# Oak hardwood floor discoloration



## mrdupfx (Jun 28, 2015)

Hi, I have a dark oak hardwood floor. For some reason, only in the kitchen there is a discoloration, that makes it dark grey, its not dirt, and I can't tell if its stain or the finish has worn off. Any advice on whether I can spot fix just this area without having to have the whole floor refinished?


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

Looks like the finish is worn off to me.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Yup


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

Looks like the chair leg glides are adding something to the problem and wearing the floor.Have you looked at the bottom of the legs.Is something rubbing off the gray part of the chair and getting ground into the finish.
The tannin in oak doesn't mix well with metal.


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## mrdupfx (Jun 28, 2015)

unfortunately, it was like this when i moved in so i dont know what caused it. Would recoating the boards with water based poly make this better, or would i need to stain the oak as well? Sadly, i dont have any idea what the original stain was, so not sure how to color match it if thats whats required.


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## SirIrb (Jan 12, 2015)

Not that it helps now but everything I own that is considered "live load" i.e. not nailed down, and is on my wood floor has self adhesive fuzzy pads stuck to them. (Fuzzy pads are not the official name. I think 3M makes some). They will save you money. Sorry it took this for you to find out.


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## chrisstef (Mar 3, 2010)

You can certainly try the water based. I might be inclined to try a quick swipe with some mineral spirits or denatured alcohol first though. They will usually give you a pretty fair idea of what a poly top coat would look like.

Whatever was there before, likely chairs, did some rubbing over the years.


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## Hammerthumb (Dec 28, 2012)

The finish has worn off and the wood is discolored from embedded dirt. If you put any poly over it, it will trap the dirt under the poly. I would recommend using some Bona Kemi cleaner and a soft white 3M pad to try to get as much of the dirt out before doing anything else. If you can get most of the dirt out so it doesn't look too bad, then you can recoat the entire floor with poly. Any attempt at spot fixing will look worse than what you have now.

If that does not work, you would have to resand the entire floor.

By the way, SirIrb is talking about a product called EZ Glides. Sold under a lot of different brand names. Please don't get the plastic glides, or any glides that use a nail to secure to the leg. These wear out leaving the nail in the bottom of the leg, which then does more damage than what you have right now.


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## ksSlim (Jun 27, 2010)

+1 to what Paul (Hammerthumb) said.


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## susankirland (Sep 21, 2015)

I think if the small portion of the kitchen is affected then no need to refinish the whole floor. You can use soap soaked mop and sweep the dust affected area that will eliminate the dust and other markings and also revive the shine of your hardwood floor. You can use a rug on it to maintain the glow of your hardwood floors for prolonging.


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