[vgaler]

I recently sanded down an rest some my oak hardwood floors. Totally screwed up, applied a second coat of oil based min wax stain, and didn't wipe it up thoroughly enough and was left with a very sticky result. Got some good advice here, and resanded the whole floor again. Stained it with just one coat this time, and very thoroughly wiped up all the excess. Now, 13 hours later, it is dry and feels dry but I can see some shiny spots on it and other full areas. I'm guessing I possibly didn't sand it well enough in some areas and those areas are shiny now? You can only see the shine when the light hits it at an angle in those spots.
Is there anything I can do to fix this other than starting over a third time? Maybe buff it with a maroon pad, wipe it down with microfiber, anything? Or could I expect that applying a poly satin finish will even out the shine?

 

[Trav]

Wipe it with a tack cloth, clean lint free rag saturated with mineral spirits, and if the sheen is close to uniform you are probably fine to proceed. Do you Have any pictures?

 

[Steve Neul]

I recently sanded down an rest some my oak hardwood floors. Totally screwed up, applied a second coat of oil based min wax stain, and didn't wipe it up thoroughly enough and was left with a very sticky result. Got some good advice here, and resanded the whole floor again. Stained it with just one coat this time, and very thoroughly wiped up all the excess. Now, 13 hours later, it is dry and feels dry but I can see some shiny spots on it and other full areas. I'm guessing I possibly didn't sand it well enough in some areas and those areas are shiny now? You can only see the shine when the light hits it at an angle in those spots.
Is there anything I can do to fix this other than starting over a third time? Maybe buff it with a maroon pad, wipe it down with microfiber, anything? Or could I expect that applying a poly satin finish will even out the shine?

It's hard to say without seeing it but if you sanded the floor back to wood color my guess is when you stained the wood the first time you saturated the wood so much with the stain it is just taking longer to dry. Wood is like a cluster of drinking straws and much of the stain is in the wood. I would slow down and wait for it. It will dry. If you would put a fan on it that would help with the drying process. You could also wipe the shiny spot from time to time with a dry cloth to see if anything comes off on the rag. You especially need to make sure the stain dries well if you plan to use a water based finish. It often reacts negatively to the linseed oil in the stain.