Hi - amateur floorer seeking a bit of advice from those with much more experience.
Recently laid a reclaimed American Mahogany parquet floor (herringbone) in the bedroom. Preparation was tedious, floor prep OK and tiles when down fine. Sanding hard work - local hire company's Clark sander seemed quite ineffective against the years of polyurethane coats; but I don't live close enough to a hire company that has anything better (heavier). Resorted to a Makita hand belt sander for most of the work - hard work but effective and least I could sand 'with the grain'. Down to 120g - OK. Decided that an oil finish would be preferable to lacquer and decided to go down the 'Hardwaxoil route'. Enter Osmo Polyx. Did some tests on individual tiles and the Polyx seemed good - less darkened finish than a conventional oil (Tung) and finish seemed even. Put 2 coats on - both scrubbed in with a kitchen scouring pad. First coat seemed OK - looked uneven in reflected light but dried OK. Put second coat on 15 hours after first. Again very lightly and well scrubbed in. After a few days - not much sign of it 'drying' or 'curing'. When scrubbing the polyx in, if you scrubbed long enough, the solvent evaporated and left a sort of resinous substance - glue like. Contacted Osmo - they said - 'should not have used Polyx on Mahogany - too much oil and resin in Mahogany'. Find it hard to agree with the last statement, my limited experience of mahogany being that it is not particularly oily as a wood and it sucks up finish like mad in comparison with - say teak.
Anyway cutting a long story short - stripped as much of the Polyx off as possible with white spirt and lots and lots of scrubbing. I am now not entirely sure what I have left - it looks like a dull, uneven finish that has gone dry in time.
Questions:
How much of the Polyx will be left in the wood now in terms of protection (1st coat had some of 2nd coat). Looking at it it seems "open" with no water beading capability at all.
What would be the recommended way forward. There seems to be virtually none of the Polyx sitting on the surface now. What is there seems to be 'in the wood' and the surface is quite smooth to the touch. Can oil still be used or will the Polyx have sealed the wood. Can I simply polish the surface with a good quality floor polish - bearing in mind that the room is a bedroom and not subject to traffic - to gain some finish and lustre. If this is a feasible option, what type/brand would be recommended
The reason I am a bit uncertain how to proceed is that the description of Osmo Polyx suggests that it is a mixture of oils and waxes. However when scrubbing the product into the wood and the solvent evaporates I was left with a 'gluey' substance that was certainly neither oil or wax and to me seemed very much like a resin. i.e. If there is a resin component, perhaps I cannot turn to another finish (oil) without sanding the old one off???
Anyway, many thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions
Regards
Graham
Recently laid a reclaimed American Mahogany parquet floor (herringbone) in the bedroom. Preparation was tedious, floor prep OK and tiles when down fine. Sanding hard work - local hire company's Clark sander seemed quite ineffective against the years of polyurethane coats; but I don't live close enough to a hire company that has anything better (heavier). Resorted to a Makita hand belt sander for most of the work - hard work but effective and least I could sand 'with the grain'. Down to 120g - OK. Decided that an oil finish would be preferable to lacquer and decided to go down the 'Hardwaxoil route'. Enter Osmo Polyx. Did some tests on individual tiles and the Polyx seemed good - less darkened finish than a conventional oil (Tung) and finish seemed even. Put 2 coats on - both scrubbed in with a kitchen scouring pad. First coat seemed OK - looked uneven in reflected light but dried OK. Put second coat on 15 hours after first. Again very lightly and well scrubbed in. After a few days - not much sign of it 'drying' or 'curing'. When scrubbing the polyx in, if you scrubbed long enough, the solvent evaporated and left a sort of resinous substance - glue like. Contacted Osmo - they said - 'should not have used Polyx on Mahogany - too much oil and resin in Mahogany'. Find it hard to agree with the last statement, my limited experience of mahogany being that it is not particularly oily as a wood and it sucks up finish like mad in comparison with - say teak.
Anyway cutting a long story short - stripped as much of the Polyx off as possible with white spirt and lots and lots of scrubbing. I am now not entirely sure what I have left - it looks like a dull, uneven finish that has gone dry in time.
Questions:
How much of the Polyx will be left in the wood now in terms of protection (1st coat had some of 2nd coat). Looking at it it seems "open" with no water beading capability at all.
What would be the recommended way forward. There seems to be virtually none of the Polyx sitting on the surface now. What is there seems to be 'in the wood' and the surface is quite smooth to the touch. Can oil still be used or will the Polyx have sealed the wood. Can I simply polish the surface with a good quality floor polish - bearing in mind that the room is a bedroom and not subject to traffic - to gain some finish and lustre. If this is a feasible option, what type/brand would be recommended
The reason I am a bit uncertain how to proceed is that the description of Osmo Polyx suggests that it is a mixture of oils and waxes. However when scrubbing the product into the wood and the solvent evaporates I was left with a 'gluey' substance that was certainly neither oil or wax and to me seemed very much like a resin. i.e. If there is a resin component, perhaps I cannot turn to another finish (oil) without sanding the old one off???
Anyway, many thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions
Regards
Graham
