Medium brown hardwood stain with oil based poly?

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Hi everyone! We are purchasing a new (to us) home and plan to refinish the hardwood floors before moving in. The current oak hardwoods are in great shape but kind of a dated, shiny honey color - here are a couple of pictures:

I'd like a classic medium brown, maybe like one of these:

I've been reading up on the different types of poly finishes for hardwood and I know that the main concern with an oil-based poly is yellowing. I definitely do NOT want yellow floors, that's exactly what we're trying to get away from. However, the flooring professional I've spoken to said that with a darker brown stain, yellowing won't be an issue, it's only an issue with lighter stains. Can anyone confirm? Are the stains I like dark enough that they wouldn't show yellowing? Or is there a tone I should look for in the stain that would "counteract" the yellow effect of an oil-based poly? Any suggestions welcome!

Thank you!!

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Beth H. :

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

I would call in another flooring specialist who is trained in the Bona stain and finishing methods. (they have to specifically have been trained, not just watched a video!)

2 1/4 Red Oak Hardwood, Stained with Bona Drifast (Driftwood) The finish used was Bona Traffic (Satin).

Red Oak #2 Bona stains in ½ neutral ¼ grey ¼ jacobean 3 coats satin poly clear

hopefully SJMcCarthy comes by here w/her knowledge.

also, you have red oak. anything w/a red stain is going to make the red oak look more 'red'. you want a brown that leans Ashy or w/green undertones to cancel the red

(I don't like Minwax, but these colors don't have the red tones in them)

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Comments (12)

southm
Original Author
3 years ago
Thank you! Wasn't sure if it was red oak or white oak (I spoke to the flooring guy over the phone but he hasn't seen it in person yet). Is the Bona method all water-based?
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Sheeisback - don't get yourself set on a look from a photo. Oak has a lot of movement and just because a photo happens to show a section that looks really consistent to your eye that doesn't mean the rest of the floor looks like that. I got some excellent advice when I was in a tizzy trying to choose stain for the floors in our new house - everything but the bathrooms and laundry area are hardwood, no carpet anywhere and I was frantic because it's so much wood and HAS to be right! Didn't want natural, didn't want dark, didn't want yellow/orange/red.....sound familiar? Amy (amysrq in the old days) told me to think of the floor as a secondary player - you don't want people walking in and only noticing your floor, not your inviting decor or art or family photos or whatever it is you feature in your home. Sure they can walk in and say wow your floors look great but it should stop there unless you used some vivid aniline dye in a modern house which is totally not you! She said that anything that falls within what our brains tell us is a 'natural wood tone' will become backdrop to rugs, furniture etc - as it should. Of course some stains have more red or orange but even those will look appropriate and largely neutral unless they are VERY red or orange. It was great advice and calmed me a lot about the decision but I still panicked when the floors were done picking out boards that I didn't think right which is insane. I LOVE my floors now, there are boards that are noticeably lighter, a few boards get a distinct pink hue when the sun hits them and there are streaks of lighter or darker areas within the same board! What am I going to do rip them out? Of course not - embrace the wood for what it is and the beauty of a natural product. Yes, 7' is a nice length but see if you can get them to try for 7 to 10. You'll still have short boards which are needed at the ends and in closets if you're doing them but getting some of those longer boards mixed in with the 4', 5' 6' makes for a beautiful floor. We rejected the flooring brought to us initially because it wasn't what we ordered in length, the installer had a fit, said that's all that's out there and quit. We ended up ordering ours from a place we knew back home in Chicago and had it freighted to NC. For some reason the long boards seem to go north and the shorter more 'character' boards are popular here. We wanted neither. Shoot for select, long boards and you'll be happy. Can't wait to see it. And BTW - are you working with a specific stain mfg that the installer prefers?
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Ok....here's the *issues with matte poly - they are SUPER HARD to live with!!!!! They are even HARDER TO LIVE WITH if you choose a DARK FLOOR! Ohhhh dear. As handsome as the Pompeii Lipari is, it will be HELL to live with. And here's why: dark floors NATURALLY show dust (human skin cells make up 90% of all indoor dust; and most skin sluffs of LIGHT GRAY....). And your colour choice is dark. It is not a mid tone. It will read as "dark" in any space other than a box with windows on all 4 sides. So the DARK wood you have chosen will show dust (light gray film over everything) on a DAILY basis. Yes. Daily. Now for the matte finish. Matte finish is duller than SKIN OILS. Which means bare feet AND stocking feet will leave behind visible OIL MARKS. So will hand prints. And knee prints (even through blue jeans). And elbow prints (even through t-shirt material). And if animals are in the picture, dog's pads have plenty of oil on them....which will show up on the matte finish. Your beautiful floors will be a constant source of frustration. These are things a sale's person will not tell you. The dark floors are hard to live with. Period. Matte finished floors are hard to live with. Period. A dark floor finished in a matte will be HELL to live with. End of story. Personally I would look at a lighter floor (two steps lighter) with a satin finish. Satin is a close cousin to matte. It gives the same appearance as matte but without the oily prints. Splashed cooking oil will show up....but that is a GOOD thing! You want to be able to see the oil so that you can clean it up - it is a hazard on the floor. The skin oils will BLEND IN with satin. They are the same sheen level. The extreme colours (white or almost white; black or dark) are very hard to live with. The extreme gloss levels (matte or super matte; gloss or super gloss) are hard to live with. That's why MOST PEOPLE compromise and work with a mid-tone floor (two steps lighter than your choice) and satin or semi-gloss finishes. These compromises suit 90% of homeowners better than the extreme options. The extreme options SHOULD COME with their own LIVE-IN house keeper! Good luck. I would keep looking.
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Timothy Winzell
3 years ago
The person you spoke to is correct. If the floor is stained dark enough the amber aspect of oil poly isn't an issue. If you're truly going medium, it might make a difference. Having a sample on the floor, with the finish being proposed is the best way to gauge.
southm
Original Author
3 years ago
@Timothy Winzell Great, thank you! Would you consider something like this dark or light/medium enough to be affected?

