Hardwood flooring is something that should be a long term proposition... which is often overlooked in our modern..."planned obsolescence, use it then toss it" frame of mind. Colonial Maple. 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. And, of course it costs more. Have you ever done a 50/50 ebony and country white on red oak? I keep seeing that in tips on some articles.) Can you stain Brazilian cherry grey? On red oak, you’ll probably want to do a mid to darker gray to hide the red undertones. I’m finally ready to refinish my floors this weekend. Your guy will have to be patient. If your contractor doesn’t feel comfortable mixing, I’d recommend you stay away from gray. First, you’ll need to do a bleach to drown out the red. Claudia – It depends what you mean by dark brown hardwood floors. Debbie Gray over orange is just ugly mud colored. 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. Hi ! The differences in color and graining are more apparent in real life. Stain should be consistent and applied in strips to avoid any cross-grain color-variant lines. I have learned so much about flooring with all the information on your blog. Instead, you just apply more oil. If you are doing this yourself, you can buy both…and try both to see which you prefer. 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. We are going to run hardwood through rest of main floor which consists of hallway,living room,dining and kitchen. Next time she says something about your floors, just tell her "Lucky you. We are building a new home, and just want a gray undertone to the floors, but not a full blown gray. When you do a 2nd coat, then that does not adhere properly nor the poly to the stain. Stain Gallery. I would like a medium grey with warm brown added….so warm grey We have sometimes used dark walnut or coffee brown in with the ebony + white to get a gray brown (just a bit). Furthermore, the floors aren’t protected from water (or pet accidents). one with water pop one without. This is probably more important than the actual stain color you use. Happy holidays! Joe – Yes, that would look nice. And, it should be duraseal ebony. Thoughts? Recoat in only two hours - complete your floor finishing project in just one day. dark walnut or special walnut and test until you have the right mix. 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. We are going to waterpop it. And, you might also test with true black. 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. We would also like a matte finish instead of glossy. NO, do not light sand or buff the stain. (Is there any truth to fruitwood? Want to see the floor cleaning products I recommend? But, there are some downsides to the oiled floors. When was the house built? Each brand has different colors. You need to periodically treat the floors with more oil. https://www.bona.com/en-US/Bona-Professional/Products/Coatings/Stains/Bona-DriFast-Stain/. This red-toned hardwood floor stain is the perfect match for the exposed terracotta brick walls, mixing a comfortable contemporary look with a loft-style vibe. I’m looking to do 3 coats of the Bona HD water based poly. This did not include the flooring itself. Thank you so much for your help. I have not seen True Black on American Cherry, so not sure how it would come out. While achieving this gray look on existing oak hardwood is challenging (and is not to be done by your everyday contractor), it is possible to achieve when you have talented hardwood flooring refinishers. i used the bona grey since it works well with the bona traffic hd . Then, we’ve added a bit of a tint (ebony) to top layer to make it a bit darker. Again, your help was invaluable. When I bought and installed the floors they were pre-finished with an espresso brown color. At NO ADDITIONAL COST TO YOU, I will earn a small commission, if you purchase them. In this scenario, how would one protect the inlaid walnut from the bleach since there is oak, which would need to be bleached, on either side? Sand 36 grit You should use Bona Traffic HD. It may be enough to hide the red. But really want what we choose to hide the red in the oak. Do you have any before and after Or, your neighborhood's Next Door or Facebook page for recommendations for a flooring contractor. We generally mix Duraseal ebony and Bona White. nd not the cool side of the grey. ? I would not worry about it being too hard to clean/showing dirt…because you can just add more white. How long to dry? x 24 in. We did some test squares mixing duraseal country white and classic grey in different parts, but there always seemed to be some yellow undertones coming through. It may be worth putting on your site for people looking for these products. My contractor has shown me several samples but not of duraseal ebony or bona white. Thanks! DOWNLOAD YOUR FLOOR TIMELINE HERE! It may work or it may look awful. I really appreciate that. You’ll need to see which you prefer for the color you’re hoping for. Another question: what do you use to apply the stain and poly? But, I would look to see what species you have. Some of those benefits include: general peace of mind & confidence, the ability to refinish if desired, longer lasting performance and the probability that the selection will have a more "timeless" effect. Nick – Personally, I would do 3. Lisa – Oh excellent. Its unique formulation provides a surface that can be topcoated in two hours. Thank you for your blog post. This would be more unusual as most homes have oak (or else another lighter wood). It’s not the best for wood, especially if it’s not applied properly. Mid-Brown and Coffee Stain Colors. Enjoy your house and don't let anyone chastise you, especially someone who you gave birth to. 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. I have Brazilian cherry hardwood floors in a bedroom and office on my main floor. The 2 main solutions are 1) go a bit darker (i.e. I hope that helps. What do you recommend to eliminate the yellow? So I feel your pain! Do you think there are any risks in bleaching these floors and taking this approach? Also, the new flooring needs to be "laced in" with the existing flooring and all need to be sanded and stained at once (as exactly matching new stain to old doesn't work very well). Could you share the stain ratios for that picture? They are too watery. Do I do a light sand on the stain before my first coat of poly? They will come back tomorrow and put on a 3rd and 4th I believe. Note: this is not healthy for the wood and also may not work well with American cherry…it may in fact have a reaction. First, you need to use Duraseal, not minwax. Terry – No, you don’t. If you like the darkness of Dark Walnut, but wanted gray undertones, would you mix/blend ebony, white, and a dark walnut? then Bona Traffic 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. Sorry, I’ve been busy and I have a flood of questions, and just can’t keep up. I would stay away from the new duraseal colors. As I try to suggest (frequently) here on Houzz & elsewhere... flooring is a decision that should be considered in depth because it needs to PERFORM as well as look good. Self-crosslinking technology provides a tough floor finish that is great for any hardwood floor. Is it possible to mix the Ebony with the Classic Grey to get a draker grey? despite all of the work involved letting wood dry, putting in the tongue and groove nailing it down sanding and more sanding filling a few gaps and more sanding , then a stain prep and then the bona grey stain and finally first coat of bona traffic hd . For the stain, this is trickier, and you’re going to need to mix and experiment until you get the color you prefer. 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. With gray, you just need to test it. You can use any stain you like on hardwoods, but you may need multiple coats to achieve the same effect as you get on softwoods. If you are getting prefinished oak and it’s solid, chances are it’s from the US (as that’s where it’s grown and it wouldn’t make much sense to get from China. Considered a hard wood, it will wear well and has good abrasion resistance. Talk to your flooring guy. Sorry, yes I meant Red Oak wood floors. We usually use Country White. Higher end homeowners in Westchester keep requesting gray hardwood floors. ft. / case) Shadow Wood 6 in. Oh gosh, I didn’t realize the discrepancy in price. Would bleaching my floors give it that weathered, beachy look that I don’t care for? and, it will cost you more. Oh and it shouldn’t matter if there if you have select grade or No 1. The higher number is white and the lower number is ebony. And, if you’re looking for this particular floor (which is pre-finished) – Shaw Castlewood Hearth, you can buy it here. But, you could try natural with Bona traffic poly. If you haven’t done it before, I would hire a professional. Is there a type of bleach or process that needs to be done to ensure that the floors don’t become damaged from the bleach? It will probably take a while to experiment with this if you haven’t done it before. Minwax is for do-it-yourselfers; professionals use Duraseal. Where do you live? And, thanks for keeping me posted. It has a very flat and matte finish. I wasn’t talking about mixing them. If you do bleach (and I do NOT recommend you bleach), then yes, you’d need to carefully tape off the walnut. Thanks! Eric – This would not be my inclination.