Can you seal a floor with beeswax?

[robgil]

You know how you can make a beeswax polish for wood, can you seal a terracotta floor with it?

 

[JoceAndChris]

No you can't Rob. It just comes off. Use linseed oil mixed with turps, or just get the Liberon stone Floor Sealer from the shop on here which is linseed oil and turpentine mixed for you. Then put your beeswax on top of that. It will still come off, but will last a bit longer.

 

[robgil]

Where is the cheapest place to buy linseedoil from, i'm going to need a lot of it, each one of my tiles could easily drink over 1 litre of water, I've got to lay 50 or more of them.
They are those big Mexican sun dried tiles.

 

[Lindsey]

That's good to know, as the way I discovered this forum, was by googling a sealant for flagstones. The one recommended by PP was beeswax. Not on the grouting, just the flagstones. If it is going to come off quickly and possibly travel through onto carpets and rugs I'll give it a miss. Will try the concoction recommended.Lindsey.

 

[Feltwell]

Where is the cheapest place to buy linseedoil from

Agricultural merchants / horsey places I think. I seem to remember it gets used as a feed supplement for horses. Mind you, the cheap stuff can carry a lot of impurities apparently. Whatever you use I'd stick some on a spare tile first and give it a few weeks to see what happens.

 

[JoceAndChris]

I would say a year would be a better trial period for such a thing.

I've a horror of pouring unknown oils into precious things - what if they went sticky or mouldy, or just an odd, patchy colour? Surely it would be better not to bother than use cheap unknown stuff? And the oil is mixed in a carrier like a turps, not totally sure what but oil on its own is not the same thing.

The people at companies like Liberon and Osmo spend their time researching good mixtures, and testing them out. Worth every penny.

 

[MdB]

The tiles going mouldy would be what I would worry about. If there is protein in the linseed then this could be a problem as fluffytail10 found: http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12572&hilit=mould

 

[Feltwell]

I would say a year would be a better trial period for such a thing.

Good point, and if Rob's projects are anything like mine then a year should be no problem at all, in fact why not make it two!

 

[AMc]

osmo polyx is a hard wax oil that works very well on pamments and floor bricks. A small tin will go a very, very long way and produces a great finish that dries quickly. It's a combination of vegetable oils in white spirit.