I have an old hardwood floor that was originally varnished but has been
ignored for years. What would be the quickest drying varnish or varnish
mix that I could apply randomly to worn areas? Uncooperative members of
the household and pets make long dry-times and large applications
impractical. Thanks!

wrote:

I have an old hardwood floor that was originally varnished but has
been ignored for years. What would be the quickest drying varnish
or varnish mix that I could apply randomly to worn areas?
Uncooperative members of the household and pets make long
dry-times and large applications impractical. Thanks!

I used minwax semi-gloss poly (the label says "good for floors") and
put it on in two med-thin coats with a pad applicator. Drying time was
measured in hours per coat and it looks great.

Hopefully you can exercise control over the various members of your
household for a few hours ;-)

Joe Barta

On 9 Feb 2006 08:14:02 -0800, wrote:

I have an old hardwood floor that was originally varnished but has been
ignored for years. What would be the quickest drying varnish or varnish
mix that I could apply randomly to worn areas? Uncooperative members of
the household and pets make long dry-times and large applications
impractical. Thanks!


Water based polys are probably the quickest dry time and the
friendliest (fumes) if you plan to stay around them while drying.
Drying time about 45 minutes. No appreciably VOC's.

I put five coats on in a day when I did my office floor.

Down side is that they might raise your grain a bit if the floor isn't
fully sealed. And you will have to check on compatibility with your
existing coating.

Frank Boettcher wrote:

Water based polys are probably the quickest dry time
[...]
Down side is that they might raise your grain a bit if the floor isn't
fully sealed. And you will have to check on compatibility with your
existing coating.

Yeah, I'd sorta prefer an olde tyme varnish recipe since that must be
what is on the floor now. Tried BLO on a few areas. Maybe I could just
go with BLO and wax?

That will give you zero protection. JG

wrote:

Frank Boettcher wrote:

Water based polys are probably the quickest dry time
[...]
Down side is that they might raise your grain a bit if the floor isn't
fully sealed. And you will have to check on compatibility with your
existing coating.

Yeah, I'd sorta prefer an olde tyme varnish recipe since that must be
what is on the floor now. Tried BLO on a few areas. Maybe I could just
go with BLO and wax?

I have used a mix of Tung oil and Shellac applied with a wiping pad
with good success. Maintenance coats and repair of scuffed areas is
easy.
Bugs

From experience.

Spot finishing the floor will give that area some protection as
opposed to wearing away the bare wood and doing this is better than
nothing.

You will not be happy, because your wife will not be happy, and she
will tell you why - because the floor will now have new looking
shiney spots and everthing else will look dull. Kind of like painting
the rust spots on the old truck with green fence paint. This is an
insult to your wife's (your's too) cleaning habits, her upbringing and
her parentage. She may even throw God in the mix.

You can say things like; It's only temporary until summer when we can
do the entire floor with the windows open. We need to mitigate the
terrible wear on the wood now. And when the dog licks it, he's only
checking to see if it's dry.

She will not believe you. She knows you. You may die from severe
blood lose in the night.

Put your affairs in order before you proceed.

MGHMOYS
Pete

Well, I think "zero" protection is what I have now... traffic areas
with virtually bare wood.

JGS wrote:
That will give you zero protection. JG

wrote:

Yeah, I'd sorta prefer an olde tyme varnish recipe since that must be
what is on the floor now. Tried BLO on a few areas. Maybe I could just
go with BLO and wax?

You ought to check out the zar poly's. They dry quickly, flow on
great, build very well, are low odor. I used minwax poly once, was not
satisfied at all. It built very slowly, didn't level worth a darn.
MBR

wrote:

Spot finishing the floor [...] your wife will not be happy [...] because
the floor will now have new looking shiney spots and everthing else
will look dull.

Well, this is one reason why I'm not too likely to try a modern poly
finish.