How to sand and stain uneven timber floorboards?

[Will01]

Hi

I’m trying to sand and stain my floor but notice some of the floorboards have shallow spots which is causing the stain to pool and make the floor look blotchy. Not sure how/if I can fix this to get the floorboards nice and even?

 

[EricL · Accepted solution]

Hello @Will01 

Thanks for sharing your question about your timber flooring. Low spots can be troublesome as they create valleys that pool the stain on your flooring. The common options are to run the floor sander over that area until it flattens the valley. The drawback of course is that, that section of the floor will now be slightly lower.

The next method is to use a hand sander or the edge sander to remove the steep sides of the valley. This will require you to be mindful and precise oh how much timber you're willing to remove. The only other method that comes to mind is to use a filler mixed with the sanding dust of the floor and sand over the area again.

Let me call on our experienced members @Nailbag, @Dave-1 and @JoeAzza for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[Will01]

Thank you for the advice and quick reply - il give it a go!

[Nailbag]

Hi @Will01 you need to avoid sanding in any one area and try and spread the sanding area out. When applying the oil use a fine wide brim brush in this deeper areas to spread the oiled away from the low areas. You will get a few goes at this over the next 5min or so and then leave it and work on an other area. I have used this method many times and though you won't resolve any levelling, it will reduce/eliminate the concentrated pooling. 

Hope this helps, Regards, Nailbag

[Dave-1]

Evening @Will01 

The only way I can think of to remove those dips would be to sand some more but then you end up with larger slow dips instead. I like the idea of @Nailbag's of working an area and then moving on to another area. I think this would give the most even looking outcome.

Dave