I hope this helps. Spread the grey wash across the wood in the direction of the grain, just as you did with the stain. The differences in color and graining are more apparent in real life. My recommendation is to stay away from that color. https://www.amazon.com/DS-QC-EBONY-131-G/dp/B00ISXFBRS/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1516804243&sr=8-10&keywords=duraseal+stain. I remember the first phone call we received for gray hardwood. We have red oak flooring that we are refinishing. I used Minwax Charcoal Gray and covered a small area. When you do a 2nd coat, then that does not adhere properly nor the poly to the stain. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. You’ll just need to find a color you like. And, it should be duraseal ebony. Oh and it shouldn’t matter if there if you have select grade or No 1. Thank you for shedding light on the best browns to get the red out. And, the stain is for color and the poly is for protections, so they do 2 separate things. These 2 colors make gray…and then it’s just about how dark (or light) the gray is. Third, one thing is for certain..you need to ditch the LastnLast and trade up to Bona Traffic HD. Another question: what do you use to apply the stain and poly? I built my own wood floor out of douglas fir 1×6 and wanted to stain it grey . Or you do it without the bleach, but then have a lot of pink showing through. Importantly, with oiled floors, you shouldn’t use a regular hardwood cleaner. I edited this photo to turn down the highlights so you could see the color and grain better. The right oak is on top and the white oak on the bottom. one with water pop one without. I keep checking for it every couple of months. Hi Lisa. Nick – thanks so much. He bleached one sample but the wood looked damaged. It costs more than your standard type of refinishing (read below to understand why), but for those looking for the stylish gray look, it’s well worth it. In the preliminary stages of picking a color, we have to mix and blend stains to attain the perfect color. Are you about to sand your floors? He was said to be done today and we went in and the whole floor turned yellow! Gray stained floors have been a sweeping trend for the past few years or so. Also, it’s okay to use an oil based stain and water borne poly. I really wanted a gray floor but due to the nature of the red tone in red oak floor is very hard to achieve the color. I always love your informative articles Debbie. 7. they both look very nice. Our contractors have put down white oak and have created some samples. I’ve never heard of that technique. Thanks so much for everything. Mom + Wife. Hello Flooring girl! Or is that just asking for trouble? That’s definitely an option, but it won’t solve the red issue. I hope that helps. Thanks for your responses! Linda – You have many options out there. You will have a much easier time (and probably happier client) if you just do a dark stain…or a dark stain with a hint of gray. I think most of them are using Classic Gray and other premixed colors from Minwax or Duraseal. There is no right or wrong answer. You need to periodically treat the floors with more oil. I have a hunch, you’ll probably prefer 5 to 1 or 3 to 1 if you want dark gray, but this is a preference thing. So, when you do this, have them mix the stain before and test and just apply 1 coat. Wish my floor guy were more interested in working with me (stuck with him as he’s GC guy), but he’s asked me to pick 3-4 cans at most. And, if you’re looking for this particular floor (which is pre-finished) – Shaw Castlewood Hearth, you can buy it here. The dark gray will help hide and drown out the red tones. Gray stain colors come in a bountiful assortment of options. Do you have any suggestions for color mixes to provide us with a natural looking gray? Weathered Gray Premium Fast Dry Interior Wood Stain (2-Pack) provides high quality color in 1 coat to enhance the natural beauty of interior wood surfaces. Thoughts? with ebony + white, you can suit to your own taste. Marte – Thank you so much. We usually use country white (but there are other whites that can work). Test with and without water pop. Should I just replace my red oak with select white oak? Yes, it would be a mix for sure, but it seems to me that a good contractor should be able to do this well with careful measuring. Plus, you would probably need to use Bona Traffic on them. Fill wood putty Each brand has different colors. If you try this on pine, I’d suggest a deep gray to wash out the yellows (and note: these floors will get more yellow over time as the pine ages). And, if the ability to spot treat is very important to you, then that is an added bonus. Happy holidays! Of course going darker will cover up the red better, so it is a trade off. Thank you for the reply. Regarding going natural with Bona Traffic. Superior wood stain saves time, energy and provides a great value. American Cherry, Brazilian cherry, Douglas Fir, Mahogany), DO NOT try to do gray. (Is there any truth to fruitwood? When I bought and installed the floors they were pre-finished with an espresso brown color. Jackie – Absolutely. Apparently there are a few whites to choose from. Nick – First, you put putty on, then 36 grit…then you may need some more putty as some may get sanded off. When it comes to gray, we use Duraseal ebony and Bona White. Most often we see warm or cold shades of gray with hues of yellow, brown or beige hues in the warm end of the gray palette or blue and green tones in the cold end. I applied the samples and am going with the 3:1 as I have red oak and the dark looked better like you described. You can now find prefinished hardwood, laminates, tile, and luxury vinyl with a a gray stain in rustic, modern, textured, sawn, etc options. Good news is this is the easy part. If they are old pine, they may need to sand, add conditioner, then apply stain. country white, etc.) My question is, in talking to various contractors, the color I’m looking for (medium brown with cool tone browns, slight grey, not too dark) they are telling me it would be a mix and since I’ve got so much floor to do (over 2,000 square feet) it will be hard to mix the same mixture for the whole house. Check out the info and video on this page. Note: the bleach will dry out and damage the wood a bit. You should not need to bleach white oak at all (and it damages the floor, not to mention what it might do to the walnut). The dark gray will help hide and drown out the red tones. Re: Cofee brown, yes, this is better than medium brown, especially on red oak (medium brown has turns out rather reddish). Also, you can always add a carpet runner on top if