• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Start Here
  • Shop Favorites
  • About
    • Welcome To My Repurposed Life Home of Repurposed Furniture
    • More About Gail
    • Disclosure
    • Privacy Information
  • Gallery
    • Repurposed Furniture
  • Repurposed Items
    • Building Supplies
    • Miscellaneous Household Items
    • Picture Frame/Chalk Board
  • DIY
    • Home Reno
    • outdoor living
    • Painting
    • Shop Talk
    • Tips for Around the House
    • Build It
      • Furniture
      • Home Decor
      • Storage
    • Crafts
      • Dollar Store
      • Easy
      • Holidays Seasonal
  • Furniture
    • Chair
    • Desk
    • Dresser/Chest
    • Headboard | Bed Parts | Cribs
    • Kids Furniture
    • Table
    • Kids Furniture
My Repurposed Life® Rescue Re-imagine Repeat
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Start Here
  • Project Index
  • Furniture
  • Subscribe
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Home Reno » How to Stain Vintage Hardwood Floors

    How to Stain Vintage Hardwood Floors

    Published by Gail | Published April 28, 2014 | Updated May 14, 2021
    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Pin
    Share
    Tweet

    MyRepurposedLife-stain-vintage-hardwood-floors

     

    DIY-Blog-Squad-Badge

     

    sanded-vintage-hardwood-floorsOver the last couple of weeks I’ve shown you how to Remove Carpet and Padding, and gave you tips for Sanding Vintage Hardwood Floors. You can see that the floor is now ready for stain.

     

    vintage-hardwood-floorsLooking at the  before photo you will notice that the original floors were pretty dark, with so much natural light I decided it would be great to stain them Walnut.

    These are the things you’ll need should you decide to do this DIY task.

    • Garden Kneeler or Knee Pads
    • Natural bristle brush
    • Rags or soft cloths
    • Minwax Walnut Stain (about 1 quart per room)
    • Small paint tray for stain
    • Minwax Super Fast Drying Polyurethane (I used about 1.5 gallons for 3 rooms)
    • Lamb’s Wool Applicator
    • Metal paint tray for Poly
    • Latex Gloves
    • Paint Thinner
    • Respirator for dust and stain
    • Tack Cloths
    • Optional Shop Vac
    • Optional—small soft bristle hand broom
    • Optional stylish shower cap (to keep dust out of your hair)

    shop-vacIf you have ever taken on any project that needed sanding, you know there is a ton of dust. That is pretty much an understatement after sanding hardwood floors. The rented sanders have great dust collection capabilities, but there is still tons of dust on the floor. You can’t stain until you remove all of the dust. I used everything imaginable including a shop vac, and this small handled brush to get into the corners.

    TIP: turn off your HVAC while applying stain and poly.

    dusty-respirator See all that dust on the respirator? Do NOT skip this item.

     

    how-to-apply-stain-hardwood-floorsI used a small chip brush to get into the corners, and a wider chip brush to apply the stain with the grain of the wood, then wiping off the stain as I went. I worked from bedroom #1, through the living room, into bedroom #2, which led me to the kitchen for an easy exit out the back door. Then, I followed this pattern for staining and sealing.

    minwax-walnut-stain-vintage-hardwood-floorsI applied one coat of stain to each of the three rooms, and allowed them to dry for a couple of days since the project house was unoccupied.

     

    tools-for-staining-vintage-hardwood-floorsBe sure to stir your stain every 10-15 minutes. You can see the wide brush I used. It didn’t fit the can, so I poured the stain onto the floor in small puddles. I suggest you use a small paint tray.

     

    sweep-the-hardwood-floorBefore applying the poly, I used a brand new broom to sweep the floor. The rag had left some fuzziness, and there was random dirt on the floor.

     

    dirty-floorTIP: you should not wear shoes on your newly stained floors, I wore socks. You can see how much dirt I swept up in just one room.

     

    minwax-super-fast-drying-poly-hardwood-floorsI chose to use Minwax Super Fast-Drying Polyurethane for floors. To apply it I used a wide natural bristle brush and a lamb’s wood applicator.

     

    remove-fuzz-lambs-woolTIP: be sure to remove as much fuzz as possible from your lamb’s wool. It’s suggested to use painter’s tape, a shop vac, or some paint thinner. I didn’t know that with the first one I tried and it got fuzz all in my poly! ugh! Learn from my mistakes. On the second applicator (I just bought a refill, and used the same handle)  I did all of the above to remove the fuzz. I wasn’t taking any chances.

     

     

    poly-is-purple-dries-clearThe Minwax Super Fast-Drying Poly is purple, but I assure you it dries clear. Smile   I did two coats of Poly. With Minwax Super Fast-Drying Poyurethane, there is no need to sand in between coats. Follow the directions on the can for drying times.

     

     

    walnut-stained-floor-with-polyThis is the front bedroom. Are the floors perfectly new looking? No, they are not, but they turned out exactly as I planned. They still have character and charm that match this very old home.

     

    walnut-stained-hardwood-floorsI love the deep/rich color of these very old hardwood floors.

