Old Growth Eastern White Pine Floors
Wood floors
The floors in this home are made from old growth eastern white pine with trees that were harvested right at the turn of the century. These trees typically had lives of 400 – 500 years old meaning the trees that make up these floors first started growth in the early 1300’s – two hundred years before Columbus first discovered this land.
Our floors had originally been painted over 200 years ago. So, the first step was to remove this 200-year-old paint that had been laid down in many layers. The first step was using a very aggressive drum sander starting with 6 grit – yes, 6 grit, as the paint was removed, we then changed to an orbital sander and stepped up in grit a bit at a time finishing out at 120 grit. Our floors and I imagine other incredibly old floors are not very flat and level and this prevents the large sanders from removing the oxidized wood in the low spots – this oxidized wood overly absorbs the stain and needs to be lessened or removed with smaller sanders.
When we continued the process, it turned out we had lots to learn as the old woods behave much differently than the new stuff we grow today. Our first attempt left an uneven blotchy surface “Ugly” surface, so we sanded off this first room and began the search to learn how to manage this type of surface.
Old-growth Eastern White Pine is notoriously difficult to stain evenly, and here is why:
1. Uneven Grain Structure
- Eastern White Pine has a pronounced contrast between earlywood (soft, porous spring growth) and latewood (dense summer growth). Earlywood absorbs stain quickly, while latewood resists it, causing blotchy or streaked finishes known as grain reversal.
2. Resin Content and Pitch Pockets
- Old-growth pine often contains resin pockets in the heartwood. These areas repel stains, creating light spots even after multiple coats. Resin also interferes with penetration, making oil-based stains especially tricky.
3. Density and Tight Grain
- Old-growth wood tends to have tight growth rings and higher density compared to fast-grown pine. While this makes it strong and stable, it also means stain does not penetrate deeply, leading to uneven coloration unless properly prepped.
4. Natural Color Shift
- Eastern White Pine naturally darkens over time to a warm yellow-orange tone. Staining can fight this natural aging process, but the underlying color shift may still show through, complicating color matching for long-term projects.
5. Knots and Absorbent Pockets
- Even high-grade old-growth pine has tight knots that can bleed through finishes. These knots and random absorbent pockets soak up stain unevenly, creating dark spots unless sealed first.
- Under the paint areas can experience oxidation over time and these areas can absorb much more stain than others causing blotchy areas.
How to Overcome These Challenges
- Pre-Stain Conditioner or Shellac Wash Coat: Apply before staining to reduce blotching.
- Gel Stains: These sit on the surface rather than penetrating, giving more uniform color.
Our final process
We went after all the low spots with a smaller belt sander and then finished all areas with an orbital sander taking it to 150 grit.
We then applied Minmax Pre-stain conditioner before applying our oil-based stain. Next, we applied a Sherwin Williams 3123 Oak Mantel stain. The directions say to allow this stain to fully dry 24 – 48 hours minimum and in high humidity or cold temperatures you should push the dry time to 4 – 7 days. Do not sand the stain.
After the dry time was complete, we then applied a Bona Amber seal. 2 – 3 hour dry and then abraded with 180 screen.
We then finished with three coats of Bona Traffic HD Raw.
Note: Throughout our restoration we often used AI “Copilot” for reference and found this to be a wonderful tool!
