shortguy617 Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Hi All, thanks to anyone who can give me some input here...I rent my apartment and my wife dragged a piece of furniture with a protruding screw across about three feet of hardwood floor. Left a 3mm scratch or so (pretty bad...and the landlord is gonna hit me on this one for sure...). I have no real experience with this type of repair, so, I went online, and decided to sand down the scratch, which worked and it is hardly visible anymore (see image), but that meant I now had some serious discoloration because i sanded off the finish and/or stain (not sure what is really on the floor..) I then went to home depot and bought a handful of stains (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Varathane-1-qt-3X-Golden-Pecan-Premium-Wood-Stain-266260/203332269) that really seemed to match the hardwood floor color, but, for some reason, even after staining it just looks like garbage! You can see from the pic below that there is an obvious huge discoloration across about 8 of the planks, and you can also see the outskirts/border of where I stopped sanding... I recognize that the planks vary in color and that I need to vary the stain color depending on the plank, but even the few planks which perfectly match my stain(s), are coming out way different than they should be based on the color of the stain...does anyone know what to do here/what I am doing wrong? Please go easy on me here haha, I know I messed up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 It doesn't look that bad, could be a whole lot worse ! Usually you need to sand a larger area to make the depth nessasary to remove the scratch a very gradual slope. Touch up & repair finishing requires much more experience than finishing new wood. The best way to get the color and finish right is to practice on scraps. If you can buy some unfinished oak flooring strips to practice on you can learn what grit sandpaper to use and what amount of stain to use. If you sand with too coarse of a grit the stain will soak in and look darker. If you sand too fine of a grit the wood gets polished and won't accept enough stain. When I do touch up work I will often thin the stain out and use several light coats to sneak up on the right color. This is where practicing on scrap lets you learn before you make a bigger mess out of the floor. Usually the varnish / poly over the stain will add a amber tint so a good color match looks wrong after adding the varnish. Thin coats are much better than thick ones. So practice and figure out the grit to sand to, the number of thinned coats of stain to add and then the number of varnish coats it takes to achieve your goal. If there is a closet with the same hardwood floor in it you could scratch that floor and practice fixing it before you tackle the visible area . Insurance agents might be able to give you a reference to a professional to do the job if you decide you are in over your head. Good luck ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortguy617 Posted February 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Thank you so much for the quick response...so, you think perhaps I sanded with a bit too coarse of a grit? Maybe I should go back in, sand it all off with a low grit, expand the sanding area, and then go up to something much higher grit to smooth it out, then apply layer by layer of light coating (letting each one dry first?). Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Could be but practicing on the visible area is a bad idea ! If you insist on trying things there only do it in a small section then when you get it right apply those same steps to the rest of the area. Take notes on what you did because it is easy to forget and skip a step. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 From what I see in the picture, I'd say sanding to a finer grit is a good idea. Wdewerker's advice is spot on about practicing on scraps or non-visible areas. Otherwise, the best "match" is to do the whole floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortguy617 Posted February 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 Thank you both. It just seems so strange to me that something as silly as having perhaps too coarse of a grit (the highest I went was 140 or something close to that) could result in such a drastic change in the ultimate drying color of the stain. I'm going to go with that in any event, using a test area as you recommend. One more question though...as you can see from the picture, the scratch is STILL visible even though I sanded down quite a bit. The scratch was definitely a good 3mm, maybe 4, but not more than that. If I continue sanding deeper so that the scratch is completely gone, is something like 3mm-4mm so severe that someone will easily notice a change in the grade of the floor? I.e., should I avoid trying to sand so deep that the scratch isn't visible b/c it will upset the elevation of that area of the floor too much, or is 3-4mm not too deep? Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 I just thought of something, floor finishers usually use a drum sander and sand along the length of the boards. So sanding with strokes along the grain might be better than using a random orbit sander. I would think 150 or 180 grit should be the finest grit you need. The scratch may have torn the grain below the depth of the groove it left. And yes sanding deeper means sanding a bigger area to spread out the change in depth. It you sand too deep you might get into the tongue and groove joints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 13, 2016 Report Share Posted February 13, 2016 honestly the only way to make the scratch disappear would be to refinish the entire floor. The best you can do is make it less noticeable. Looks like you already have done that. quit while you are ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 everyone loves pristine, but keep in mind it is a floor. floors get a lot of abuse and use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 14, 2016 Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 The most important thing is keeping your mouth shut. You know where the scratch is and look for the minor traces of it. When you move the landlord isn't going to inspect the floor unless you give him reason to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortguy617 Posted February 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2016 Thank you all very much. This is a really wonderful forum for advice. It is much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlau Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 i agree with wdwerker, you got most of it gone and when you leave, the land lord may do something different on the floor. or if your still bothered contact a flooring contractor for help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted February 16, 2016 Report Share Posted February 16, 2016 Have your kids color on the wall and that will take the attention off of the floor? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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