it’s due to the wood species. First, I will tell you that red oak floors come out better if you bleach them first. Red oak has underlying red tones, and often a darker gray is needed to achieve the desired look. Use a foam brush to paint the wood with the wash solution. I hope that helps. A much easier and safer option is to do a darker color. This will have an impact on how the grain looks and it’s hard to predict which way you’ll prefer until you see it. Now, flooring manufacturers have created gray flooring in many different tones of gray. My dining table is made of maple (I think), and it turned out a true grey. You should do 3 coats of poly. It’s not the best for wood, especially if it’s not applied properly. Thank you! I have not had wood floors before but I’m wondering about the “roughness” is some spots of the floor. You’ll have to look at that to make sure. Hi, Sand 80/100 grit I would strongly recommend Bona Traffic HD (see this blog post: https://theflooringgirl.com/hardwood-flooring/which-are-the-best-polyurethane-brands-for-floors-which-do-i-recommend.html. The highest grit you should use before the stain is 100. You are limited to the gray that it turns.. 3. In the left photo is 7:1. But, after that ratio was figured out, it was straight forward. Ebony in duraseal also works better (and dries faster). They are too thinned out and watery and this is why contractors are having so many issues with them. Be careful with the wood species. Drill Brushes and Floor Sander: How to Refinish a Hardwood Floor. And, don’t use the cheaper poly…it won’t last as long. I can’t stand the pink. NO, do not light sand or buff the stain. I have red oak floors? If you mean you have red oak, then you have 2 choices: 1) Bleach the floors first or 2) choose a darker gray to hide the pink undertones. BTW, if you do 7 parts ebony to 1 part white, it will pretty much look like ebony. My client has American Cherry floors and she would like a gray white washed floor. For the stain, this is trickier, and you’re going to need to mix and experiment until you get the color you prefer. and, it will cost you more. White Spirit and Methylated Spirit are also great de-greasers and wood cleaners In the far right picture, the sample on the right is 3 parts white to 1 ebony, middle is 5:1, left is 4:1. Because pine is soft wood, it is perfect for staining as the stain soaks into the timber creating a rich and beautiful appearance of the new colour. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Staining hardwood floors gray | Refinish wood gray | Westchester County, Duraseal’s new gray and greige blend line, Best paint colors with gray hardwood flooring. I wanted to stain them gray, and after the flooring guy did a few samples on my floor, I chose Bona Dri Fast stain in Grey. If you do a traditional brown stain, you can either use oil based or water borne poly. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. My contractor has shown me several samples but not of duraseal ebony or bona white. It will be lighter than doing oil based poly and lighter than it is now (in fact, when you refinish, it will be lighter anyway as you’re removing the top layer (it’s like when you have a suntan and you’re skin continues to replace itself. As a homeowner, you can do the repair yourself, and you don’t need to sand and refinish. Not sure how well it will work on this wood and whether there will be any reactions with the oils in the wood. Earl – Yes, that sounds right for the stains. i want to thank you for your blog . Instead, your contractor should make a custom blend of ebony and white. It needs to be one on site with 1 or 2 and then keep adapting. Thanks for your instructions. I hope that helps. We knew we did not want to go the traditional route of dark walnut but give new life to hardwood flooring in this new build. Your blog was a lot of help You can use a ready mixed gray stain color such as Duraseal’s Classic Gray. The carpet sample is from Tuftex (Marblehead is the style). In the above pictures, you see different ratios of … After he sanded and stained and did one top coat, the color is all over the place with grays, yellows and browns (based on the variations in the wood). Title: grey stain for hardwood floors impressionnant oak meet special Description: oak hardwood floors products grey stain for hardwood floors beau light grey hardwoodr stainrs in bedroom wood woodenring living room Via: southcentralhispanic.org I’m finally ready to refinish my floors this weekend. Old preexisting floors are not the best canvas to sand and refinish in a gray stain. You are limited to... 3. We decided to just go with a “classic” wood color and ditch the gray. It might be a tad tricky though due to the oils found in most exotic woods so I’m not sure how it would turn out. The best way is to bleach first (and damage wood) and then do the gray mix. But whatever you do, test it first and I don’t think testing in a closet will work well. We generally start darker and then cut in more white until we find the right ratio for the customer. If you can’t tell from the surface, see if there is a grate or register in the floor that you can lift up and then view the profile of the wood. Bona Traffic will look the best by far – both when applied and over time. Fast drying formula dries in 1 hour and uses nano pigments to offer superior color and coverage. When was the house built? Your alternative is simply to go deeper in the gray. You can have cool tone gray floors or warm tone gray floors. Required fields are marked *. The species of wood and number of coats dramatically changes the color of this particular grey wood stain. Higher end homeowners in Westchester keep requesting gray hardwood floors. I am hoping you might have a “recipe” suggestion for me. I wish I could give you a recipe, but that’s really impossible until you see what it looks like on the wood and next to your cabinet sample. Do you need a local flooring contractor? The other issue you may be having is the ingredients being used. These a combo of light and dark grays as well as greiges (gray/brown blends) and you may want to check those out in this article:  Duraseal’s new gray and greige blend line. I would expect it to come out pink and it’s not something I would recommend at all. We were thinking of bleaching the floors first which we also thought might lead to a more uniform flooring color. Matt – That is not something I would recommend as it is very red and you will probably have red/pink coming through. 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Dry before you flip the wood itself sr=8-10 & keywords=duraseal+stain you for your help i learned lot!