All floor types need to be sanded back to bare wood finishing on a 100 grit screen back.

Make very sure you have removed all the old coatings completely from the wood as it will be very noticable once the floor is bleached.

If you are not up to the task of sanding the floor yourself, you may always hire a contractor to do it for you.

All top- nailed floors need to be nail punched 3-4mm to remove the existing filler because it will be the wrong colour match for the bleached wood.  Water-based fillers like Timbermate will be dissolved by the bleaching.

Some form of epoxy-like filler is needed so that it is waterproof.

The picture above demonstrates what happens when the wrong filler is used.

We use a mix of solvent-based polyurethane and cornice cement. Do not use water-based or oil-based polyurethanes for this mix as it won't work and neither does solvent based sealers or any of those mix n fill products. You must use one similar to Polycure Durapol 1044. This will have to be sorced from a floorsanding supply outlet as you wont find it in Bunnings.

It makes a creamy color which will suit most timbers. With some older and dark Jarrah floors you may need to use a light coloured wood dust, 1/2 wood dust 1/2 cornice cement to make it a bit darker.
This way, any cracks, nail holes, butt joins, etc. are waterproof.
You can punch out your floor then fill. when it's dry, which will take a few hours, sand the floor as normal.

With a lot of the old floors you will notice these dark stains around the nail holes caused by the rusty nails reacting with the tannic acid content of the timber.

The filler mix will help to create a seal in the nail holes to prevent them from getting worse.

You may spot fill the holes or trowel fill the whole floor with the mix which is faster and fills up the cracks, gaps, holes. It can help repair split boards and stops a lot of the crap in the gaps from creating problems later.

Some times you may need to go over it again as it sinks in. Though worth the effort for best results.

This mixed Ironbark floor is a good example. The floor was as rough as they come. Very unattractive! Full of gaps, cracks, rusty nails, urine stains, moisture stains, holes, damaged boards. It was trowel filled with the mix twice before it was sanded, bleached with LiteniT and finished with a hardwax.

It is highly reccommended to trowel fill block parquetry with the mix. Complete the rough sanding and edging first, trowel fill then the fine sanding. This will bind the loose blocks and seal up the gaps to prevent them from absorbing moisture and staining.

1 x clear plastic watering can 9L

2 x white utility pads + 1 x velcro based flat mop.

All available at Bunnings.

Once your preperation is complete and the floor is vaccumed it's ready for bleaching day. Try to have as many doors and windows open as possible for air flow. Wear safety gear like glasses, closed footwear and disposable gloves. LiteniT is not toxic but it will sting if you get it on your skin. If you do, rinse well with cold water and the white marks will disappear in a few hours.

Mix equal parts of A & B in a clean, clear plastic watering can. Only mix up the amount you will need for the first coat. About 8-10m2 per litre of mixed. Pour a small amount of the mix into a clean plastic container for cutting in the edges & corners.

With a synthetic brush, apply a generous amount to the edges and corners around posts being careful not to get it over painted surfaces as it will blister waterbased paint. It won't damage glass, metals or powder-coated objects.

Work on one room/area at a time. Do not go and cut in the whole house at once or it will cause a picture frame effect.

Just keep topping up the container with small amounts at a time or it will boil over.

Now you have cut in the edges, Pour from the watering can a puddle directly onto the floor about 500ml. Use the flat mop applicator to spread the solution around the floor as far as it will go. Be sure to blend it into the edges. Just repeat until the whole room is coated.

Redistribution:

Now go back to where you first started and go over it again with the applicator up and down the boards to redistribute the product working it into the edges.

There is no problem to walk the wet floor as you will wipe over your footprints with the applicator as you go.

It's a key element of the application to achieve an even result.

Work on one room/area at a time in the same manner until all floor areas are covered.

This is when you will notice if you missed any of the old coatings. Just use a hand scraper to remove it and continue on with the second coat.

90 mins after you have applied the first coat, repeat the application process again. It does not matter if some parts are dry and some not. If you had some product left in the can from the first coat, use that first and then top up the can. Important! like any 2-part product, once they are mixed together it's activated.

There is a chemical reaction that creates heat and a gas (oxygen) The mix in the can will bubble away gently there for a few hours as you are pouring it directly onto the floor. Be mindful of where you leave the can, (not in the sun) as any remaning mix in the can will boil over eventually.

Some species of wood like Brushbox & Kempas contain silica which will cause a foaming action during application. This is normal, though it does require more repeated redistribution with the applicator to level out the foaming.

This is important to avoid a patchy result.

Your next and very important step in the process is cleaning the wood surface to remove all the tannins, extractives & residues from the bleaching. . No coatings or finishes (in particular water-based) will not stick or cure on the surface without proper cleaning. 90mins after the 2nd coat of bleach has been applied you can start the cleaning process. The surface of the wood does not have to be dry to start the cleaning. Mix the Wood Cleaner as directed in a mop bucket. Mop the cleaner into the floor without drowning it. Use a brush to get close to the edges and corners.
Leave sit for 10mins but do not allow it to dry.

Rinse out your mop and bucket first. Now, with fresh water in the bucket, wring out the mop and clean up off the floor all the residue. Stopping every 20m2 or so to refresh the water as you will see it gets rather dirty. Or a floor scrubber if you have access to one. Then do the edges by hand with a microfibre cloth to get in close to skirting and corners.

If you notice any mop marks or patchyness that will not clean off, mop over some more of the cleaner then rinse it off again. The tannins in some timbers can be stubborn at times.

The next day when the floor is dry from the cleaning, have a walk around and check for any moisure stains. They will usually occur on the butt joins, gaps, holes, natural feature. It is just where more moisture from the process has soaked in and pulled out the tannins ect, as it has dryed. Genereally it is the old gappy floors where years of dust and dirt gets washed out.

A damp microfibre cloth and a heatgun or hairdryer will clean these off. Some may take a few goes.

This information is important so don't ignor it.

After all your hard work in removing the natural colour from the floor, you don't want to have it fail with the wrong choice of coatings.

Water-based primers/sealers are not reccommended as the first thing being in contact with bleached wood. Unless you a very experienced and familar with the species of wood your dealing with. Water is the only thing that activates the tannins in wood and will stain the finish.

This Merbau floor pictured above is a good example of a water-based coating pulling out the tannins and making it go yellow.

Your bleached wood will look darker when clear coats are applied. The same as when wood is wet. There are coatings available that are tinted so when dry they look invisible. Generally these are water-based so only use them on lighter timber that don't have the stong tannins.

Your choice of for the first coat or base coat is going to determine the final result.

If you have a Jarrah or a Red Ironbark floor and you just want the red gone to a more natural look like Blackbutt. You would then use an achohol/solvent based sealer first, which will seal the wood off then you can apply your water-based top coats. Or just apply a few coats of a tinted hardwax finish.

If you want the lighter non golden look then you need to start with a tinted base coat.

Base coats, sealers, primers, the foundation coats. The first thing touching the wood after the bleaching process is very important. It lays the foundation for the the final result. As mentioned previously, a water-based foundation is not reccomended unless you really know what you are doing.

Base coats are usually oil or solvent based and available in many colours. The coloured pigments provide the UV filter which help prevent oxidisation and they are the best way to colour or stain wood these days. Applied with a flat trowel, then the excess buffed or ragged off.

You then have the option of either water-based or hardwax oil as the finish coats.

Please note, these base coats do not form a complete seal to the wood. Water-based top coats can still drop through and draw tannin in some species like Merbau.