Thanks!
Timothy Winzell
3 years ago
Yes, oil poly on that would make a noticeable difference when compared to a clear waterborne finish.
southm
Original Author
3 years ago
Great, thanks for your help!
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
Oil poly = orange. Not even yellow but ORANGE. If you are confident you will NOT be upset by orange floors (regardless of colour underneath) then go for the oil.

Your 'pro' is trying to sell you on oil based because it is CHEAPER and EASIER to purchase/work with. Both help HIM/HER rather than you.

So...now the question: have you seen the stain patches WITH THE FINISH on top? Always always always view the stain patches with a coat of the finish over top. Always. If not, you are picking blind. We have HUNDREDS of threads on houzz, "Help! I hate my floors! Why are they orange?"

Happens on a DAILY basis. And remember: oil based poly = STINKS FOR 30 DAYS! Yah. As in migraines and nose bleeds type of smell. As someone who has migraines AND asthma I can tell you it is a B!TCH to be around newly finished oil poly floors.

If you compare the costs of the Bona System (can be triple the material costs) to staying in a hotel/motel for another 3 weeks, you will find the Bona is a better (financial) choice.

I personally like to see stain + 3 coats of Bona Traffic HD. It is DEATHLY important to state in the CONTRACT (yep...please write one): Floors to be Finished with 3 Coats of Bona Traffic HD (the HD is SUPER IMPORTANT). Do not let the 'guy' switch out Bona Traffic HD for Bona Mega.

Bona is the company...Traffic HD is the LINE! You want the BIG BOY being used and you want 3 coats for 20+ years of worry free floors.

Anyone who tries to sell you on oil based poly being tougher than water based is NOT trained to use the big boys. They are the guys who purchase their products from Home Depot and then claim it isn't as good as oil based. That's the level you are working with if they 'sell' the oil based.
southm
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
@SJ McCarthy Thank you for your expertise! We definitely do NOT want orange floors - that is exactly why we are refinishing in the first place and exactly what we want to avoid. The professional I spoke to was definitely pushing for oil-based and saying that the brown color I like is dark enough that it wouldn't be affected. I found another professional today who will do water-based and Bona Traffic HD was the product he works with. I was leaning towards him because the other one didn't even seem to want to consider a water-based product. You've convinced me as well - thanks again!
C A
3 years ago
I just read this thread and wanted to ask if this darkish stain will change under an oil based poly as well...or cause it’s medium to dark, will oil based poly not affect as much?
C A
3 years ago
It’s quite dark. Would oil based poly darken it more over time and make it orange?
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
Yes it darkens it C A. And yes it turns orange. G & S is helping with your project on your original thread.

If you look at your stained areas...see the lighter wood poking through? Right. Now imagine a toddler came over and used an orange crayola marker and COLOURED IN all those light streaks. That's the kind of colour you WILL end up with if you use oil based poly.
C A
3 years ago
Good point! Would look so bad with some orange streaks

Medium brown hardwood stain with oil based poly?

Beth H. :

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Medium brown hardwood stain with oil based poly?

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