Refinishing Hard Wood Floors {Part 3}

Wooo hooo!  FLOORS ARE FINISHED!

As you can see the staining process started out fabulously.  FYI home depot bags are not strong enough to hold 3 cans of stain {quart size}.  I had to run to the closest paint store to get paint thinner, and I was quiet embarrassed because my feet were covered in stain...  Thankfully, the rest of the process went *almost* seamlessly.  

We used two methods for staining our floors.  Both methods worked but one was much quicker. Before we started staining we did A LOT of sweeping and did a quick mopping.  Our mop was barely wet, and this helps open up the wood for the stain.  The next step was picking out a stain.

We chose Jacobean by Minwax.  I started out using plastic gloves,  foam brushes, plastic paint container, and old towels.  

 I worked with the grain and tried to let the stain sit for the same amount of time before wiping off the excess. 

Tall Tan Man thought this was going too slow, and decided to mop the stain on {$7 mop from walmart}.  Home depot has "mops" made for oil based stain and polyurethane.  We ended up using those mops for the polyurethane. 
 

He still wiped up excess stain which was the only slow part of the process.  After all the stain was down we waited 24 hours before we started applying the polyurethane.  

To apply the polyurethane we moved with the grain and did long even strokes to make sure there was no unwanted marks.  We allowed the floor to dry for 24 hours before we lightly sanded with 220 grit.  

I mopped the floors once or twice, but don't worry if your floors still appear to have dust on them.  They will look beautiful again, don't worry!

Cost Breakdown:

Step 1 & 2: $267
4 Cans Stain {one spilled}: $35
Brushes and Containers:  $15
4 Cans Polyurethane: $125
Mops: $18
220 Sand Paper{4}: $28 

Total: $488
 
Another piece of advice I have is not to drink red wine while staining...

 Wahhh...

The floors look great & I can't wait to move our furniture in next weekend!

{LJ}