Refinishing the Floor

I decided in our case not to stain the floors. I wanted the wood to stay lighter and the sun will allow it to darken a little over time. I went straight to the finishing. If you are going to stain, make sure you let it dry and then finish sand in between staining and finishing. Also, odors are a big concern, check out the lines of water-based stains, the odors are kept to a minimum and they still do the job. You will still need good ventilation though. On to the finishing. Follow the directions, don't shake finish, it will create air bubbles that are hell to sand out once it dries. I like to use a paint roller for the first 2 coats. Go for a small nap or even better a foam roller. The floor will soak the stain up so expect to go through quite a bit. I bought 2 gallons for a small bedroom. I used Minwax semi-gloss and it worked very well. If it is in your budget, spring for something that is made for floors. Again, Minwax makes a great water-based polyurethane for floors. You want to make sure all the dust is up by wiping the floor with a tack cloth and some mineral spirits. Then you start rolling the finish onto the floor. Maintain a wet edge. After each coat sand and then remove the dust. For the last coat I like to use a nice lamswool applicator. It will flow the finish on smoothly giving great results.