First time floor finishing help!

[Robyn]

I am looking for a soft, lumionous timber floor finish - the type of finish you see on old furniture finished with a bees-wax finish. Is there such a thing for new timber floors? Would I have to seal it then wax or can I use wax straight onto the raw wood?

If anyone has this kind of floor finish I would appreciate you input on wearability and maintenance etc.

Regards
Robyn

[behindblueeyes]

The closest thing that I am aware of that you will get to achieve that soft, warm look that will be durable enough for floors - will be a tung oil based floor finish.

Even still the tung oil floor finish is a maintenance type product, requiring a touch up with either a polish, or even more tung oil periodically - depending on the amount of wear that the floor receives.

It does however provide a wonderful finish. To see the type of finish that it creates, just walk into any hardware or paint store and they should have a board with some on it.

All the major brands will have a tung oil floor finish of some description.

As an avid user of Haymes products (I have paint flowing through my veins) I would recommend that. The old Vic Ash floor that I completed recently with the tung oil came up a treat.

Vital to the success of any floor is the preparation. Ie punching nail holes, putty filling and sanding. Start with a coarse sandpaper (use a drum sander if you wish) and finish off with a finer paper. Or get someone in to do it for you!!!

If you are looking for something more natural with a small percentage of pure tung oil, go for a Feast Watson China Wood Oil.

All the very best with your floor.

[Robyn]

Thanks for the reply.

The floor is Tasmanian Oak/Victorian Ash/Sugar Gum. (all the same wood - amazing the names we need to hear to make our native timber palatable!) We are getting a professional in to do the sanding.

I have seen tung oil, but am not really looking for that result. More of an aged/antique patina. I want to avoid the estapol look - that oily, wet, flat appearence that seems so strangely popular.

Will keep looking I guess. I have some timber scraps I can experiment on.

Cheers
Robyn

[namtrak]

Although I wouldnt recommend it, a water based finish will give a much clearer finish than tung oil. I use tung oil and it looks superb (if I have to say it myself). Sanding and cleaning, sanding and cleaning, sanding and cleaning - cant say it enough. The only other thing I did was to clean all the cracks, splits, holes out with whatever I had on hand and then I filled them with a non-vinyl car bog which was tinted to a black colour. And this gives the effect of a smooth floor with no cracks. The car bog is cheaper than carpenters bog and still moves with the timber! Ive seen other floors 10 years old done with car bog and they are still holding together. I appreciate this has nothing to do with your question, but ah well......