Floor finish

[Jack52]

I have an old "workers cottage" style house built in the very early 1900's that I am renovating throughout prior to sale.

I intend to sand and polish the floors. They are some sort of pale pine with a slightly oily surface, are T&G about 400ml wide. They have not been cared for over the years. In the back room (which joins the lounge room by way of a large arch) the boards, while not discoloured, are showing signs of wear and the surface is quite uneven but not badly bowed. While I have not sanded and polished floors before, I think it will be very difficult to achieve a totally smooth surface suitable for a gloss finish. In addition, the house is on black clay soil and is subject to a good deal of movement. The builder also took it easy on the size and number of joists he used but it can't be too bad because the old place has been standing for about a century.

So what type of finish would you recommend? Something low gloss and almost fool proof to apply (I can't afford to have to do it twice)? I was thinking tung oil. Is pure tung oil suitable or should I use the Tung Oil compilation stuff put out by Cabots? A paint shop recommend tung oil and then a type of polish. I should also mention that there are a number of widish gaps in between the boards in the back room-- too many to fill without it looking ridiculous. I am looking for a "rustic" finish. Will never achieve a "posh" finish.


Any advice relating to this and the sanding and polishing of floors generally will be greatly appreciated.

[Jack52]

Dumb mistake - the boards are 200 mm wide not 400. Don't know where I left my head.