New Floorboards

[Anonymous]

We have recently had a small extension to our old cottage.

In our new study we have brand new floorboards which I'd like to stain to make them look older. Accepted they'll never look like the genuine article but I'm hoping they'll look less bright and new!

I've thought about painting them but would rather have a go at staining them.

Does anyone have any suggestions of products that I could use to give them a more aged colour?

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

In this situation I always use OSMA hard wax oils. You don't have to take my word for it but the 'pine' stain is digusting! Use the oak one - I think it is called light or medium. Follow this with a couple of coats of clear hardwax oil and the job's a good 'un. There are 101 ways but this gives a pleasant appearance and is very straightforward. Mike.

 

[Anonymous]

Liberon do wood dyes rather than stains, which are reputed to be a deeper penetrating colour thus avoiding the abrasion that surface finishes suffer.

Has anybody had any experience with these?

 

[Anonymous]

Ive tried this product on new ledge and brace doors and architrave to try and make them blend in,i ts called 'Pine antiquator', its got an orange label on it, am sure they have their own web site, but have also seen it advertised on EBay.
I used this first which took that sheen off new wood then used a rustins wood stain then sealed them. In my last house i laid new floorboards, then just stained and varnished then, but it didnt look good, and looked too new and wore pretty quickly, the stain just didnt seem to sink in deep enough.

I agree that the Osma products are great,give a lovely finish, have just used it here on bare floorboards and looks fab and is wearing well with heavy foot traffic, didnt have to stain them though as they were old boards so had that lovely deep colour.
Perhaps the antiquator to take off the sheen then the Osma oil on top?
Trial and error i think, test a spare board first to see if its what you really want, or you will end up like me in my last house and had to re-sand all the boards upstairs after a couple of years.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Poppy
You don't say whether the boards are pine or oak, assume they are pine. Finneys in Sheffield have a variety of water based stains for matching new pine wood to old, they also have all types of finishes whether they are acrylic or oil based varnishes as well as oil based finishes. Their own microporous oil gives a great finish on oak. Mark Finney is particularly helpful when you want advice. call him on 0114 258 8399 or visit his website



http://www.mdfinney.co.uk

 

[Anonymous]

I realise that this is not what you want to do, but it is worth considering leaving them unstained.

I had to have the staircase down to my basement remade and the back end of my hall reboarded. I took the decision to leave the new boards unstained. The resulting contrast with the old, darker boards eems to work. Personally, I also like the "honesty" of leaving the new work looking new.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm doing something similar myself - I've left the new boards untreated whilst work continues on the rest of the house.

I'm not keen on using varnish, as I've heard it scuffs pretty quickly and can be a pain to redo.

Did you treat or seal your new boards in any way - wax, perhaps? I'm wondering if some finishes will protect the wood but also allow a patina to develop naturally over time. Maybe varnishes would hinder the patination?

My floors are getting nice and mucky, so I may need to clean them up a bit first - I will not be using heavy duty sanders again (made that mistake once before, and it removed every vestige of character from the boards).

Ian

 

[Anonymous]

You may find the perfect colour stain readymade, but don't be disheartened if you don't.
Two years ago, when our son had to replace some boards, he had them cut and planed to match the originals, and then we played around mixing woodstains until we got a reasonable match. We did our experiments on the back of a board, using a hair-dryer to speed things up.
Now, after a couple of years of heavy wear, you can barely see the difference.

 

[Anonymous]

I got Toby Newell (regular site contributor) to finish my floors for me. For the old floors he made up his own stain (he is a professional french polisher; I am pretty sure he used some kind stain plus french polish). Where the occasional new board had to be introduced in the old area it was stained to match. These boards were then polished with beeswax.

The new boards, which lead down to the basement where the kitchen is located, were finished in a clear, semi matt product from bona kemi. Toby recommended this over wax on the gronds that it would be less slippery. Both bits of floor are holding up well over a year later.

 

[Anonymous]

I too have new floor boards, but the wood is Deal (and I was told this is a Spruce) so they wont age on their own.
In the mean time I've left them naked while I decide what to do, but have also new joists in the same wood. So far I have just put a single coat of Osmo Polyx-Oil on. It feels great and has sunk in nicely. Not a varinsh hard finish. Although I now risk not being able to apply some form of colouring I'm not overly worried I have plenty of wood off cuts to experiment with but wanted to post that this product seems really easy to use, and not horendously smelly to work with (though still fairly pungent!). I have also walked on a floor properly finished with this OSMO product and it had a fabulous none stick type finish.
I do too have a new Duglas Fir beam, this I applied one thin coat of OSMO Polx Oil and a month or two later I have been able to apply a coating of beeswax which soaked in and I managed to buff it up. So I am hoping that a coloured beeswax product would apply over the top to give me some colour on my joists that I have already treated with the OSMO. Time will tell <IMG SRC="http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/discussing/smileys/smile.gif" BORDER=0 ALT="">

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Nigel - now you mention it I remember your posts from the time Toby did the floors - not seen any posts from him lately.

It sounds like he's done a great job.

Beeswax sounds good to me, I'll try that. I can see how certain rooms would need a less slippery floor finish too.

Thanks for that.

Ian

 

[Anonymous]

I like the hairdryer tip <IMG SRC="http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/discussing/smileys/smile.gif" BORDER=0 ALT="">

Good point about testing the stains out, and mixing them up. Some of the descriptions on the tins are misleading to say the least - Antique Pine = Bright Orange.

I hope you kept the recipe for future use!

Cheers

Ian

 

[Anonymous]

You must be joking !!!!

 

[Anonymous]

One trick that I have just remembered is to slosh on a very dilute coat of limewash. The alkali changes the colour to pretty much the 'stripped pine look'. Once dry you can wax straight over the top of this. Mike.

 

[Anonymous]

As a warning, I tried a 'pine antiquator' on some new pine boards in kitchen and bathroom. It looked OK on a test board, so I used it and put on a couple of coats of floor varnish - the proper hard wearing waterproof stuff. Then I discovered that the 'pine antiquator' had a curious effect on the varnish; if water dripped onto it, it bubbled up and detached - it sort of melted. The 'antiquator' stuff also splattered into a noticeable water mark, which looked awful.

It is depressing to spend all that time staining (two coats) then varnishing (another two coats) a large area of floor to realise you then have kitchen and bathroom floors which melt on contact with water.....

I suggest you try the OSMA stuff - I have tested it on offcuts (I am wary now...) and it seems to be pretty good.

 

[Anonymous]

Top tip - thanks. Great way to brighten up the room.

Plenty of lime about in my house!!!

Ian