Osmo Hardwax Oil not drying

[mastiles]

Help - going mad here.

I have just fitted an unfinished engineered oak floor (20sq m). I used unfinished oak as it is going partially into a sun room and I wanted to treat it with a product offering UV protection.

The place I bought from suggested Osmo Uviwax and I queried them on this as it isn't specifically a floor sealant. They suggested that I could put two coats on, then a finish coat of Osmo Hardwax Oil.

Great I thought - I like the Osmo products and as both items are microporous (and it says on the Hardwax product that it can be applied irectly over other Osmo microporous finishes), they will be fine. Anyway, I applied both coats of Uviwax without issue - each coat going on well and drying quickly. 24 hours later I put the finish coat of Hardwax Oil on. 72 hours later and it is still very tacky.

I am quite sure I haven't over-applied as the 2.5l tin of Uviwax did two coats with about 1/3rd left, and I used about 1/3rd of a tin of the Hardwax Oil too.

All windows are open and we are gently heating the room, but it is still tacky and not really showing any igns of drying.

Has anyone else had this problem and know how long I may have to wait for it to dry or will I have to strip it back off and start again?

Many thanks.

 

[WoodYouLike]

have you applied the HWO very thinly?
OSMO tends to dry slower than other brands. Buffing over it with a heavier buffing machine - not your standard household floorbuffer - could help

 

[mastiles]

I used about 1/3rd of a 2.5l tin for nearly 20 sq m so I do not think I spread it too thickly.

 

[mastiles]

And would buffing it not leave me with bits of fluff all over the tacky surface?

 

[WoodYouLike]

What do you intend to buff it with then?
Buffing pads are not fluffy - if you use the correct ones.

 

[mastiles]

Fair enough - I am simply a DIYer and have never 'buffed' a floor so I was just assuming there would be lint in the buffer. Do you think this would remedy the problem I am having?

 

[WoodYouLike]

I hope so. Uviwax on its own (two coats) would have sealed your floor sufficiently, not sure why they suggested a third coat using HWO. IMHO the oil in the HWO has been prevented of penetrating the wood in a normal time. Buffing might warm the material up a bit to help it going.

 

[mastiles]

They recommended it because it is in a high wear area and the Uviwax isn't specifically a floor product.

 

[WoodYouLike]

OK, so why did they recommend it then instead of using only two coats of HardWaxOil?

 

[mastiles]

Because the hardwax oil offers no UV protection and the floor runs into a very bright sun room...

 

[mastiles]

Well, well, well...

Been onto Osmo UK and they contacted the German Headquarters and have confirmed that

a) I should never have been told that Uviwax was suitable for floor

b) I should not have put Hardwax over it because one is water-based and the other is oil-based.

Armed with this I went back to my suppliers and it turns out they had contacted Osmo as well and had been told exactly the same (although they claim they were advised by the Osmo rep. that they could use the two together). Anyway, they have offered to replace the entire floor free of charge and pay for the cost of having it professionally relaid (as it was originally).

A bit of a pain, but ultimately we have at least got a result in that the floor will eventually be right!

 

[WoodYouLike]

Long live DIY-not