Can you stain hardwood floors grey? The color grey is unique and can never go out of fashion, so it is worth a try. However, the bigger question should be, Can you stain all types of hardwood floors grey?
That’s where you encounter problems as you can easily get prefinished grey hardwood floors that are breathtaking to behold but would find it really difficult to restain your old hardwood floor grey.
Generally, when faced with the question; can you stain hardwood floors grey? The answer is YES, you can stain hardwood floors grey.
Can You Stain Hardwood Floors Grey?
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Getting a prefinished grey hardwood is pretty easy, but what if you already have oak hardwood floorings in your home? How do you turn it to grey?
Staining maple or birch floors grey is easy. This is because these woods absorb stains differently, and most brown stains easily turn grey on them.
However, it is not the same in oak and pine wood. Stains that can easily turn grey in prefinished maple or birch floor may look brown on oak.
For oakwood, we would recommend you use a water-based polyurethane (rather than an oil-based polyurethane)
Meanwhile, for pine floors, don’t use just any grey paint. A deep grey paint is most suitable because it will wash out the traces of yellow and red in pine.
If you want to stain hardwood floors grey, there are two methods to go about it. However, you should know that the project will take up to two weeks, depending on the amount of work done.
Related: Removing paint from hardwood without sanding
Materials Needed to Stain Hardwood Floors Grey
Here are some of the materials you will need to stain your hardwood grey:
- Plastic drop cloths
- Tape
- Edge Floor sander
- Orbital sander
- Sandpaper
- Vacuum cleaner
- Broom
- Dustpan
- Wood stain
- Paintbrushes or stain applicators
- Polyurethane
- Flooring primer
- Epoxy floor paint
How to Stain Hardwood Floors Grey
Here are the two methods to achieve a beautiful grey color on your flooring:
Staining Method
Step 1: Remove all objects from the floor
Take away all objects, including furniture on the floor, and use plastic drop cloths to seal your windows and doors. Use tape to seal cold air return vents or heat vents in your home.
Before sanding, this step is necessary because you don’t want your house covered in dust afterward.
Step 2: Sand your hardwood floor
You will need an orbital floor sander for faster and more efficient sanding. You should use heavy-grade sandpaper; a medium grade will be perfect for the second pass and a fine grade for the final pass.
This way, you can completely remove the previous color from the hardwood. Don’t forget to sand the edges of the flooring with an edge sander, considering that a floor sander may not get into the corners of the room.
Step 3: Clean up the dust
Using a vacuum cleaner, remove all the dust in the room. Sweep up any remaining dust in the room using a broom.
Step 4: Stain the floor using a grey wood stain
Apply either an oil-based or gel-based grey stain on the hardwood floor using a paintbrush. Leave it to dry.
Then sand over the flooring using fine-grade sandpaper. Stain the flooring for the second time. Let it dry. If necessary, strain again for the third time.
Step 5: Apply polyurethane to the flooring
If you don’t want your hardwood floor to last for a long time, it is advisable to apply a water or oil-based polyurethane to it.
It is preferable to use a water-based polyurethane for oak wood, as stated earlier. You can use 2 or 3 coats to protect the hardwood floor.
Read: Can I Stay in My House While Floors are Refinished?
Painting Method
Step 1: Get the room ready
Remove all objects on the floor and tape off the floorboards.
Step 2: Sand the floor using a sandpaper
Sand the entire floor using medium-grade sandpaper. Then, remove any dust using a vacuum cleaner.
Step 3: Paint the floor
Using a flooring primer, paint over the surface of the hardwood floor. When it dries, sand over the surface in a fair manner.
Step 4: Apply grey epoxy floor paint
Cover your hardwood floor with grey epoxy floor paint. You can use either a roller or a paintbrush.
After that, paint the floor by applying the grey epoxy floor paint, and you must cover the wood with a minimum of one coat of epoxy floor paint. You can use either a roller or a paintbrush to paint the floor.
Allow it dry for at least 24 hours before returning your furniture.
Read: How to Apply Oil-Based Polyurethane to Wood Floors in 8 Easy Steps
Conclusion
You can stain Hardwood Floors grey using any of the two methods outlined in this article. While it may be easy to stain maple or birch floors, grey, oak, and pine flooring may be tedious and should be done by an expert.
We have written this article to help you make informed decisions about if you can stain hardwood floors grey. We hope you found it helpful and informative; if you did, please share it across your entire social media pages.