I forgot to also ask about shoe scuff marks. We've been careful to lay down paper and not walk too much on the floors but there are some dirt/scuff marks in places that won't come up with mineral spirits.

Do these marks show through a medium to dark brown stain? Is sanding my only option?

You might want to cross post this on the Flooring forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Flooring forum

I am sure if you called Carlisle they will tell you what you can do. Wonderful company to work with.

I was going to suggest calling Carlisle too. Demifloyd used them, and they had problems with a few things - she would say call them also.

Thanks everyone. I did cross-post on Flooring and we called Carlisle right when we discovered the problem. They do have excellent customer service but we just were told to experiment with different methods - sanding, scraping, etc.

So far, our attempts at sanding and using solvents must not be removing all of the residue b/c I those areas on the sample board are not taking the stain as well as the unaffected areas.

I had a bathroom project a while ago, I took up the laminate and put down tile.

After the laminate came up, the whole floor was covered with the glue they use when laying it, it was like hard plastic. I had at the time researched some ways/products to use and came up with KRUD KUTTER, I know you can get it at either Home D or Lowes and I think you can even now get it at Wally world.

I used it full strength, poured it on, left it (dont remember how long) came back with a putty knife and it was all gooey and soft, came right up.. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.

another example of what I've used it for. I had a perpetual haze on my laminate wood floors (most likely from a build up of cleaning products etc. caught one cleaning lady using mop and glow on it, ugh) anyway, it would never stay shiny and clean looking. I had tried several things and finally tried the KK, again, full stength but I didn't leave it very long. came back with a plastic spatula/turner and literally scarped off a yellow film. It did not appear to hurt my floors, and the haze was forever gone, (now I only use vinegar and water).

Might be worth a try? Well, I dont know if it can hurt to try it,

Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with this product and have no information on how it might work or affect your floors :)

I think it's a great product with many uses and just thought I'd mention it.

Maybe some heat like from a blow dryer might soften it a little so the mineral spirits or goo gone can penetrate it before scraping. Just a thought.

I don't know if it leaves a residue that would affect a new finish, but what about those Magic Erasers? They seem to take everything off.

I try posting on the Woodworking Forum since the folks over there are often working with unfinished wood. I'd also talk to some cabinetmakers and see what they suggest.

I don't think you want to sand any parts since any sanded areas are going to take the stain differently than the rest of the flooring.
Also, certain cleaners (goo-gone & citrus) can have oils in them so you definitely don't want to use those.

You may end up sanding the whole floor once it's installed.......... :^(

I've never heard of an unfinished flooring that isn't sanded in place before finishing. I have laid some very-closely machined T&G flooring (heart pine from Mountain Lumber) that installed so flat you could have _almost_ finished w/o sanding, but still, ?
There are always high spot and boards that don't lay down perfectly, esp. considering it's a glue-down.
I'd use a scraper, then 220 sandpaper, if that seemed to match the existing surface. Maybe just a cabinet scraper. Pick the pores clean with a needle if they have glue in them.
Casey

Thank you for the suggestions. These are rustic floors and I guess milled in such a way that Carlisle recommends no final sanding before finishing.

Really wishing we ordered prefinished right about now, but we wanted the 20" widths. Most of the issues are only with the first few rows and it's our own fault we didn't clean up as we went so I really can't complain :-D Hopefully we can mitigate any errant glue marks.