sealing sanded floors
I am sanding my original 19th century floors because they look so grungy and yellow – after they are done what is the best thing to seal them with – water based poly? wax? I don’t want any shine, or for them to darken up when I seal them. I would like them to stay…
I am sanding my original 19th century floors because they look so grungy and yellow – after they are done what is the best thing to seal them with – water based poly? wax? I don’t want any shine, or for them to darken up when I seal them. I would like them to stay fresher looking. Grateful for any suggestions.
What the two choices boil down to are penetrating oils and surface resins. Both have pros and cons. It’s basically the difference between your floor being soaked in oil or covered in plastic.
Penetrating oils like tung oil mentioned above are more realistic in creating a patina matching older houses. The surface is easy to renew, you just add another coat of oil. Wax is then added to resist moisture. The problem is that the floor requires continual maintenance — you are going to want to renew the finish in some areas every year.
Surface finishes are tougher, have more resistance to wear, but once they are worn or scratched are more work to renew. (One exception is traditional shellac which can be easily repaired). The down side of polyurethanes is that they have occasional problems bonding to a floor previously finished, even if you’ve sanded it thoroughly.
My own preference is oil-modified polyurethane. Pay close attention to the manufacturer’s instructions absolutely, they are all a little different, especially the drying time between coats.
you want to wax it then. It looks more natural, but it’s harder to maintain.
http://www.environmentalhomecenter.com/shop.mv?CatCode=PRODUCT&ProdCode=OS_HARDWAX_OIL
TYry this it is great no sheen & Green product
Oh!
Here’s the link:
http://www.realmilkpaint.com/article-fryingpan.html
Forgot to mention: the previous owners coated our floors in the parlor with a water based poly, and it is not a natural look. The rest of the house has unfinished floors that have their patina (they call this pumpkin pine due to the orange color) and is a much mellower shine.
Just one thing: if you sand your antique floors, you will lose the patina they have gathered over the many years and your floor will look new. Especially, if it is antique pine. There was someone else who had posted a pic of theirs recently and was asking how to get the original patina back.
You may want to look into a good cleaning or stripping followed by tung oil application which darkens and hardens the floors.
I am inserting a link to this article, which although promotional, makes some good points.
When I was a kid my mom would have us apply linseed oil to the unvarnished wood floors of the 1898 4 family rental she’d rehabbed. They weren’t light colored floors. The linseed oil seemed pretty effective, even in the kitchens. My sister moved into one of the apartments after a tenant moved out, about 5 years after we’d applied the linseed and it still looked good.
I remember finding applying the linseed to be so much more satisfying than the final steps of removing the former linoleum. For some reason she would only let us use a toothbrush and a sparing amount of turpentine.
Does anyone have any experience with using tung (or other) oil instead of poly? I saw it once and the wood looks beautiful, like furniture. Don’t know how durable it is…
Water based won’t change color as much and its lot less smelly but its also less durable from what I understand.
Since I was concerned with exhausting the # of sandings my floor could withstand, I elected the more durable option despite the amber issue.
But man, that stuff stinks!