Sanding and Staining a Birch Floor - Any Advice?

[russa]

Hi,

We have a solid wood birch floor that needs sanding and re-finishing as the dog has totally wrecked the finish.

A friend has recommened we use Sadolin PV67 to varnish and seal the floor.

http://www.sadolin.co.uk/professional/products/timbersflooring/pv67/index.php

Though this is a clear varnish, I was thinking of maybe staining the floor to give it a more rustic look.

Though everything I read says birch is difficult to stain.

Any advice would be great,

Cheers

Russ

 

[tall_tone]

Hi Russ

Staining of any floor is a skilled job to get it to look good. Birch is just an extra problem. Try and talk yourself out of staining the floor it will make the project much easier.

My biggest issue is with your friends recommendation of PV67 finish. Although this is one of the toughest products on the market, it is also one of the nastiest to use. Check the Material Safety Data Sheet on the web site you posted. This is a high solvent product for professional use. If you do use it you will need plenty of ventilation.

A few options.

Hardwax Oil will give a great look to the floor and there are coloured versions around which may change the colour of your floor slightly. They are also very simple to apply.

Alternatively:

Two component water based lacquers are now almost as strong as the old solvent based finishes. Great finish but go for a matt look if you have a dog

Final Point

All of these products take time to cure and can be damaged in the first few days of life even if they look dry. PV67 and almost all other finishes take 7 days to fully cure. I would put the dog into a kennels or keep him out of the room for those days to give the floor the bast chance to survive.

Regards
TT

 

[russa]

Great advice many thanks. If the floor is hard to stain then I won't bother. I don't wan't to wreck the floor.

I like the sound of a hardwax oil, is there any you can recommend?

 

[russa]

would this be any good?

http://www.vanillawoodfloors.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=90_93&products_id=506

 

[tall_tone]

To be honest I have never heard of it before.

Hardwax oils are technicaly simple products so it is unlikely to be a "bad" product. That said the Osmo Polyx Oil is by far the market leader so for an extra £5-10 per 2.5 litre it may be better to play safe.