Andy Hall wrote:
On 2008-06-04 10:03:05 +0100, "Mark BR" said:

Andy Hall wrote:
On 2008-06-04 08:30:07 +0100, "Mark BR" said:

I have a very old wooden plank floor - probably over 100 years old.
The wood is just planks, nothing special but SWMBO likes it, bumps,
holes and all. I've sanded it to clean it up and want to give some
sort of
protection but NOT a gloss finish.

Can I just use a light stain or does it have to be floor varnish -
or have I missed something about floor protection?

--
Mark BR

Is it hardwood or softwood?

Soft wood - in some places very soft wood!

--
Mark BR

Stain won't protect it.

I'm completely with you on not wanting to create a gloss finish. Why
people want to make a natural wood look like plastic escapes me - they
might as well have laminate if they want that.

Staining of softwood can be a tricky business because different areas
may have different amounts of absorbency and reaction to the colour.
Certainly trying to make it look like something it isn't such as oak
is likely not to come out well - e.g. patchy and the wrong colour.

Something like Ronseal Hard Clear Floor Varnish is available in satin.
Rustins make a similar product.

These would darken the wood very slightly bu not impart much of a
change of colour.

There is no way I would obtain a none -patchy finish, the wood is very
variable in quality and colour even now. I don't want to pretend it is pine
or oak or what have you. I just want to protect it a bit, I suppose from a
spilt coffee or something. It is a second bedroom floor and the intention is
to make it look like an old place.

I'll look at the Satin varnishes.

Thanks

--
Mark BR