oil,wax or varnish for reclaimed oak parquet?

[lazer-lady]

[Hi, We hired a sander which came with, i think 3 different grades of sandpaper. A experienced carpenter did the laying and sanding of the floor, my husband put the osmo oil and polish on afterwards. Were do we go from here--- i am very dissappointed with the result, it looked better before.
Thanks again

 

[WoodYouLike]

did your husband apply two coats? Second coat within 36 hours?

 

[lazer-lady]

Hi Again, yes 2 coats where applied, but after 4-5 days. polish was then applied after about a month.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Ouch.
Second coat of any hardwaxoil should be applied within 48 hours, otherwise you have to sand the floor lightly in between coats - and all tins come with instrutions - follow them, they're there for a reason.

So, yes indeed, your floor could look patchy.
Try to apply a new layer of polish and buff it well, that might reduce the patchy spots a bit

 

[lazer-lady]

OOPS,THAT WILL TEACH US.

Tried this i,m afraid-- shall we resand floor? What grade paper do you suggest? Also should we then finish with Shellac ( heard this is good ) Thanks

 

[WoodYouLike]

Try buffing it first, after applying a layer of miantenance polish before you resolve to 'extreem' options
It just might do the trick

 

[lazer-lady]

Tried buffing-- no better i,m afraid, think we will need to sand again. What grade paper do u suggest? We are going to use a hand sander only.

Thanks again

 

[WoodYouLike]

Try an upright orbital sander (hire-centres) with grit 120, not higher (140-150 are only used when lacquering the floor)

 

[joe the floorsander]

sorry to be a bore, hard wax,oil etc. needs maintenence, customers wont re oil their floors. it isnt durable, ive used osmo, after 6months it was off, waterborne polyurethane miles better. guy in canada knows his onions. hardwax is great as long as floor isnt walked on. my view is floors should not be oversanded. more sanding grain closes result varnish sits on top of wood, first coat needs to be in the wood, better fix for further coats. 60grit no hgher. then denib between coats for smoothness, the most important thing to remember is that varnish has to cure, it needs a week. keep off floor for a week then bobs your uncle.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Don't know what you have been doing wrong, but properly applied hardwaxoil stays there for years. No need to re-oil, just proper maintenance product once every 6 months. Day to day care: soft broom or vacuum cleaner.
As for sanding and the correct grit with hardwaxoil: 120grit for the last sanding, not higher. For varnish and lacquer you have to end with grit 150.

 

[lazer-lady]

sorry to be a bore, hard wax,oil etc. needs maintenence, customers wont re oil their floors. it isnt durable, ive used osmo, after 6months it was off, waterborne polyurethane miles better. guy in canada knows his onions. hardwax is great as long as floor isnt walked on. my view is floors should not be oversanded. more sanding grain closes result varnish sits on top of wood, first coat needs to be in the wood, better fix for further coats. 60grit no hgher. then denib between coats for smoothness, the most important thing to remember is that varnish has to cure, it needs a week. keep off floor for a week then bobs your uncle.

 

[therackals]

When you apply polyurethane are you not putting a plastic finish on the wood? Personally I like the look and feel of wood so oils/waxes does it for me. A bit smelly but Danish oil is best to bring out the look of the wood.
Hayden

 

[lazer-lady]

Hi, finished the floor now---, was completely resanded and finished with wax polish only, the grain looks fab and rich in colour. Thanks for your reply

 

[ADVICEDIY]

Hi there, can someone please tell me whether laminate has higher duarbility than polyurethane surface (ignore the solid wood). Which one would you recommend for a home with an active toddler - 1) laminate floor 2)solid oak finished with hard wax oil 3) solid oak with polyurethane. Thanks

The reason why polyurethane "varnish" has become the clear coat of choice over hardwood floors here in North America is because it's superior hardness both

a) provides the best protection for the wood floor of the three options you mentioned, and

b) keeps the floor looking newer longer then the other options mentioned, and the rate at which the appearance of the floor deteriorates with age the slowest of the three options mentioned (because it's a harder coating).

Floor "wax" is Carnauba Wax, made from the nut of the Carnauba Palm tree of Brazil. This is a hard wax so far as floor waxes go, but it's soft compared to polyurethane. Also, one of the problems experienced with refinishing "waxed" floors is that remnants of the wax on/in the wood will interfere with the proper adhesion of polyurethane if and when you decide to refinish that floor in future. Maybe check with some of the local hardwood flooring refinishers and consult with them about problems refinishing hardwood floors that have had real wax applied to them originally.
(on this side of "the pond", that's been a real problem for hardwood flooring refinishers, but I don't know for sure if the reasons for the problems are fully understood, or if the work-around to the problems so encountered are completely reliable. my understanding is that neither the cause of the problems is fully understood, and the fix isn't always reliable)

 

[WoodYouLike]

Our dear (and never seen again) Mr Nestor is talking about the old hard wax, not the modern HardWaxOils.


I would go for hardwaxoil anytime.