I would not like that either. One of the flooring guys should advise you but I'm think a brown will maybe kill the red pink tones.

Eliminate the grey on red oak flooring

Agree with you on this one!

Ok that’s great info! The flooring guy seems to think we can try adding another coat of just brown stain but wasn’t certain how much stain the floors would take. Any thoughts on this?

The floor will take in 1% of stain when adding a second coat. It will then take up to three times longer to dry. Not worth the effort and time.

You need a brown with a green tint to it to neutralize the red. Not sure which that would be, but the Chestnut looks nice. A darker color will also camouflage the pink.

Stain manufacturers advise against applying two coats of stain as it could lead to finish adhesion failure. It looks like your only easy option but it can have consequences.

Here are some pics the flooring guy took (we’re not there). First close up one is with poly, 2nd are in more natural light with stain only, no poly yet. With poly looks orange to me. He said it’s pulling a lot of yellow. Thinking we might just have to restain. You guys were right, he tried another coat in one spot and said it didn’t do anything. Wondering what a green based stain would be. Jacobean maybe?

Jacobean is going to be dark. Don’t know if that’s want you want. Try provincial if wanting more if a medium

We did a Red Oak floor recently, water popped, Jacobean stain and Bona Traffic. It was really handsome. You could dilute the Jacobean with neutral/natural but keep in mind that the darker the color stain, the better the chance of covering the red.

That’s good to hear. Do you have a pic of your floors? Also, do you feel like they are so dark they show dirt a lot?

So I called Bona corporate today and they suggested adding a transtint to Bona intense seal to basically tone the floors. Our flooring contractor has never done that before but is looking into it. He said he does have the Bona intense seal. Anyone have experience with this?

Ummmm....if you did NOT want yellow (not many people want their gray floors to turn orange) then Bona Instense Seal is not a good option. It has a STRONG yellow tone to it.

Which FINISH in the Bona Line did they use? It has a yellow tone to it. Was it 'Mega'? Did you ask for a finish with yellow tones? Or did you want a clear coat that maintained the stain colour (no yellow added)?

Please be clear with your refinisher. Using the words "Natural" will push most of them to use a yellow or ambering product. Why? Because most wood workers believe the 'natural' look of wood is the gold tones found in an oil based finish.

If the yellow concerns you, I highly recommend you stop what is going on and reconnect with your refinisher.

listen to SJ. Red Oak has a natural pink undertone to it. you'll need an ashy brown to cancel any of the red. Walnut, provincial, antique brown, Jaco, all lean toward the ashier/green side of brown/neutral.

as for the stain colors, here are the Bona

This is White Oak, so it will look slightly diff on red oak.

Duraseal

Red oak with different brand stain.

Bona Intense seal is the only finish in the bona line where you can add pigments, paints and dyes to it without having bonding problems. I would add Mixol to Intense seal and apply it over the stain floors. Mixol can be added to all types of finishes. I would not use Transtint aniline, since aniline dye will not bond to oil stains. It does not have the same carrier. Stain is mineral spirit, whereas aniline dye can be either water or denatured alcohol. Before you do all this. What is your contractors experience with additives? Just like applying poly shade.

Hi April,

I can't help much but I'm having my red oak floors done now with Bona Aged Barrel. With the stain only, I completely hated it and considered having them start over. They added poly to one room yesterday and it toned down some of the gray (in my space). Maybe you can ask them to poly a closet or smaller space to see how it looks.

SJ we were pretty clear we didn’t want yellow but I’ll ask him exactly what finish he used on that small section. We’re doing water based poly, that much I know. G & S I don’t think he has experience with additives. So maybe my best bet is to sand and restain. I really hate to do that because it will be an extra 1000 and also set our timeline back for the rest of the remodel. But trying to tint it at this point sounds a little risky if it’s not something he’s done. So if we do that sounds like we should try walnut, provincial, antique brown, and Jacobean for a green tint to counteract the red? For the record this is the sample we chose (top one) which is the 50/50 medium brown and gray. To me it looks nothing like how the floors come out.

Yeah, I'd say that top sample looks nothing like your finished result. he had to have done something different. It looks like he just went w/the gray stain, no brown at all.

It sounds like your floor guy needs to stick with a straight from the can choice. No mix of this % and that %. It takes a lot of knowledge to know the do’s and don’t. Like gray with the red oak.

I agree, have them skip the mixing. The product wax not mixed properly or wasn't at all.

If there is only stain on the floor, the color will not look like it did when you saw the samples. Without finish, the color is dull and chaulky looking. Once the finish goes on, the color will snap beck.
Never do 2 coats of stain.

As James points out, never do 2 coats of stain. You are asking for failure. I too do not like it when samples do NOT come with a coat of finish. It is almost the same as 'picking blind'. A good refinisher would know this AND know how to do what you want.

The rest create floors like yours. Sorry but this is going to be a sand/refinish. The refinisher REALLY needs to put down a coat of finish BEFORE you make your choice. See if you can negotiate a new price for the sand/refinish. If you cannot, ask yourself if you are willing to let this person touch your floors again.

Please suggest the stain for white oak to a beef this look

Please start your own thread.

Did anyone tried bona gray on red oak? If yes can you upload some pics as well. thanks

HU1671188. this is an old post. No one who has pictures to your question is going to see it because the title of this post is completely diff. They won't see your question.

If you want pictures, just google image search "Bona gray on red oak flooring". I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for.

Here, i'll get you started with one.

https://theflooringartists.com/projects/red-oak-bona-gray/

NISSEQUOGUE: 2 1/4" RED OAK W/ CUSTOM GREY BLEND STAIN + BONA TRAFFIC HD SATIN · More Info