I want to re-do the fir floors in my living room and main-floor
bedroom. The existing finishes include nothing, varnish and paint -
the floor was "finished" only where the furniture and rugs weren't.
We're going to sand the floor lightly with an orbital sander. We're
not so interested in sanding to bright wood as in just getting the
paint and varnish off so we can have a more uniform finish.

Reading about various finishes for fir floors, they all sound too
difficult and time consuming to apply; we'd have to practically move
out of the house. I'm thinking about just applying some paste wax,
something that could be reapplied as needed by me without having to
refinish the whole floor again in a few years. And my sense is that I
can sort of take my time and finish, say, 1/3 of the floor, then move
stuff, do the next third, etc.

What are the drawbacks here? I realize that re-applying wax fairly
regularly may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it works for me since
I use paste wax on my kitchen floor (vinyl composition tiles) already
(by hand) and it's the kind of zen job that doesn't bother me.

Thanks for the help.

MLW

Wax is probably the least durable finish for wood. If you decide to
use another finish at a later time, it may be a time-consuming process
to get all the wax removed. A much better finish is Varathane, a
varnish specifically formulated for wood floors. A good wood finish
will protect the wood from water damage, perhaps its worst enemy.

On 22 Jan 2004 18:23:21 -0800, (GotOuttaIdaho)
wrote:

I want to re-do the fir floors in my living room and main-floor
bedroom. The existing finishes include nothing, varnish and paint -
the floor was "finished" only where the furniture and rugs weren't.
We're going to sand the floor lightly with an orbital sander. We're
not so interested in sanding to bright wood as in just getting the
paint and varnish off so we can have a more uniform finish.

Reading about various finishes for fir floors, they all sound too
difficult and time consuming to apply; we'd have to practically move
out of the house. I'm thinking about just applying some paste wax,
something that could be reapplied as needed by me without having to
refinish the whole floor again in a few years. And my sense is that I
can sort of take my time and finish, say, 1/3 of the floor, then move
stuff, do the next third, etc.

What are the drawbacks here? I realize that re-applying wax fairly
regularly may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it works for me since
I use paste wax on my kitchen floor (vinyl composition tiles) already
(by hand) and it's the kind of zen job that doesn't bother me.

Thanks for the help.

MLW

Rent a floor sander and you will save enough time to finish the floors
right using standard floor finishes (yea wax is a standard finish but it has
a rather limited life span and you can expect to spend a lot of time
"repairing" it. A hand held (is that what you were planning to use) would
take years.

Get the advice of a knowledgeable who knows the sander you are renting
for instructions.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math


"GotOuttaIdaho" wrote in message
om...
I want to re-do the fir floors in my living room and main-floor
bedroom. The existing finishes include nothing, varnish and paint -
the floor was "finished" only where the furniture and rugs weren't.
We're going to sand the floor lightly with an orbital sander. We're
not so interested in sanding to bright wood as in just getting the
paint and varnish off so we can have a more uniform finish.

Reading about various finishes for fir floors, they all sound too
difficult and time consuming to apply; we'd have to practically move
out of the house. I'm thinking about just applying some paste wax,
something that could be reapplied as needed by me without having to
refinish the whole floor again in a few years. And my sense is that I
can sort of take my time and finish, say, 1/3 of the floor, then move
stuff, do the next third, etc.

What are the drawbacks here? I realize that re-applying wax fairly
regularly may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it works for me since
I use paste wax on my kitchen floor (vinyl composition tiles) already
(by hand) and it's the kind of zen job that doesn't bother me.

Thanks for the help.

MLW

Waterbased Varathane dries very fast and no odors. Flecto states on
the label "Our hardest finish". Downside of polyurethanes is they
don't like to stick to themselves so sanding between coats is
necessary, scuff sanding will do.

On Fri, 23 Jan 2004 03:26:15 GMT, Phisherman wrote:

Wax is probably the least durable finish for wood. If you decide to
use another finish at a later time, it may be a time-consuming process
to get all the wax removed. A much better finish is Varathane, a
varnish specifically formulated for wood floors. A good wood finish
will protect the wood from water damage, perhaps its worst enemy.

Wax will have to be redone every year with medium traffic, Wax yellows
and darkens, and will buildup. There are a few Quick drying floor
products out there.

(m Ransley) wrote in message ...
Wax will have to be redone every year with medium traffic, Wax yellows
and darkens, and will buildup. There are a few Quick drying floor
products out there.

Thanks, everyone, for your help. You're probably right about the wax,
but I have to think in terms of something I alone could do and
maintain in the future, which means not having to remove absolutely
all of the furniture (where to put it - out on the lawn?) for several
days.

Is it practical to think of doing, say, one-third of the total area,
then doing another third at a later date, etc.? There simply is no
place to put all of the furniture at once. Is it difficult to blend
finishes if doing it in sections?

MLW

GotOuttaIdaho wrote:

I want to re-do the fir floors in my living room and main-floor
bedroom. The existing finishes include nothing, varnish and paint -
the floor was "finished" only where the furniture and rugs weren't.
We're going to sand the floor lightly with an orbital sander. We're
not so interested in sanding to bright wood as in just getting the
paint and varnish off so we can have a more uniform finish.

Reading about various finishes for fir floors, they all sound too
difficult and time consuming to apply; we'd have to practically move
out of the house. I'm thinking about just applying some paste wax,
something that could be reapplied as needed by me without having to
refinish the whole floor again in a few years. And my sense is that I
can sort of take my time and finish, say, 1/3 of the floor, then move
stuff, do the next third, etc.

What are the drawbacks here? I realize that re-applying wax fairly
regularly may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it works for me since
I use paste wax on my kitchen floor (vinyl composition tiles) already
(by hand) and it's the kind of zen job that doesn't bother me.

Thanks for the help.

MLW

For something that won't take days to cure and will still give you a
good finish, try tung oil. it dries in a few hours, and is easy to apply.

Pure tung oil takes a LONG time to dry.

On Sun, 25 Jan 2004 02:32:46 GMT, "Daniel L. Belton"
wrote:

For something that won't take days to cure and will still give you a
good finish, try tung oil. it dries in a few hours, and is easy to apply.

Comment based on posts in rec.woodworking where comparisons are often
made between pure tung, not tung mixed with other shtuff, and boiled
linseed oil. The BLO is really for the most part oil with metal
driers mixed in presuming Japan Dryer. BLO is used to enhance grain
appearance then topcoated with clear coats for protection. Wasn't
meaning to pick nits merely trying to extend understanding. Even BLO
takes time to "dry/cure" as you'll find out if you try to topcoat it
too soon.

On Sun, 25 Jan 2004 19:05:31 GMT, "Joseph Meehan"
wrote:

From my experience it is absorbed more than dried and that does not take
all that long.

I used it on some floors in one old home I had and it worked well, but
it has its down sides as well.

From my experience it is absorbed more than dried and that does not take
all that long.

I used it on some floors in one old home I had and it worked well, but
it has its down sides as well.

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math


wrote in message
...
Pure tung oil takes a LONG time to dry.

On Sun, 25 Jan 2004 02:32:46 GMT, "Daniel L. Belton"
wrote:

For something that won't take days to cure and will still give you a
good finish, try tung oil. it dries in a few hours, and is easy to
apply.