Ford Anglia Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Hello, this is my first post on here, thankyou for reading it.Next time we visit our property, we are going to install some hardwood, (chestnut), flooring, then sand it with a hired floor sander, then..................?And that's where you come in, all you experts who have done this sort of thing before.What SHOULD we put on our new floor? My wife fancies it a BIT darker than straight chestnut, but what gives a good finish, and looks after the wood? And are there good, and bad stains for the colour required?If it matters, it's in the upstairs of a house....Thankyou again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Tung oil is a good, matt, waterproofing finish for many hardwoods. It will give the wood the colour it normally has when wet. I used it in the UK - never looked for it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Head Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Wot Cassis said, or hard wax oils, or Danish, take your pick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Anglia Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 Thankyou for the replies.What are these products called in French, please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renaud Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Any relation to Ford Prefect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoverfrog Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 we laid a chestnut floor, and got some stuff from the supplier that he called 'oil' but is very much like varnish. It does a fantastic job - waterproofing and bringing out the grain. Whatever you do, don't make the mistake we did, and make sure that you treat the floor BEFORE plastering the walls as the plaster stains the untreated floorboards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham & Brenda Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 I have been toying with the idea of matt Ronseal for our oak flooring. Any alternative suggestions - pros/cons - will be welcomed before I take the plunge!! Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 I don't know about matt - we used satin (diamond hard), and it looks good (and needs almost no maintenance) and isn't dangerously slippery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Head Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Perrleasse keep varnish away from native hardwoods, arrgghhh! It's like smothering the finest pan fried lobster with ketchup and adding orange squash to a chilled bottle of Bollinger.[:(] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 That's a point of view. Another point of view is that it looks good and is virtually maintenance free - and that we all have the right to choose our finishes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 If it's practical and works, let's not be snobbish - it's only about preserving and maintaining wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Anglia Posted November 1, 2006 Author Share Posted November 1, 2006 Dick Smith: is it easy to apply? I've not had a great deal of success with Ronseal type stuff, often finding brushmarks............[8-)]Oh, and when I've applied it to raw wood, it's just raised the grain, then set it hard, leading to it needing sanded again and even after that, I had to apply a coat of wax to get a good finish. That was on teak shelves.Am I doing something wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Head Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 <<<That's a point of view. Another point of view is that it looks good and is virtually maintenance free - and that we all have the right to choose our finishes!>>>Ye heathen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 got to get my say in. we do not have hardwood; goodness knows what it is. it was stained a nasty orange colour and was completely vile. my husband was against anything with polyurethane. however, as he wasn't around when i got the job done, his opinion didn't figure muchthere is some stuff by i think called v3; it's in all the bricolage outlets. i used a cheaper one on the bedroom floors and the most expensive in the sitting-room. the french all seem to know what it is; it's something like vitrificateurthe expensive stuff needed mixing up 1:1. what you need to do is prep the surfaces very carefully. rub down, remove fluff, hairs, resin, etc. clean with white spirit and leave absolutely dust free. hammer or counter sink all protuding nails, screws, etcapply the stuff with a brush or roller. leave for at least 8 hours, preferably 24 hrs. then rub down, clean with spirit, apply another coat etc until you get the finish you want.i did 3 coats in the bedrooms and 4 in the sitting-room. the finish (i chose satin) is fantastic. impervious to water, etc. paint spots lift with ease and i have now lost all sniffiness about polyurethane or whateverlife is too short to worry about polishing floors. give me a damp mop and impeccable looks any time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Head Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Oils properly used give you all a silky smooth finish that just carresses your bare feet as they come into contact with it....lovingly built up and finished, the grain of the wood teased out until it just begs you to walk on it...warm & smooth as silk. OR you could just slap the varnish on..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Our varnish was onto what had been the floor of a hayloft - oak strips but quite battered (and in one case a hole had been filled with a tin lid, in another a cork rammed in - rustic charm!). It included an ensuite bathroom, and as ours is a holiday home we had to be sure that if the house got cold and a bit damp the surface wouldn't deteriorate. Also, as we are there for relatively short periods, we weren't up for any high-maintenance finishes.We used colourless Ronseal Diamond Hard varnish, two or three coats over a rough sanding (more or less to clean the surface). It dries very quickly, odour-free and is very hard (amazingly enough it does what it says on the tin). It has been down for several years and just needs a damp sweep every now and then. The nature of the surface meant that worrying about brushmarks was fairly irrelevant!I have also used it on a new floor, but that was a coloured version, and you need to be careful to keep the coats even and overbrush any darker areas.So I'm a heathen, but I have a good surface, no maintenance, did the lot in two days. You can get a bit too serious about these things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Head Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 <<<So I'm a heathen>>> yes you are.<<<You can get a bit too serious about these things>>> No you can't. Horses for courses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Anglia Posted November 2, 2006 Author Share Posted November 2, 2006 [quote user="Chris Head"]<<<So I'm a heathen>>> yes you are.<<<You can get a bit too serious about these things>>> No you can't. Horses for courses.[/quote]Is that guy carrying a CHAINSAW in his avatar?[blink]If so, I'm not arguing with HIM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 No - there's no arguing with Chris! [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Two questions from me:First, we're only using the better quality pine parquet for our living room and bedroom in our barn extension. We used the V3 stuff mentioned earlier in our current bedroom and it came up really well. Does that make us heathens? Or does using an inferior wood make us beyond the pale anyway?Sorry, that's already two questions. Secondly, or thirdly, we've been asked to varnish or oil some internal oak doors for someone. He's expecting to get ten doors done in very little time. When we've done our own again inferior softwood doors, with varnish, we've needed to rub down well between coats and have applied two coats. If we do these oak doors with oil will we need to do more than one coat and will they need rubbing down in between coats? The place is going to be used as a holiday rental so will the doors be better protected against damage with the oil or varnish?Oh dear, lots more than two questions there - I should have said, two subjects I suppose[Www] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Personally, I like the warm, mellow look and feel of waxed doors and furniture. You can seal the door with pore stopper and apply two coats of wax in the same day. Needs lots of elbow grease, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 No need for rubbing down though?What's pore stopper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Pore stopper (I think it's called "bouchage" or "embouchage" - can't remember) is a liquid that blocks the wood pores. You slap it on with a paintbrush while getting high on the fumes. Fab job. By doing this the wood doesn't absorb loads of oil or wax and so you can get away with just one or two coats of your finish instead of having to apply again and again.Rub down before applying stopper and again lightly afterwards then apply the wax - liquid is easiest and quickest. "Starwax" is a good brand, or "Syntilor". Their websites are good, describe their products and what's best for what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Do you mean sanding sealer? Dunno what it's called in French, but you use it before you French polish, so the French must have a French word for it.Or as Babelfish would put it:Is the sealer which it polishes with the sandpaper meant? What whichis called in French Dunno, French you use that glossy before, buttherefore there must be the French for that word in French. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassis Posted November 2, 2006 Share Posted November 2, 2006 Possibly, Dick. Not sure, as I never used it in the UK. Do the French use English Polish? And do the Poles use Polish French? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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