     

     

    MyRepurposedLife-stain-vintage-hardwood-floors

    Are you amazed? I am! I'm loving how these floors turned out. Have YOU redone any hardwood floors? Would you do it again? I would if I were 20 years younger. 🙂

    You can reach out to  True Value on Facebook and  Twitter. Need some visual inspiration? It’s gotta be  Pinterest!

    gail

    I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. Thus I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as writing about my experience. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

    Pin
    Share
    Tweet

    Related Content:

    • Tips for Sanding Vintage Hardwood Floors
      Tips for Sanding Vintage Hardwood Floors
    • Ripping up carpet and padding 101
      Ripping up carpet and padding 101
    • Coffee Station Repurposed Buffet
      Coffee Station Repurposed Buffet
    • faux whitewashed floor photo backdrop
      faux whitewashed floor photo backdrop
    • Cree Light Bulbs how to deal with the end of Daylight Savings
      Cree Light Bulbs how to deal with the end of Daylight…
    • Wall to Wall Closet | French Doors using Bi-Fold Doors
      Wall to Wall Closet | French Doors using Bi-Fold Doors

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      See comments Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Mark

      July 31, 2015 at 3:52 am

      Hello,

      This article was very very helpful to me. I'm redoing old hardwood floors in a few weeks in my home, and your choice of stain is exactly what I've been looking for, as my floors have some flaws from carpet seamers and carpet glue stains.

      I do want to point out however that you may want to stress to your readers the info. I learned about which poly finish to choose. Satin is best to show less dirt and helps hide the flaws. You didn't specify the specific type of poly sheen you used.

      Thanks, Mark

      Reply
      • gail@myrepurposedlife.com

        July 31, 2015 at 5:11 pm

        Mark
        Looking at the can, it is a Satin finish. I'm not a high gloss kind of gal. 🙂

        Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment.

        gail

    2. Bruce Johnson

      May 12, 2014 at 2:10 pm

      Fantastic job, Gail. What a difference refinishing wood floors makes in a room. Congratulations! Your hard work was definitely worth it. -Bruce

      Reply
    3. Connie

      May 04, 2014 at 1:40 am

      I wish I had known about this fast drying poly...I'm doing the stairs and it.'s hard to say don't go downstairs the stairs are wet.

      Reply
    4. Pat

      May 01, 2014 at 11:44 pm

      Oh PRETTY!
      You did a fantastic job Gail. Love the darker color stain, rather than the lighter honey color.
      Patricia

      Reply
    5. Carol

      April 29, 2014 at 7:37 pm

      Gail, you've gone and done it , again! Love that you kept the charm of the old wood floor. They are not new and shouldn't look that way. I'm sure, whoever laid that floor, would be glad to know it was restored.

      Reply
    6. Mindi

      April 29, 2014 at 12:34 pm

      Wow, the floors look so beautiful! I know this was a huge job, but so worth it! Great tutorial and tips Gail!

      Reply
    7. Stephanie@cre8tive

      April 29, 2014 at 10:38 am

      I can't believe you did that with a small brush like that! It looks amazing. And matches the house.

      Reply
    8. Shirley

      April 28, 2014 at 10:58 pm

      Oh what a super job. I love the finished floor and wish I had wood floors. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    9. Nancy

      April 28, 2014 at 7:00 pm

      Nice job! Personally I'm not a fan of dark floors, I would have done a clear coat. But what a difference!!!

      Reply
    10. Pam

      April 28, 2014 at 1:45 pm

      Fantastic job.....you are a work horse woman! I love the darker floors anyway and those turned out amazing.

      Reply
    11. Laurel Stephens

      April 28, 2014 at 10:18 am

      These floors turned out gorgeous! It must be a great feeling of accomplishment to uncover and refinish such beautiful wood for display. We're hoping to refinish the wood floors in our master bedroom, and I'll be a happy camper if they turn out half as nice as these did! I always appreciate your attention to detail in your tutorials. There are great tips here I've never seen before, like wearing socks and delinting your applicator. Thanks!

      Reply
    12. Korrie

      April 28, 2014 at 9:19 am

      So beautiful!

      Reply
    13. Terri

      April 28, 2014 at 9:08 am

      Wow...these floors look amazing! I love the color you chose! Great job!

      Reply
    14. Sylvia

      April 28, 2014 at 8:59 am

      Wow! Those floors are fabulous. I love the "not new imperfect" condition. The floors have the patina they should have but with a new protective poly coat. Love, love, love them.

      Reply
    15. Anne@DesignDreams

      April 28, 2014 at 8:33 am

      Holy crow how beautiful they turned out too!! What a great job! I finally painted the vinyl floor in my bathroom, thanks to your encouragement - now I need to pull up the laminate in my living/dining rooms and deal with the old fir floor. I'm very nervous...

      xoxo

      Reply
    16. Toqua

      April 28, 2014 at 8:29 am

      Absolutely gorgeous! I truly don't know what else to say.

      Reply
    17. Julie @ follow your heart woodworking

      April 28, 2014 at 7:51 am

      Looks fabulous Gail. I love the old real wood floors!

      Reply
    18. Holly

      April 28, 2014 at 7:42 am

      Oh WOW! The floors turned out beautifully. I would have loved to have done that with my floors but they were in such bad shape. Great job Gail!

      Reply
    19. Katy

      April 28, 2014 at 7:32 am

      The floors turned out beautiful! It makes me want to do mine ...

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, there! I’m Gail Wilson, the author and mastermind behind My Repurposed Life. I’m obsessed with finding potential in unexpected places and believe that with a little hard work and imagination, any old thing can be made useful again—myself included! I hope you’ll enjoy the journey and pick up a few tools along the way… literally!

    More about me →

    Join Our Mailing List

    ​

      Click the topics you're interested in below:

      Subscribing above means you agree to our Privacy Policy​

      Footer

      ↑ back to top

      SEEN ON

      Might I Suggest

      • Start Here
      • Furniture Makeovers

      Newsletter

      • Sign Up! for emails and updates

      About

      • Gail's Favorites on Amazon
      • About

      As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

      Copyright © 2023 My Repurposed Life · Privacy Policy · Disclosure