The lightest finish for bird s eye maple one that will contrast nicely with darker woods is colorless avoids the darkening effect you get with most finishes on light woods will not yellow over time and will keep the maple itself from yellowing which occurs when the wood is exposed to air and oxygen.
How to finish white maple floors.
Use a white stain.
However you should not use a water sealer.
Lastly remember to never soak your floor while cleaning or use ammonia cleaning products you d normally use on windows.
You can now finish the floor with any finish you are comfortable using.
If your maple hardwood floor s finish looks scratched scuffed and dingy you can restore its color and luster with a new finish.
You can prepare the floor for refinishing by using a liquid.
Maple hardwood flooring is durable but it is not indestructible.
First a natural maple floor finished with water based finish is going to look a lot different than a maple floor that is finished with an oil based finish see pics below.
Whether you use a brush roller lambswool or t bar the key to a good finish job is an even uniform coating.
Use clean dry rags to apply the maple stain evenly.
After the resin stain coat has dried seal your maple floor with one coat of dewaxed shellac sealer omu sealer or acid cure sealer.
It can be temperamental particularly when finishing and is susceptible to shrinkage making sure that your maple is well seasoned and properly acclimatized to your environment will make a big difference in how your maple woodworking projects turn out and how they hold up over time.
This means that you do not have to re coat your maple hardwood floor often and it can last up to 25 years with careful maintenance.
Secondly a maple floor if properly sanded and conditioned can take a stain and look absolutley stunning picture top left and another stained maple floor below.
The correct finish application tools to use when finishing a maple floor are the ones that you are the most comfortable with.
Use the fine abrasive pads with the floor buffer to buff going with the wood grain.
The floor should take on a soft sheen.
This is much whiter than the white stain options from minwax.
Since maple floors can be touchy to finish it is never a good idea to try anew or different application tool.
On wood flooring explains angie s list ammonia tends to discolor an otherwise beautiful finish.
There are 2 basic ways to get a whitewashed look on hardwood floors pending on how white vs.
Oil based polyurethane produces a beautiful shining effect on your floor and since it has 40 to 45 solid substances it is more durable than the water based finish.
Maple does have its drawbacks.
The best white stain we ve found is bona white.