This one has me scratching my head. The floor is not light enough, so one plan is to stain it dark?
Do you like a "pickled" finish? Personally, I hate the pickled look. But I really like the natural range of colors of (unselected for color) red oak. We have over 1800 square feet of it in our house. So not everyone has the same preferences.

ladybug,
I know what you are talking about, I think. Red oak floors have a pinkish red tinge to them which you would like to "tone" down. I may be looking to do the same thing, so I am hoping someone has advice on how to tone down the red tinge, but, keep the overall floor "light" (i.e., clear finish or natural finish) instead of staining it darker. If you could share with me what you ended up doing, I would appreciate it.

Also - if anyone else has any ideas, please share!

A coupl emore Qs:
Is there a wood "toner" instead of a stain that would help reduce the redness?
Does red oak darken over time if it has a clear finish (i.e., no stain?)

Thanks,
kpk

My red oak floors were pinky went first installed. Over time they lightened and mellowed more a golden color (we have oil base poly). They look more golden oak now vs red oak.

You could experiment with some different stains on scrap. Maybe you can get a light golden cover to shift the pink a bit.

I think op went darker to hide the pink tint and she had wanted white oak to stain it very light, but with the pinkish tint didn't want them light.

I'm using a lot of pine in my house, and am a bit worried about how orange it tends to get over time.

I'm considering a stain in the taupe family to conteract that before it gets starting.

If I were trying to de-emphasize red tones, I'd probably try something in the golden oak family, but the only way to be certain when dealing with wood is to try a lot of colors on scrap boards-- hope you have plenty!

For oruboris...

If you want to avoid an orange shift to your pine, then finish with a waterborne polyurethane. Finish with an oilbase and it will change color over time.

Really Glenn? That would rock! For the darker woods in the house, I'll probably use watco oil, but its going to be really dark, and I'm not worried about it yellowing.

But for the huge expanses of grooved ceiling, waterborne would be great if it would prevent the yellowing. I'm assuming an oil stain would still be OK...

Yep, Glenn is right. Take a piece of wood and wet it. That is pretty close to what your waterbased finish is going to look like in terms of color. it will not be 100%, but close. And over the years, it stays that way. I've got red oak pieces of furniture that I put water based finishes on over 15 years ago and they're pretty much the same.

Oil finishes yellow a lot. You end up with an entirely different color over the years. So if that's what you want, OK. Personally, I don't like any kind of stain at all on a floor, for the reason mentioned and because I like the natural wood colors. I also far prefer red oak over white oak, which has a greenish cast that is really hard to match with many colors. I find the pink tones warmer and friendlier, but as they say, different strokes. Good luck.

Vinegar mixed with water and a raw umber tint makes it look like white oak

Did any of these tips work? I have red oak kitchen cabinets and red oak trim throughout my house. Would like to lighten it up and redo kitchen without buying new cabinets.

To help anyone with this question: We had red oak floors installed. Stained using 50/50 neutral (clear not natural, to keep the wood like it is sanded) with Bona white (to reduce the red tone). They have turned out great. Also you can bleach them, which we didnt do, but have since tested with wood bleach which will eliminate the red tone too.

I just had my wood flooring extended into the kitchen and after sanding the rest of the house I realized that my original flooring is red oak and the install is white oak. How do I get all flooring to look similar in coloring. I do understand that it won't be perfect, anyone have advice? also I am looking to do the Bona stain and sealant.
Thanks

You did a neutral white mix stain? Or a natural mix cut down and a the bona nordic top coat?

@jonwhiting could you please give more details on what your 50/50 mix was? I am trying to come up with a solution for our newly installed red oak stair treads. The surrounding wood tones will all be more of a modern farmhouse look and I do not want to see reds or pinks! Thanks so much!

Hi Debbie and Tracy, it was a mix of 50% Bona Neutral (no tint or colour) and 50% Bona White. This thinned down the white. Try a section and see how it turns out for you. It turned out great for us. I would definitely use wood bleach first if you have a lot of red undertones.

@jonwhiting thanks so much! From the photo, it looks like your result was great with no pink coming through!

@jonwhiting After you applied the 50/50 stain, did you use Bona Traffic HD as a topcoat? Also, what level of sheen did you use for each product? Your floors are perfect!

@jonwhiting could you post a few more pictures? Including a closeup? I’m in this dilemma now and very interested in your solution!

