Need help selecting a finish for my floor

[Kristof]

Glad I've found this forum, as I'm new to all this and still trying to plan things out before diving in too deeply. I've found a lot of useful info here already, but I do have a few dumb newbie questions. So, be patient with me.

Guess I'll start with the facts - Firstly, if it helps, I'm in the Redbank area. Ripped up the old lino & carpet to find pine flooring (not sure what type of pine, but it certainly looks quite pine-ish to me) about 140mm. The boards were laid before 1970 & appear to be recycled wall boards judging from the small decorative groove down one edge of each board. They also had a very hard, thick, very worn paint on them making me think they could be 50ish years older than that. I've done an initial rough sand with a bunnings floor sander and decided that although some of the boards are banged up a bit, they'll be good enough for me. I'll always go with character over perfection. I wont be gap filling or nail hole filling either.

The sanding is not the problem here, it's the finishing. With the vast array of products on the market, and my entry level knowledge of them, I really have very little idea of which type of product to use. I know how I'd like & not like them to look though. I don't want them to look like pine with a 100% crystal clear coating or a really dark jarrah, but somewhere in between. Gloss finish with a thick warm glow. Does that make sense?

Just not sure what visual effect all these products can have. Any advice you could give me? Any before & after pics perhaps? Can't really afford to buy dozens of sample pots, especially when some of these products smallest size is 1L and costs near $40.

Any help would be very much appreciated. Hope this wasn't too vague or long winded

Thanks.

[Dusty]

G'day.

First up, I'd suggest that you at the very least make the effort to fill the nail holes, it will look so much better if you do.

Here is some info I wrote regarding finishing Pine flooring.

Good luck with it all.

[123]

warm glow? if you use a solvent based coating it will go a honey colour with age?

[123]

solvent based polyurethane i mean!

[Kristof]

Thanks for the advice guys

Dusty, I'm assuming the pics on your page are using 2 pac poly? Was hoping to avoid 2 pac. Those pics were most helpful - especially the ones showing the contrast of one half of the floor done. The end result looks great over the pine, though I would love to have it a shade or two darker again though (based on the contrast in the pics of course).

[Dusty]

Thanks for the advice guys

Dusty, I'm assuming the pics on your page are using 2 pac poly? Was hoping to avoid 2 pac. Those pics were most helpful - especially the ones showing the contrast of one half of the floor done. The end result looks great over the pine, though I would love to have it a shade or two darker again though (based on the contrast in the pics of course).

You have a few choices here to reach your desired look.

1. Simply wait. Pine floors oxidize quite rapidly, as in, darken in the presence of UV Rays. Think of how leaving a newspaper in the sun and how quickly it browns off, well, it's the exact same principle, 'cept on a grander scale.
This is what a lot of people see when they think of getting their own floor done, is someone else's floor that has oxidized, darkened off and has that fairly mellow warmth to it, and really, the best way to achieve this result is time.

2. To try and create that aged look manually, you can darken either single or two pac polyurethane, as in, the solvent based products by adding Wattyl Craftsman Stain to the mix your about to coat the floor with.

3.Using an oil based polyurethane or oil modified polyurethane produces a darker shade right off the bat. This might suit you.

Good luck.