Best way to remove hardwax oil?

[gdh101]

Hi,

I've done a forum search and couldn't find an answer to this here (or anywhere else!) Hopefully someone can help.

I've just put down an engineered oak floor, and all was well until I put on the hardwax oil recommended by the supplier of the wood. Although with hindsight I probably did put it on a bit too thick, I'm just not keen on the sort of finish it's given, and ideally I'd like to just remove it, and start over with a different product. Short of sanding it away, what's the best way of doing this? (If indeed there is another way...)

My searches for 'hardwax oil remover' haven't come up with anything - the closest I can find is a product called 'HG parquet wooden floor and hardwood wax remover'... is there any chance this might do the job?

Any thoughts greatly appreciated! Cheers

 

[WoodYouLike]

HardWaxOil contains two products: oil for long term protection (which penetrates the wood) and wax for wear and tear layer (staying on top of the sealed surface - sealed buy the oil).
Wax remover only removes the wax, not the oil. Have you applied the second layer of the HWO within the 36 hours recommended?

 

[gdh101]

Hi, thanks very much for your reply. I haven't put the second coat down because after seeing the first I was fairly sure I'd try and remove it if possible...

If the wax remover could successfully get rid of the top layer (the wax), would another product be necessary? (Albeit without the 'wear and tear' protection.) I wonder if another sort of oil would penetrate the wood evenly in any case given what I've already put down on it. It'd be nice to know what my options are now anyway - I know I should probably have put down the second coat in any case!

Thanks again

 

[WoodYouLike]

Hi, thanks very much for your reply. I haven't put the second coat down because after seeing the first I was fairly sure I'd try and remove it if possible...

gdh101, I think you've made a mistake by not applying the second coat of the HWO. Any surface treated with HWO needs a second coat for the product to work its best and to give the proper end-result.

When it hasn't been done within 36 hours, you need to lightly sand the floor and apply the second coat straight afterwards.

What you have now is a 'half-finished' floor and the appearance isn't what a finished floor would look like.

See here too.

 

[gdh101]

gdh101, I think you've made a mistake by not applying the second coat of the HWO.

Yep, I'm only too aware of that It's just that the wax coating wasn't what I was expecting, I should've just used oil the wood to get the finish I was after. I know that HWO is very popular, it's just that the sort of coating that it provides isn't to my taste, that's all.

I've just got hold of Nitromors All strip mousse (specialist varnish remover), which I've tried on a spare strip of flooring and it's done a great job at getting the wax off with little effort. So unless there's a particular reason not to put this on the floor, perhaps it'll partly solve my problem - at least until I figure out what to put down on the floor next! Cheers

 

[joe-90]

If I were you I'd try white spirit on a good thick cloth. The tiny bits of wax/oil that remain will soon wear away. It may even give you the finish you prefer.

 

[gdh101]

To update - I got a solution I was happy with. The Nitromors product mentioned above, followed by white spirit applied with a cloth to remove the remaining HWO (and the remover). Once dried, the wood still has a thin whitish residue on top in places. This can be removed with very fine wire wool, though it takes a good deal of time and effort.

All of this leaves the wood slightly lighter than its original colour, but now it's oiled it's looking rich and warm again, with the sort of finish I wanted.

Thanks very much to WoodYouLike and joe-90 for your help.