Chips can't show room scale
A two-inch sample can't show what a whole room of Special Walnut will feel like, so the decision stays abstract.
For hardwood refinishing contractors
Help homeowners choose a stain before you sand a board.
Compare DuraSeal and Bona color directions in the customer's own room, narrow the shortlist during the walkthrough, then confirm the finalist on the prepared floor.
Create 3 Free PreviewsNo credit card required
Their floor today
DuraSeal Jacobean
Use the preview to compare color direction. Confirm the finalist with a test patch on the prepared floor.
Their floor todayDuraSeal JacobeanUsed by flooring pros who have closed $15,000 and $33,000 jobs after showing a ShowFloor preview.
The stain decision
Nobody can picture Jacobean from a two-inch chip.
The floor is ready to sand and the homeowners are stuck between three chips on a fan deck. They ask for a few days to think. The schedule slips, the deposit sits unsigned, and a competitor with a fresh quote calls them back first. The color question stalls because you're asking someone to commit 800 square feet to a shade they can't picture.
Test patches come too late
Staining samples on the sanded floor is a fine way to pick between two finalists. It's a bad way to get from thirty-six colors down to two.
Avoid the late surprise
A room-scale comparison helps set the direction early, before the prepared-floor sample confirms the final color.
From walkthrough photo to a stain shortlist.
Built for a refinisher standing in the customer's kitchen, not a designer at a desk.
1
Photograph the floor
Start with a clear phone photo of the room. Furniture can stay in place; give the floor enough light to read.
2
Pick the stains they're circling
DuraSeal and Bona colors by name. Queue up the two or three they can't choose between.
3
Compare and shortlist
Compare the directions in the room and narrow the conversation to one or two candidates before sanding begins.
The whole fan deck
36 DuraSeal colors. 26 Bona DriFast colors.
Compare 62 named stain colors, from Golden Oak to True Black. If the customer wants to see Weathered Oak beside Classic Gray in their room, that's two previews and one clearer shortlist.
Swatches generated by ShowFloor. DuraSeal and Bona are trademarks of their respective owners; ShowFloor is not affiliated with or endorsed by either brand.
DuraSeal
Bona DriFast
Why it helps the decision
Their room. A clearer shortlist.
They recognize their own floor
The preview starts with the customer's room and visible floor pattern. It feels specific to their project, not like a generic stain swatch or stock photo.
Narrow the shortlist in one visit
Compare likely finalists at the kitchen table. A shared room view gives the color conversation somewhere concrete to land.
The direction travels with the job
Attach the selected direction to the proposal so everyone remembers the shortlist, while the on-floor test patch remains the final color reference.
Species matters
Red oak isn't white oak. The test patch still decides.
Every preview starts from the customer's room, so it can reflect the floor's broad warmth, pattern, and lighting. It does not identify the species or predict exactly how that wood will absorb stain after sanding. Use the preview to compare direction; use the prepared-floor sample to specify the final color.
ShowFloor moves the fan-deck conversation forward. Your test patch, prep process, and finish system remain the source of truth for the installed result.
Shortlist stains sooner. Keep the walkthrough moving.
Start with three free previews. No credit card.
Free Trial
$0No credit card
- 3 previews
- Watermarked output
- All 62 stain colors included
Solo
$49/mo
- 60 previews/month
- No ShowFloor watermark
- Contractor-branded PDFs
Business
$149/mo
- 250 previews/month
- Brand Studio
- Shared team workspace
FAQ
Questions refinishers ask first.
Treat the preview as a room-scale comparison of color direction, not a final color guarantee. Species, sanding, prep, stain application, lighting, and finish coats all affect the installed result. Confirm the finalist with a test patch on the prepared floor.
Turn the next color conversation into a shortlist.
Load a room photo, choose a stain direction, and give the customer a clearer comparison before you prepare the floor and confirm the final color.