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annie_shaw46

getting the red out of red oak floors using makeup theory?

Annie
7 years ago

I have red oak floors and plan to lighten them as much as possible during our remodel. I am reading that you can bleach them and whitewash them to pickle, but they may remain pinkish.

Thinking about makeup, people often use a greenish tinted color corrector to neutralize skin tones. I wandered if that would work on red oak? Could you apply a pale greenish stain before the whitewash?

Comments (5)

  • lazy_gardens
    7 years ago

    You would need to make a test on the flooring, using EXACTLY what you plan to use, with all the steps including the finish coat.

    Minor color corrections are usually done with a toner in the topcoat, not a stain on the wood.

    The problem is that you could end up with a pastel green floor.

  • PRO
    User
    7 years ago

    This is definitely a first for me... I understand where your train of thought is, but what you have to understand is that makeup sits on top of the skin, like a pigmented stain. But regular stain gets absorbed into the wood, so I don't really have high hopes for a tinted green stain before a bleach. Whatever you decide to try, please do it on test pieces first, not your actual floor! Certain things can't be undone.

    Good Luck!


  • PRO
    Cancork Floor Inc.
    7 years ago

    The amount of time and effort (time = money; sweat = money) you will spend bleaching out a Red Oak Floor, will leave you breathless (and several THOUSANDS of dollars lighter in the wallet). And even then, it might not work.

    And remember: a HUGE amount of color comes from SOLVENT based finishes (aka "oil" based urethane or polyurethane). It is possible to get the floors the PERFECT colour and then ruin the effect with an oil based or even oil-modified finish. These finishes turn a STRONG ORANGE. We call it "ambering". Imagine paying all that money (yes...it costs a lot more to bleach + stain a floor than regular stain alone) only to have the bleached white turn sickly orange. Not a nice concept.

    Check with your HIGH END professional flooring refinisher (NWFA Certified Sand/Refinisher) to see if they have ever done such a treatment...and if so, how did it turn out. If they have done it AND you like the photos they showed you, then feel free to keep going.

    If you get the same answer as Couture Floor gave then you might want to either find another professional or simply give this finish a miss.

    Good luck. Let us know how you make out on this one.

  • User
    7 years ago

    Bleaching a wood floor isn't a big deal, especially compared to the entirety of work required to sand and refinish. It's the best way to counteract the red in Red Oak if you want a light color.

    What your suggesting could be problematic depending on the finish you're using. Rubio has a product called precolor Aqua (http://www.monocoat.us/precolor-aqua/) that's white with a minty green tone, but it's meant to be used with their oil finish. It's hard to apply uniformly. lazy_gardens and Couture are correct. If you bleach a floor then apply a standard green tinted stain, the wood will absorb the green stain and be too saturated to accept the white pickle. Also, since Red Oak is very grainy, you stand the chance that the green will concentrate in the soft grain and accentuate it. The Rubio product is mopped on and left. A better idea would be to bleach the floor twice, apply white pickle and a coat of sealer (we use BonaSeal which I think is now called ClassicSeal). Once that is applied you can evaluate the color and determine whether to tint the first finish coat slightly green. You could use a closet floor or an area that will be hidden to do samples. Beware that tint coats can change color as they dry so if you do a test, let it dry completely before deciding. After a tint coat you'll need a clear wear coat. Once the floor is bleached, pickled and sealed you might determine that the slight rosy tone doesn't bother you and you can just apply clear coats.

  • glennsfc
    7 years ago

    I would only recommend bleaching be done by an experience wood floor finisher. The products used in the bleaching process are toxic and extremely caustic.