Hi Again,

Well the floor is going down, and I've decided NOT to fume (thanks Charles). I am going to use Waterlox tung oil to finish.

I've planned a feature strip in the large archway between my dining room and living room. There will be four boards in the archway frame, and the two outer boards will be stained a dark mahogany colour. (can't afford real mahogany!)

My Question: Will the stain bleed to the adjacent boards? I plan to stain first, then lay the board. The whole floor will be completed and then be stained a different shade. Should I apply a coat of oil to the feature strip boards before laying to prevent bleeding?

Thanks! I'll post pics when I'm done.

Julie aka Fixitgirl

Is this floor to be sanded in place? That's what it sounds like if you're planning to stain the floor. The correct way to fake a feature strip is to fully sand the entire floor. Then, when you're ready to stain, carefully mask off the boards next to the area you want to stain dark. Now here's the trick. DON"T FLOOD THE AREA WITH STAIN. Take a rag and get a little stain on it and pat it on. It's similar to how one does stenciling. DO NOT GET TOO MUCH STAIN ON THE RAG. When you get the color you're going for, let it dry completely. After dry, and because you're planning on staining the rest of the floor another color, I would brush a seal coat over that stain, being careful not to get any sealer on the rest of the floor. Once the sealer is dry, remove your masking tape and your ready to stain the rest of the floor. Without the seal coat over your darker stain, you risk the other stain color reactivating the darker feature strip color and having the colors smear, losing the clear distinction. It sounds harder than it is. The key here is patience and starting with a fairly dry stain rag and patting the stain on, not rubbing it in. Have you thought about using paint instead? I find it is sometimes easier. Just thin your latex paint 50% with water. You can use oil-based and thin with mineral spirits if you prefer. Then just paint a thin coat on and let it dry. Still use masking tape though. Good Luck.

Thanks for the info...I forgot about the sanding part, which would in effect, remove the stain.

Fixitgirl (You could also go by the name of "Get 'er done!" lol):

Gary gave a perfect description/procedure.

The only thing I can add is . . . I prefer blue tape, but get the blue tape that has an orange cardboard at the center of the roll. It's 3-M's latest blue tape. Has more elasticity than old blue tape which allows you to press tape well down for protection. I used it on gymnasium floor game lines. Works great if there is any slight texture to the wood. And it can stay down about 3-5 days without sticking too much when you pull it up.
Charlie

I have seen people do some real fancy stuff with paint, the one trick I can add to what has been said is once you put the tape down go back over and rub it real good. The heat and pressure will help you get good contact between the floor and tape which is helpful when you are trying to get crisp clean lines, and dont flood it with stain a little dabbing goes a long way.