Sand and Stain Your Patched Hardwood Floor

This is Part 2 of a two part series on patching, sanding, and sanding a wood floor.

In Part 1 we began a floor repair for three boards. After the floor was stained, dents in these boards had become apparent and had to be removed. Without using any topnails or damaging any nearby boards, the offending boards were removed and replaced. Now it’s time to sand them down and stain them to blend in with the original floor.

The key to any good stain job is the right sanding job. This repair is no different. In order for the repair to blend in, the new boards need to be sanded, scraped, and hand sanded with the same abrasive grit as the rest of the floor. With the right techniques, the boards can be blended in so that no one will ever know it was a repair

Part 1>


Step 1 The floor needs to be sanded down to the level of the rest of the floor. First, the edger is used, feathering out substantially into the surrounding boards. Typically, 80- or 100-grit is used.	Step 2 A sharp hand-scraper is the most important part of a good stain repair. It should be sharpened so that instead of a flat blade, the edges are contoured. This keeps the tips from cutting in and gives you the ability to tilt the scraper to adjust how wide you want to cut. You will use this, along with changes in blade angle and the scraper’s pitch to the floor to cut precisely where and how you need to.

Step 3 In order for the stain or finish to blend into the rest of the floor, it is helpful to “chase the grain.” Scrape into surrounding boards, following the pattern of the grain and skipping about every other grain pattern. Start in the middle and work your way out.	Step 4 Scraping the floor closes the grain. If left like that, the stain would not take as well and would appear lighter in the repair. To avoid this and open up the grain, abrading the floor continues. Use the same abrasive grit that was last used with the big machine – usually 80 or 100. Edger paper works well for this (here, a piece of abrasive from the drum machine is used). With this abrasive, stay within the damaged area.

Step 5 Just as you should on any sanding job, remember to clean diligently between each sanding. If you don’t, the debris left will create more scratches in the floor. The next abrasive used for this floor is a maroon pad with abrasive strips. Typically, grits 180 or 240 are used in this step. At this point, don’t be afraid to overlap generously into surrounding boards.	Step 6 The floor is again hand-sanded. Note the hand position during sanding – the flat part of the bottom of the hand is used. This avoids leaving finger marks in the floor, which would cause the stain to take unevenly. Also, sanding is done in only one direction. For this grit, go out even a little farther into the rest of the floor. Sweep and vacuum the floor so it is as clean as possible before stain application.

Step 7 If at all possible, find out which brand and color of stain were used on the floor. If you don’t know, do a test board in an inconspicuous place such as a closet. Knowing your stain colors is important. Apply the stain on the floor and wipe it off as you would with any other job. Of course, it will appear darker than the rest of the floor while wet. Remember to dispose of stain rags safely to avoid spontaneous combustion.	Step 8 After drying briefly, the replaced boards are indistinguishable from the original floor. As with any other job, don’t rush drying times. Although it can be tempting to go over the floor right away with a coat of finish, you need to allow the stain to dry completely before coating.