apply, and the good stuff wears like iron.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Possibly, if the vehicle in the stain is compatible with the poly. But why not just apply more stain?

If the vehicle in the stain is oil (most likely) and the oil has cured, mineral spirits won't dissolve it. Doing what you propose may physically remove some stain from the surface just by abrasion. You can do the same thing with any abrasive material...sand paper, sanding sponge, steel wool, etc.

Reply to
dadiOH

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