Oil or Varnish

[Taff in Glaws]

As mentioned in my other thread (which appears to have died a death!) I'm a little puzzled as to whether to use PU varnish on an old pine bedroom floor or whether I should use Oil based products?

Toby N suggests Oil based products are not particularly enviro friendly and others suggest PU varnish will yellow and crack (though I have not noticed this on a floor I did 10yrs ago with acrylic varnish!)

Your views would be welcome

 

[Taff in Glaws]

Oh well I can't really say no views is good views, s'pos I better just get on with it then!

 

[Nemesis]

I think we've debated this so much in the past and no-one really agreed!

I think it all depends on so many variables and the sort of finsih you need and how hard wearing you need it to be!


I wish I knew. I've used Bournseal and Poly stuff in the past and really don't care much for the finish. But wax is too much like hard work, don't not at all sure about shellac, and the Osmo stuff I don't have any experience of (and there seem to be different products there also).

So - not a clue is the answer from me.

 

[Andrew Bodenham]

We've been over this ground (floor?) lots of times.

Everybody has their favourite finish - mine happens to be Osmo Polyx wax-oil, which goes on easily, gives a nice finish, doesn't look plasticy like acrylic coatings, easy to re-touch, good German chemical engineering.

You pays your money, you takes your chance......

Mind you, a friend tried some Ronseal water-based wax stuff which claimed to be all of the above, but it looked crap when applied. He had to Ebay the remaining 4.99 litres after doing a test piece. Trying new wood finishes can lead to costly mistakes, or awful results. So good luck, and tell us how you get on!

 

[Sue Wilkinson]

As mentioned in my other thread (which appears to have died a death!) I'm a little puzzled as to whether to use PU varnish on an old pine bedroom floor or whether I should use Oil based products?

Toby N suggests Oil based products are not particularly enviro friendly and others suggest PU varnish will yellow and crack (though I have not noticed this on a floor I did 10yrs ago with acrylic varnish!)

Your views would be welcome

Hi, I have used a product called floor oil, Rustins I think, and it was dreadful. Basically just thin varnish that stank to high heaven and gave me problems sleeping, even though I was in a different room to the treated floor, for days. I hate to think what that did to the environment if it did that to me.

End result, patchy, too shiny in places, and hasn't worn at all well. I now have lots of shiny bits interspersed with dull worn bits. That was the last time I will touch an oil varnish for a floor.

I'm into environmentally friendly products these days. I've just used Green Paints for a bathroom revamp and I'm very happy with it. Now I'm on the look-out for somewhere to use EarthBorn's clay paint, but I digress.

I suggest you either use a water based product; I have successfully used Bona Kemi Traffic several times for customers and like it a lot. It does look different to a wax finish, but it's very hard wearing and doesn't smell. Comes in matt, semi-sheen and gloss. Or you look for something 'green'.

Have a look at the Green Shop, that stocks a number of different suppliers and types of finish, including Osmo (I think another poster mentioned Osmo). German paints and finishes are usually a lot better than ours, so I wouldn't expect it not to perform, I just don't have any experience of it yet.

http://www.greenshop.co.uk/

Sue

 

[Taff in Glaws]

Thanks folks. Given Osama's Oil :wink: appears to be the product most referred to by 8 out of 10 floor sanderers and is considered EF by the Green shop I'm gonna give this a go, of course still gotta sand the floor first.