JayB wrote:
wrote in message
m...
JayB wrote:

Yes, that's one of the reasons that I was thinking of just using a
clear finish and no staining. Unfortunately, the "clear"
polyurethane finishes makes the wood look bad -- as if it was poorly
stained.

Can you elaborate on how it looks "bad"? Geesh...red oak should be
beautiful! I don't know flooring or wood grades involved in new mfg.
flooring, just lots of old furniture. Is the flooring a brand name?

I bought it at Lumber Liquidators ( http://LumberLiquidators.com ).
It's unfinished #2 Red Oak (with their product number of RO22, I
think). The way it looks bad is that the grain absorbs the clear
polyurethane and what started out as a very light colored wood becomes
dark, blotchy, grainy, junky-looking wood. When I apply any color of
oil-based stain, the stain absorbs in a way that the wood grain looks
and is whatever color the stain makes it. But applying clear
polyurethane doesn't do the same thing.

With clear finish, oak generally is a mid-tone to deep brown, even
without any stain. And it is very "grainy". It might help if you
upload some pix and post a link, at least for the areas you consider
problems. A good way to get a close idea of how wood will look with a
clear finish is to simply wet it with solvent. Any chance you can
replace some of the worst looking boards?

I took a look at the link you provided and went to the product...RO22 is
called "rustic", as opposed to other red oak called "select" and some
called "natural". If some of the wood is much harder, accounting for
the very light look, you can blend them using stain if you apply the
stain and don't wipe it off the light spots. I haven't done flooring,
but lots of furniture, and have mixed my own stains. If you apply
half-strength stain to the entire floor, you can help blend very light
spots by brushing on same stain, full-strength and not wiping it off.
Sort of a half-assed way of fixing something you apparently didn't
expect when you purchased. I'll cross-post this and see if woodworkers
have some better ideas.

I assume you wipe the stain?