Hardwood Floors August/September 2018

AT THE SITE Common Stains and Discolorations (Continued)

Blotchy Stain/ Colorant Blotchy stain or colorant is when there is the appearance of an inconsistent color from one area of a nished oor to another. O en this is simply a physical property of the wood species

Filler Color Variation

e wood ller from one area of the oor can be di erent from the overall color tone of the oor. e drastic variations in many wood species will not always match the ller color used. For

itself (such as maple, black cherry, and pine), whereby it does not evenly accept stain or colorant. Stained/colored oors should be uniform in color. Color tones may vary from board to board or within individual boards due to natural variances within the wood. Other times, the cause of blotchy stain is due to not following NWFA Sand and Finish Guidelines or the manufacturer’s instructions. Examples may include a poor sand job, poor stain application, incompatible products, not allowing adequate dry-time, or many other potential causes. Picture Framing (“Halo”)

example, ash/maple/pine ller will not match all ash, maple, or pine wood. With color-sensitive wood species, the normal ller doesn’t change color with the wood. is is why we normally recommend using the dust from these species mixed with a recommended binder to ll color-sensitive species. Wood ller will never perfectly match, nor is it designed to match every board within a wood oor. Although stains are technically discolorations that can be clearly distinguished, it doesn’t mean they are always bad or considered problems. When the stain has been produced by hand, it can and likely should be repaired. However, if the stains are produced naturally, they could easily be considered rare and valuable. e interpretation of stain or discoloration lies in the eyes of the wood ooring professional and his or her customer. Making an educated determination of what kind of stain or discoloration is present allows for accuracy in addressing it, or charging more for it. Brett Miller is VP of Education & Certification at the National Wood Flooring Association in St. Louis. He can be reached at brett. miller@nwfa.org.

When the edges of the room appear to be a slightly di erent color than the rest of the room, this is known as picture framing or halo. is is almost always caused by improper sanding.

Typically, it results from sanding the edges of the roomwith an abrasive grit di erent fromwhat the eld was sanded with, and inadequately blending the scratch pa ern of both the perimeter of the oor with the eld of the oor in the nal sanding stages.

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