Mary, happy to. And thank you Michelle. I recommend playing around with a few samples to find something that suits your preference. The company we worked with were amazing. They were happy to provide many samples and options and were very good at coming up with a solution. We were torn between a brownish stain and this. And very grateful we settled on this. There is still a slight pink tone to our floors. It's not really noticeable. But we like the look of how warm the floors are. If you want to eliminate the pink, give bleach a try. It's incredible. Because it bleaches the tannin. I did this on some moulding and the difference was incredible.

I would like to know the topcoat @jonwhiting used as well? Everything I’m reading says oil based will turn amber or yellow., but seems contractors prefer it..easier to work with?? Lots of nods for Bona traffic HD ..

Also @jonwhiting neutral stain? And Bona white stain?? I’m not finding a Bona neutral stain??

I’d love to learn about the neutral stain too. I couldn’t find it on the Bona website . Would appreciate any help here as I need to make a decision soon!

Bona Drifast stain name is natural. Bona Craft oil name is Neutral. Two different products.

Mix for Drifast stain is Natural and white. For Craft oil, it is Neutral and Frost. Both systems can be coated with Traffic HD. The craft oil will give you a slight ceruse effect, whereas the drifast stain will not. Craft oil system will cost you more. Craft oil is similar to Rubio, with the added benefit of being able to be coated with any the Traffic line finishes for more superior protection. HD will provide exceptional protection.

Can you Nordicsseal before or after stain? Our floors are in CRAPPY shape, even though I have sanded and stripped the heck out of them.

You can add a universal green tint to your finish and it will neutralize the red. Green cancels red out but be careful with the amount of tint you put, too much and it will look like you have a green film. I would use this method if you are doing a lighter stain, honestly I don’t know how it would come out just finishing the wood for a natural look with green tint in the finish but it can tone it enough with a light stain.

Bona Dri Fast says it is a "redissolving" floor stain. What does that mean? Thanks.

@jonwhiting your floors look amazing! I met with a Bona certified contractor and he is suggesting Bona Craft Oil 2K in Frost or Pebble or a mix of both....and a top coat of HD traffic. My red oak floors are currently yellow/orange. With your research do you think the Craft oil is enough to cut the pink? I want the look of your floors exactly.... Thanks!

G & S Floor Service Are you suggesting a mix of Frost and Neutral Craft oil to attain results that @jonwhiting has? Equal parts of both? Thanks!

Any oil will add yellow/orange to the floor. You must use waterborne to keep this from happening. Loba's EasyPrime with Supra 2K AT is the best waterborne floor coating on the market, but you need an experienced technician for this. Most shops in North America seem to be more familiar with Bona's waterborne products. Don't let someone talk you into an oil coating saying it won't turn yellow/orange. It will. It's just a matter of time.

Aglitter, By an ”oil coating” are you referring to a product like Rubio monocoat or an oil based product like polyurthane that will yellow light tones over time?

JonWhiting, What kind of wood bleach did you try that you liked for red oak? Thx!

Both an oil rub like Danish oil and oil-containing varnishes like Waterlox or solvent-based clear coats will yellow your wood, though the mechanisms are a little different. Those finishes with a high oil component go on with an orange to yellow tint depending if they are based on linseed or tung oil. The solvent-based clear coats may go on clear and then take a few years to yellow. If you want a bleached, Scandanavian-style wood, you'll definitely need a waterborne finish as well as some bleaching prior to the top coats. Some woods respond better to the process than others. White oak is a popular base wood for a bleached look.

I have red oak stair treads that I am considering bleaching, then using a Rubio Monocoat Precolor Easy under their Oil plus 2C topcoat for a light to medium light beige look. I could use a toner to mitigate the red tones, but the ones I have seen lose the wood look of real wood and Rubio says I must use their product to be sure it will adhere properly to the wood. So I wanted to verify that was not the kind of oil you were referring to, Thank you!

I'm not sure I really follow what you are attempting to do here, but I can advise that a lot more research is probably in order before making your final decision if you don't want regrets over wood that turns a yellow hue in time. The following link is a good place to start, and please pay particular attention to the long comment by SJ McCarthy, Houzz's resident floor expert: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5068417/can-i-get-my-white-oak-floors-this-white-color-using-rubio-monocoat#n=52

I want my new raw red oak stair treads to look like natural white or french oak.

Thank you for your suggestions! 😀

OK, then that link above is definitely a must-read for you. Even though many of the comments are targeted to white oak, you will get an idea of the bleaching process and topcoats to avoid yellowing.

Yes, thank you for that link. Its been quite helpful.