Refinishing floors - wood has blotches where filler was used - need advice on how to fix

Question

BACKGROUND

We had carpet over our hard wood floors. Decided to remove carpet and go with the hard wood floors. The floors were dated so we sanded them down to bare wood. The bare wood looked very nice.

We made our own wood filler using elmers glue and shavings from sanding the floor. We filled all holes and let that dry overnight. We then sanded down the areas where wood filler was used.

We prepped the area and the floor, then applied the first coat of minwax semi-gloss polyurethane to the floor.

ISSUE

The areas where we filled holes doesn't accept the minwax. The wood looks like it has blotches in it. The glue has sunk into the wood, keeping the finish from embedding itself in the wood.

We are greatly saddened. :(. Because the floor looks great in most of the areas, but in the areas where we replaced the holes it looks pretty bad.

What can we do to remedy this situation? We would rather not start all over.

Here are pictures of what i'm talking about....

Answer 1

You'll need to start over, sanding out the splotches of glue. To deal with the divots of glue, they can be 'set' using a nail-set in the same manner that you'd set a nail ... or the divots of glue can be dug/scraped out ... or simply left as-is.

You'll likely have similar splotches with store bought wood filler, and blotches can arise from other contaminants as well. One option is to re-sand, removing the existing splotches of glue, then apply a coat or two of the poly. This will seal the wood, then set/refill the divots if/as desired. As an alternative treatment, the divots can be blended in with a faux-finish by using a small artist's brush and a few tubes of artist's paints. Then apply your final coat(s).

Sorry for the bad news. Glues and fillers are a bane to fine woodworking. Take a week or two for a breather and regain your motivation to do a good job.