It helps remove any small remaining sanding marks that may have been missed.
Water popping red oak floors.
I only pop my floors if its stained maple or the darker stains on oak.
It isn t a good idea to wet mop and if you do you should dry the floor immediately after mopping.
Water popping may not be necessary as oak accepts color pretty good.
It darkens the stain color by allowing the grain to absorb more of the pigment.
It is especially recommended for those looking to do dark hardwood floors and go as dark as possible as the water pop will allow more stain to be absorbed and hence a darker color.
The drawbacks to doing a water pop are first and foremost it costs more.
Water popping is an added step in the finishing process.
This step is applied to hardwood flooring that is going to receive a stain.
It allows the stain to be applied more evenly across the floor.
Water can damage red oak and walnut flooring no matter how tough a finish it has.
Generally you would do a water pop on an oak floor when you are staining it.
By raising the wood fibers.
I don t have extensive use with oil penetrating finishes a couple a year but i have yet had to pop it to achieve the color.