How to Darken Hardwood Floors without Sanding

Hardwood floors are trendier and nice looking when they have a deep or dark sheen. However, not all hardwood floors are made the same to have dark colors. Some need to change the appearance to darken the hardwood floor long after it has been put in place. Sanding is a process that is close to mandatory when darkening a hardwood floor. However, it might be necessary sometimes, especially when you get to learn a few more things about hardwood floors. Based on that, there is obviously a process of how to darken hardwood floors without sanding and that is what we are about to see below. 

The biggest issue that people have never understood here however is whether this process can apply to engineered hardwood floors. The question comes in; can engineered hardwoods be darkened without sanding? This question cannot have a specific answer, instead, it takes us back to the structure of an engineered hardwood floor. Engineered hardwood floors usually have either a thick or a thin Larry of real wood finishing on the top. The topmost layer is usually sanded more than twice before the finish. This means that sanding is not an option when darkening.  The best thing to do therefore is to make sure that we get to the real hardwood layering without sanding. Glazing is the common method used here. There is a machine specifically used for this. A buffing machine is used for glazing. It slides off the layering uniformly to reveal the surface underneath. 

Basically, refinishing is usually needed for the hardwood floors before the darkening place. Glazing is the best alternative to sanding and that is what we have seen above. Now after the refinish is done, you can now get to darken the hardwood floor. Here, we will need to apply a stain that makes the floor darker. However, the staining should be done very carefully to make sure it is uniform and it brings out the dark sheen after it is done.  Therefore, we would need to follow the process below to come to make sure we have a nice dark look at the end. 

How to Darken Hardwood Floors without Sanding

How to Darken Hardwood Floors without Sanding

Clean the hardwood floor 

The first very important thing to do is to prepare the room.  If the house has been in constant use, you will need to get all the household items to another place and remain with a clear floor.  The floor should then be thoroughly cleaned after that. It should be kept very clean. A floor cleaning spray is highly recommended. You can also have the floor wet mopped but a lot of care should be taken to keep the floor dry thereafter. The wringing should be done very thoroughly to make sure the floor is dry. The reason why we should have the floor dry is that there are very high chances of structural damage when we leave the floor wet. 

Alternatively, we can use a mild vinegar solution to clean the floor. It is faster and very efficient. To obtain a proper vinegar solution, we can mix warm water and vinegar at a ratio of 10:1 respectively. The resulting solution is efficient in cleaning the hardwood floor, to make sure there is no debris remaining on the floor. 

Screening/ buffing 

After the cleaning, this is where the buffing we talked about comes in now. Buffing is also called glazing. It can also be referred to as screening. The buffing will take some time but not so much time when you have the proper hands for it. Be sure to have protective wear on during the whole process. It is very important to have them on since the layers of the hardwood floor might emit some chemical components which are harmful when inhaled. Be sure to keep the buffing machine straight on the path to make sure the screening is uniform. After the whole screening process, you can now clean off the debris and move on to the next stage. 

Darken the floor with stain 

After the floor is clear of the buffing debris, we can now get to make it darker. Buffing leaves a uniform surface though it is a little rough. There are a lot of dark hardwood stains and you can use your favorite one. Apply the satin uniformly until it is perfectly covering the whole surface. The stain should also not be so intense. Dark staining can also be very suitable for a layering hardwood plank floor, especially one with uneven graining. The dark stains would perfectly cover the whole floor and no one will be able to see the uneven graining anymore, which gives it an absolutely trendy finish. 

Apply a protective treatment 

Having a protective treatment soon after the seal is very important. It makes sure the floor is well guarded against scratches and marks and also water stains. Now, there are three main types of protective treatment. We have a sealer, varnish, and polyurethane. The three work differently but they achieve the same purpose. Select one among them and have the floor well finished.  Depending on the protective treatment that you shall choose, the effect shall and final look of your floor shall vary, therefore check the effects before settling on one.

Final Word: How to Darken Hardwood Floors without Sanding

After the protective treatment dries off, you will certainly realize how clean the floor will appear. The whole process just requires a little accuracy and knowledge about the type of floor you have there. The moment you have the right hands for the job, it is gonna take very little time to make up the floor and darken it to the trendiest dark sheen you want. 

However, our main focus here was to avoid the sanding part. Sanding can be tedious and might not achieve very impressive results, to add to this, it is expensive and time-consuming. However, there’s the perfect alternative that we have highlighted above. It makes the process easier. We now know how to darken hardwood floors without sanding.