u/Vegetable_Cost_4127

Hi r/woodworking,

Posting here on advice from r/flooring as this seems more a wood problem than a flooring problem.
We have an engineered ash floor that was previously lacquered black. We’ve sanded the surface clean with a belt sander but the open grain of the ash is still full of black pigment. The only way to sand it out is to go deeper, but we’re hesitant. Previous owners already had the floor sanded before and 2 out of 3 professional companies refused the job because they think the veneer is too thin.

Someone suggested Citristrip or varnish thinners to dissolve the pigment out of the grain without losing more wood. Has anyone tried this on an open grain wood like ash? Does it actually pull pigment out of the grain or just clean the surface?

Any experience with this appreciated. Thanks!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Hi,

We have an engineered ash floor that was previously lacquered black. We’re sanding it back to natural ourselves with a belt sander. The surface is clean but the open ash grain is still full of black pigment, the only way to get it out is to sand deeper. Problem is, previous owners already had it sanded before (unknown how many times), and 2 out of 3 professional companies refused the job because they’re worried the veneer is already too thin.

I’m attaching a photo of a specific spot where I’m not sure, is this just the natural ash grain pattern or am I already close to or hitting the substrate?

My questions:
• How do I tell from looking at it whether I’m close to the veneer limit?
• Is there any way to get black lacquer pigment out of open ash grain without sanding deeper?
• Any other tricks to clean the grain without losing more wood?

I have the time to do this carefully. Thanks!

Hi r/flooring,

We have an engineered ash floor that was previously lacquered black. We’re sanding it back to natural ourselves with a belt sander. The surface is partly clean but the open ash grain is still full of black pigment, the only way to get it out is to sand deeper. Problem is, previous owners already had it sanded before (unknown how many times), and 2 out of 3 professional companies refused the job because they’re worried the veneer is already too thin.

I’m attaching a photo of a specific spot where I’m not sure, is this just the natural ash grain pattern or am I already close to or hitting the substrate?

My questions:
• How do I tell from looking at it whether I’m close to the veneer limit?
• Is there any way to get black lacquer pigment out of open ash grain without sanding deeper?
• Any other tricks to clean the grain without losing more wood?

I have the time to do this carefully. Thanks!