The only standards in floor refinishing are those suggested by the manufacturer of the finishes themselves. Once the products are out in the field, finishers take these materials and incorporate them into what they do as artisans. We all have techniques we develop and use in our work and I guess your crusty old guy has techniques he's developed to produce a 'product' and a service that he offers. The finish schedule proposed for the maple certainly will give enough build to look good and provide protection and serviceability. Your guy has obviously substituted Mega for the sealers and stains designed for Traffic, but I won't say that there is anything wrong with that practice. I have developed techniques of my own that are 'off the pages' too. Your guy wouldn't be doing what he does for economic reasons; the material costs are the same. And, he wouldn't be doing what he does if the technique didn't produce excellent results...wouldn't make a lick of sense. Good luck.

Thanks for the help guys. I'm just going to use a drum sander and edger instead since I think the drum will hopefully cut through the glue better without clogging up the paper. I heard from a few flooring guys that Bondo has worked perfectly fine for them and accepted stain as well, but I just picked up some of the Varathane Red Oak stainable filler and I'm just going to patch up the larger and more noticeable gaps and it should be fine then. I did replace 1 board and have to cover up some old registers with new boards. Originally, I thought it was pretty cut and dry and the floor was 1.5" x 3/4" Common Red Oak of some sort, but after viewing some images of #1 and #2 Common Red Oak samples, they don't seem to match up quite as well. The floor I am working with isn't as "knotty" and has a much larger variation in terms of grain patterns and color. Any idea what kind of wood and grade this is and where I could get 1.5" strips of it at? Worst case scenario, I could always just miter down 2-1/4" boards at Menards on the groove side and regroove them. From 12-7-2011 From 12-7-2011 From 12-7-2011 From 12-7-2011 From 12-7-2011 From 12-7-2011

Always apply a coat of the finish over your colour patches! Always, always, always! And if you don't believe me, you should ask the hundreds of posters on houzz that did NOT follow that advice and needed their floors redone. It isn't a happy situation. These soft 'grayish' tones change MASSIVELY once you get an oil based or oil modified finish on their. Even a clear coat will change the appearance. It is ALWAYS best to know BEFORE you drop down 1000sf of "dark" stain on a floor. A colour patch is easier to correct than 1000sf of ooopsa. Get a quick coat of your chosen finish over each and everyone of your colour patches...then decide.

All stain colors go in and out of fashion. I’ve had three wood floors in three homes over the past couple of decades. The medium/natural tones seem to be more timeless. Dark, almost bare, white-ish and super dark espresso all are fads. Grayish brown is too. Keep it natural with a light stain. Your floor person absolutely needs to test different looks in your house before you say “go”. All wood is different after it’s been sanded. Yes, this is a huge, expensive one time decision. Good luck.