How durable is floor wax?

[deshg]

Hey everyone,

We are renovating our Victorian terraced house in London and have sanded the old pine boards on the ground floor. We have tried a multitude of varnishes, lacquers, oils and waxes to try and find a finish we like which hasn't been massively successful (want something very natural but not yellow which doesn't seem to be easy which is reasonable given it's pine). We have tried some Colron Finishing Wax (http://www.diy.com/nav/decor/paint/...s/Colron-Refined-Finishing-Wax-325gr-10317517) which actually gives a nice natural finish but doesn't seem that durable. I have read wax finishes need to be redone more than other finishes such as lacquers or oils so am dubious about using this but wanted to see what people's opinions were on this one (in comparison to an Osmo or Rustins floor oil for example, our second favourite is probably the Rustins floor oil)? I actually meant to get Beeswax rather than finishing wax as this was recommended to me by a friend, they just didn't have any beeswax so I thought i'd check out the durability first before going out and buying more!

Thanks so much, I would love to hear from someone that knows about these things as finding a nice floor finish is driving us nuts!

Dave

 

[mac391]

Join the club,,,, I specialise in floor restoration and have done for 20 years. But,,, hardwood only.. Had nightmares in the early years with pine floors. Whatever you put on them just doesn't match the tin yes ?

I've just bought an ols house and after years of looking at beatiful hardwoods thought i will sand these pine boards and have them how i want them... Wrong !!!

I bought 50mm PSE (plained square edge) pine for my window sills and book shelves, for the chunky look. Trialed Osmo, rustins and even ronseal (forgive me), ends up ronseal floor oil was my preferred choice, maybe not everyones but mine, the wood stayed exactly the same colour, no change,,, i was looking for white pine, very white!!

The same oil on the floor = orange, really orange, except where the victorians laid a carpet in the middle of the room, which remained white, really white...

My solution, osmo white oil, 2 coats over the top.

The difference is old timber has lost it's resistance while new timber is so soaked with chemicals, it seems to make no difference.. It's trial n error for everyone!!