On Feb 7, 11:30*pm, Tim Watts wrote:

I'm using real oak skirting - mostly because I never want to paint the
bloody stuff - I hate painting endless miles of wood that gets chipped in a
year and looks crap until the next repaint.

Yes, exactly.

I didn't feel the price was too bad considering some people pay twice as
much for a set of curtains which will be dead in 1/20 of the time that the
skirting is.

True - but my worry is that, as I'm putting it on top of the laminate
(to save beading) it might end up having the same lifetime as the
laminate!

But - to address your point - in my old flat I did exactly as you were
suggesting - used pine.

I went over it with a microporous stain/finish of some sort

that sounds like outdoor stuf?

- wasn't pure
Colron - it was more like a Ronseal coating product (not varnish) - I did
mine to a darkish finish, brown and it looked perfectly good with all the
advantages that one could overcoat it later without a tedious rubbing down,
and the finish soaked in leaving a very mild sheen and did not tend to chip
off.

I think that's just what I'm after. Not raw (but stained) wood, not
obviously varnished (not even satin) - just, well, gently waxed look
with nothing to chip.

Can't remember exactly what product (I used Ronseal exterior in the bathroom
which was a bit more shiney but tended not to chip off either) - but if you
look in B&Q for something of that type for interior use, it will be very
similar to mine.

I'll have another look - they have a lot to choose from.

Try to select non resionous pine sections - some of the stuff B&Q sell
bleeds goo from everywhere. Wickes IME are a reasonable source for generic
white wood that is mostly straight and dry.

Local builder's merchants is really good - it's mostly decent stuff
and they'll let you pick. Strange how they can be really cheap for
some basic things, while other things are far cheaper if ordered off
the net.

Oh - and I would not use stain + wax - tends to look orange and horrible.

Oh dear. I have some offcuts to test on, but buying a tin or two of
things to test, then another if they're not right, soon wastes some
money.

Cheers,
David.