OT to fish - You guys with knowledge of lighting, any thoughts?

PuppyFluffer

AC Members
Jan 9, 2008
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east coast USA
I had a hickory floor installed approximately 15-18 months ago. The flooring was installed and sanded in place it was not prefinished. It was finished with three coats of oil based Minwax poly in a satin finish. The light parts of the wood were quite white, like maple. Hickory has a great deal of grain, often much darker colored.
After finishing, it had a distinct yellow color. I much preferred the whiter color but as it as all uniform, it was fine.
We stayed off the floor walking for about a week and waited over 2 weeks before moving any furniture back on to it. Several months later, we put a rug in the center of the room. I noticed a while ago that the floor was lightening from the yellow to a more whitish color - back to what it was like pre-finishing. I moved the rug to clean under the edge of it and the color difference was stark! I called the company and they hadn't heard of this. I was told that finished tend to yellow over time gradually but the reverse was not something they were familiar with.
I just rearranged the room and I have these huge yellow rectangles where the couch and love seat were and a perfect 5 x 7 foot yellow square in the middle of the room where the rug was.
Any suggestions as this looks horrible!
Would placing a full spectrum light in the room 247 help accelerate any changes in the finish to a more uniform shade?
This is a living room with a bay window, southern exposure and I live west of Washington DC. for latitude info.
 
Hi Duke, thanks for the reply.

I did contact Minwax and they said they had not seen this problem and basically acted clueless. Asking for a rep to come see it is a good idea!

I called a local flooring refinisher who has a very good reputation in the area to discuss the situation. He said that the Minwax products have some UV protection but not as much as the product he uses. (His products are formulated for the professional and are not available over the counter to "Harry Homeowner".) He told me he has seen this happen and that it's a combination of a few things.
1) It's a southern facing room with a big bay window.
2) probably no UV blocking proterties in the glass in the bay window. The house was built in 1979 and most likely it's plain plate glass with no UV protection. He said windows have come so far since then with UV protection.

He said I could put up a sheer or some other curtain in the window (or replace the window) and refinish. I'm not willing to do either. I want the view and the light into the room.

I am just going to move furniture around frequently to expose the covered areas to light, hoping to have it even out over time.

I was wondering if there was some sort of light bulb I could run in the room to accelerate the process. Most likely not.

I actually like the lighter color of the wood and not the more yellowish. I really need a decent digital camera. I could post pics of it.
 
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