What It Takes To Modernize Your Brazilian Cherry Or Other Red Toned Floors
Posted by Aaron Schaalma

- Are Red Floors Out of Style?
- Modern Brazilian Cherry Floor Stain Options
- Modern American Cherry Floor Stain Options
- Conclusion
Are Red Floors Out of Style?

Lighter Gray Tones Are In Vogue
Well now folks here in Wisconsin (and beyond Wisconsin it seems) want to change the intense red tones that inevitably come out over time. The trend now is going toward neutrals or lighter greys. It makes me think that this shift could be in part due to luxury vinyls and lighter gray walls in homes that have now become in vogue. So this means styles and tastes for hardwood floors are following suit.New Styles Means Modernized Floors

Brazilian Cherry Red Stain Options
Many of us might be wondering how to remove the intense red in Brazilian cherry hardwood. Maybe you want a one-of-a-kind custom color such as a grey? Or in this case you can go lighter with the stain or refinish. The lighter stain options largely depend on how much of the red tone we want to eliminate. Below are three methods.1. How To Tone Down Red Tones In Brazilian Cherry Using Traditional Film Finish
This is a one step process if you’re not interested in cooling done to a white color. If you want to only slightly tone down the red tone and go the traditional route of using a film finish, consider this option. First, it’s always important to know which products to use. I’ve used a water-based stain which includes a pigment in the top coat. It has a stain and dye agent all in one which will lessen the red tones. Note: Something important to consider is using water based stains that have dyes mixed in - Although the red tones will be cooled down, don’t be surprised if some degree of red hue reappears. This is because if the wood is natural, well - it naturally changes over time.2. Use Special Bleach On Your Brazilian Red Cherry
This method of bleaching removes pigment from the surface. Now of course this depends on the strength of the bleaching. 1 to 2 bleaches generally takes care of the job to remove the color, but don’t forget that we also need to add the pigment back in to tone down the color. Otherwise you will still bring back the natural red tones. Bleaching is an intense process so be careful. What I do is take off the entire base so we don’t get any bleach on there. The bleach I use isn’t normal bleach - it’s called A-B bleach. It’s not cheap because of all the hazardous chemicals and special shipping it requires. Allow for 20 minutes in between bleaches. The second bleaching needs to be stronger on top of the first. Make sure there isn’t too much pooling since bleach breaks down the cells of the wood. After the second bleaching it needs another 24 hours to sit. Then the whole floor needs to be washed which neutralizes the wood. This pulls up any of the bleach. Finally you can add hardwax oil like Rubio, impact oil or even vesting LED oils. These are all products that I use and recommend.3. Dye Or PreTone for White or Light Gray Option
We can use dye or PreTone (made by Loba). It’s not water soluble so if water spills the wood won’t reactivate the red color. Then apply the PreTone on top and allow it to sit overnight. Come back in the next day and buff the floor along with adding any oil or stain. If you add a film finish on top then that involves more steps like sealer that blocks any tannins or that’s going to pull any color from underneath.

Modern American Cherry Floor Examples
Are you ready to create a lighter finish for American Cherry hardwood floors? For this project I decided to do a double bleach with a PreColor over top and finally a white oil to achieve a lighter American Cherry.

