Hey all, we hired a contractor to do our hardwood floors as part of remodeling our first house. We chose grade 1 solid maple due to its low-grain uniform look, and DuraSeal Golden Oak stain. After our contractor applied the first stain application though, the floors look very blotchy and non-uniform. (See photo.)
We've since learned that maple blotches very easily (I wish I knew that 2 days ago). Marc Spagnuolo's video, "Coloring/Staining Blotchy Woods", suggests using Shellac Bullseye Seal Coat before staining, along with a gel-based stain, to minimize blotching.
Can we recover from this? Can we start over by sanding and use Marc's method, or are the blotches permanent? What about sanding and switching to a darker color?
Thanks for any advice.