We need to refinish the hardwood floors. The sanding has been done. I
am wondering about using wax instead of polyurethane for the
following reasons.
One can redo a high traffic area and other problematic areas easily by
applying wax and buffing instead of redoing the whole floor with
polyurethane. It seems that it will require more regular maintaince
with wax, but it is less disruptive than getting all the furniture out
every 7 years to redo the whole floor. Besides, wax looks nice.
So, my requests a
a) Opinions pro and contra wax.
b) What kind of wax?
c) Stain the floor first or apply the wax to unstained wood? If stain
is desirable, what stain? Minwax Woodsheen?
d) Where do you get wax? It seems that Johnson paste wax is not made
anymore.

willem asks:

We need to refinish the hardwood floors. The sanding has been done. I
am wondering about using wax instead of polyurethane for the
following reasons.
One can redo a high traffic area and other problematic areas easily by
applying wax and buffing instead of redoing the whole floor with
polyurethane. It seems that it will require more regular maintaince
with wax, but it is less disruptive than getting all the furniture out
every 7 years to redo the whole floor. Besides, wax looks nice.
Wax will requier re-doing almost weekly if used as the only finish. If your
floors wear enough using poly to require finishing every 7 years, forget wax as
a finish.

So, my requests a
a) Opinions pro and contra wax.
Wax is not a finish. It is a polish and helps give the finish light protection.

b) What kind of wax?
See above.

c) Stain the floor first or apply the wax to unstained wood? If stain
is desirable, what stain? Minwax Woodsheen?
Once you wax it, forget about staining it.

d) Where do you get wax? It seems that Johnson paste wax is not made
anymore.
Look in your grocery store.

Charlie Self
"To create man was a quaint and original idea, but to add the sheep was
tautology." Mark Twain's Notebook

http://hometown.aol.com/charliediy/m.../business.html

Wax offers no protection. You will be redoing the wax daily if you walk on
the floor. Wax is only going to make the floor shine until it gets walked
on.

Leon responds:

Wax offers no protection. You will be redoing the wax daily if you walk on
the floor. Wax is only going to make the floor shine until it gets walked
on.


A little longer than that, if done right. We only had to wax our barracks
floors once a week, and they shined all the way through until next time.

Charlie Self
"To create man was a quaint and original idea, but to add the sheep was
tautology." Mark Twain's Notebook

http://hometown.aol.com/charliediy/m.../business.html

That is an easy one. I'll just give you the facts and you can take it from
there.

On a protection scale of 1 to 10 you are talking the extreme ends for
commonly available finishes.

Wax protection = 0 (yes, I know that is less then 1) ALL waxes.
Poly protection = 10 (well, maybe 8 1/2 - 9)

Of course you could consider a curing oil, linseed, tung, or Danish. I
wouldn't, but, then again, it isn't my floor.



--
Mike G.

Heirloom Woods
www.heirloom-woods.net
"willem" wrote in message
om...
We need to refinish the hardwood floors. The sanding has been done. I
am wondering about using wax instead of polyurethane for the
following reasons.
One can redo a high traffic area and other problematic areas easily by
applying wax and buffing instead of redoing the whole floor with
polyurethane. It seems that it will require more regular maintaince
with wax, but it is less disruptive than getting all the furniture out
every 7 years to redo the whole floor. Besides, wax looks nice.
So, my requests a
a) Opinions pro and contra wax.
b) What kind of wax?
c) Stain the floor first or apply the wax to unstained wood? If stain
is desirable, what stain? Minwax Woodsheen?
d) Where do you get wax? It seems that Johnson paste wax is not made
anymore.

Mike G responds:


That is an easy one. I'll just give you the facts and you can take it from
there.

On a protection scale of 1 to 10 you are talking the extreme ends for
commonly available finishes.

Wax protection = 0 (yes, I know that is less then 1) ALL waxes.
Poly protection = 10 (well, maybe 8 1/2 - 9)

Of course you could consider a curing oil, linseed, tung, or Danish. I
wouldn't, but, then again, it isn't my floor.

Let's hope the OP listens. Getting wax up off a bare wood floor to do a real
finish job will not be fun.

Anyone got any info on what finishes are best these days for floors? I checked
this out for an article something like 4 years ago, and it was still the
solvent based polys. Water-based hadn't quite reached the abrasion resistance.
Has that changed?

Charlie Self
"To create man was a quaint and original idea, but to add the sheep was
tautology." Mark Twain's Notebook

http://hometown.aol.com/charliediy/m.../business.html

Yeah... probably longer than than.. Ha. When I was the service sales
manager for an Olds dealership our clean up crew decided to work one weekend
putting down red wax on our red concrete floor. Looked great, even up close
after you fell down. It and a little oil or water and it was like stepping
on ice. The following weekend the crew worked the surface over with kitty
liter to remove all that wax.. ;~).



"Charlie Self" wrote in message
...
Leon responds:

Wax offers no protection. You will be redoing the wax daily if you walk
on
the floor. Wax is only going to make the floor shine until it gets
walked
on.


A little longer than that, if done right. We only had to wax our barracks
floors once a week, and they shined all the way through until next time.

Charlie Self
"To create man was a quaint and original idea, but to add the sheep was
tautology." Mark Twain's Notebook

http://hometown.aol.com/charliediy/m.../business.html

In article ,
willem wrote:
We need to refinish the hardwood floors. The sanding has been done. I
am wondering about using wax instead of polyurethane for the
following reasons.
One can redo a high traffic area and other problematic areas easily by
applying wax and buffing instead of redoing the whole floor with
polyurethane. It seems that it will require more regular maintaince
with wax, but it is less disruptive than getting all the furniture out
every 7 years to redo the whole floor. Besides, wax looks nice.
So, my requests a
a) Opinions pro and contra wax.
b) What kind of wax?
c) Stain the floor first or apply the wax to unstained wood? If stain
is desirable, what stain? Minwax Woodsheen?
d) Where do you get wax? It seems that Johnson paste wax is not made
anymore.

See the current "Popular Woodworking" for a fairly informed discussion of
what was is, and is not, good for.

For a floor, you *really* want something highly protective down _first_.
a good alkyd varnish, or gloss polyurethane (gloss is harder than the
less shiny variants).

*THEN* you put wax on. What kind? "Floor wax" aka "wax for wood floors".

Johnsons paste wax is still available in the U.S., unavailable in Canada,
however. Look for something with "Carnuba" wax -- it's the hardest variety.

Sears used to sell a good _liquid_ floor wax -- we used it regularly on
a finished concrete floor. I'd tend to be somewhat hesitant to use liquid
preparations on wood floors, unless I was sure there was a _good_ seal-coat
don first.