Refinish floors (choosing stain)

[Adam Drummond]

i am having some 80 year old oak floors refinished this week on a rental that i own.  i want to go with a lighter color.  has anyone ever went without using stain, and just kept the natural color.  of course, i am going to get multiple coats of poly to finish it off.  i figured lighter color will definately hide scratches.  all rooms are pretty small, and hopefully light colored floors make it feel brighter.  any ideas, or pictures of floors that you have refinished??  

thanks,

adam

[Jim K.]

Adam,

You should not use a stain. After you sand it down, a sealer coat and two full coats of oil-based poly will darken that floor significantly. I have done this multiple times with older floors.

Here's a shot of part of a floor after a light sanding:

Here's a different part of the same floor after a sealer coat and two coats of oil-based semi-gloss polyurethane: