I’m seeking advice on a 1950s red oak refinishing project. My goal was a modern, 'light and airy' look to move away from the gray trends of the last decade. After researching, I asked my contractor to use Bona Red Out followed by Nordic Seal to neutralize the orange/red tones.
Despite initial assurances, my contractor strongly advised against the Nordic Seal once the project started, claiming it would 'gray out' the floor in darken it. He instead suggested a Bona water-based matte finish, claiming it would have a 'bleaching effect' over two weeks.
Since I was pretty happy with the Bona red out, I decided to trust his judgment and gave him the green light.
Six hours after the finish, the floors look darker and have reverted to the orange tones I was trying to avoid. After the fact I learned that Bona’s own documentation suggests Nordic Seal is necessary for the look I want, and other pros I’ve consulted agree.
Since I’ve already paid in full, how should I approach this? Is it reasonable to ask for a redo or a partial refund given the outcome is the opposite of the requested specifications? Also, he did not sand after the matte finish—is that standard?
Below are pictures of my floor. The first one is a picture of my red oak and how it turned orange from years and years of sun exposure. The second picture was from 11 years ago when I stained it the gray beige color to try to neutralize the orange, red and yellow. I was fine with the gray beige at the time, but since I turned my bedroom into two and flooring was missing that I could not match with what I already had going on I figured that I would try to rid of the deeper gray. The third picture is what my floor looked like after the Bona red out, which I was pretty happy and even more happy when he told me the finish would lighten it just a tad more. The fourth picture is the final product and I feel like it is really darkened and turned orange red again.