Red Oak Natural Finish . Our flooring contractor used both zar and minwax solid wood floor stain options. First of all, there are so many stain choices. Natural Red Oak floors Chicago, FLOORecki LLC, Flooring Installation from floorecki.com Red oak is easy to sand as long as you use a pad or block ; But the gel stain is applied without a barrier coat so it darkens both the earlywood and latewood. All the description says is to use a sanding sealer when finishing.