I think if you present the problem to a local paint store,(not big-box
hardware store with a paint department), they can brew something up for
you.

Jimbo wrote:

Our house is an old one built back in early 50s, it has an oak plank floor
that is stained and varnished. One of the kids used a space heater directly
on the floor, and it blackened the floor right in front of it. I think the
burn damage is very shallow, so I am not expecting to have to sand very deep
to get rid of the burn marks. I know I cannot get a perfect match without
refinishing the whole floor, but I will settle for something that you have
to look close to notice it. IS this an achievable goal? I figure I can lift
up a little piece of the floor surface from a corner of a closet (same
flooring), strip the varnish and stain and use that as a test- piece. I
could lift up a second little piece and use that as the sample to match the
stripped test-piece to. But how can I match the stain accurately? Not long
ago, I tried matching a sample of a door that was stained and varnished to a
chart of stains at Lowes, and the stain that I thought matched pretty well
looked very different when I applied it and varnished it. I bought three
cans of stain before really getting something close, and it was still not a
good match at all....but I didn't care if one door is a little different
from the others. How can I get an accurate stain match?