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Finishes like oil modified polyurethane, hardwax oil, tung oil, and other oils need to be renewed fairly frequently, at least yearly on average.
How often do people do it (for those who have these finishes)? Is it a real nightmare like some installers are saying?? I heard it's very hard to "smudge" / buff / polish these finishes after they've been applied.
I imagine you can easily apply it with a roller, but then that's not the end of it - the trouble is, it then needs to be "wiped in" or whatever you call it, but basically requires lots of maual labour (I suppose with a cloth). And this manual polishing supposedly can leave circles etc. showing how you polished it.
And then, if you walk over it, it immediately shows all the foot marks etc.
Sounds like a nightmare, yet most installers I talked to use it all the time, so I'm thinking if I got valid comments about the nightmare maintenance
What's your experinece?
Plus, obvioulsy the floor must be chrystal clear and clean before you start applying the oil in the first place
Oil-based polys generally have a life of 12-15 years maintenance free.
Tung oils would be closer to 3 or 4 whilst wax finishes less. Wax is often applied over tung oil to extend the life.
Hmmm ... one place told me today that you have to redo the polish every 10 months on average (oil modif. polyu. case).
Another installer told me of hand polishing of floors and marks showing how you circled on their surface with a cloth ...
Does anyone actually have any of these finishes??
Oil modified polys are seldom used these days, we don't stock them at all and couldn't even clear out old stock at 50% off.
My old house had oil poly and was up to 18 years before I sold it
Oh?? Could be different situation here in Sydney? ... I had quite a few places automatically offering oil mod.
That being said we are not a big mover or stockist of internal floor finishs. I have a friend who runs a sand and polish business, he said he maybe uses it once every 6 months and that is usually for a repair or extension where he has to match existing.
Tung oil has made a big comeback in the last few years. Other than that the benefits of water-based finishes have put oil-based polys on the back-burner
I am not sure if this helps but....
We have grey iron bark floors finished with Tung oil and wax. It's been over 8 years now and the floor still looks glorious (if I do say so myself). The last 6 of those years the floor has had to contend with the arrival of 3 vicious little monsters determined to push, scrape, spill on and torture the floors with a range of plastic weapons and wheels
. We wear shoes in the house and certainly don't treat the place like a shrine. There are still no big scratches to mention but a few areas where the surface has dulled a bit or seems a bit scuffed. A bit of scraping under the heavy legs of the lounge chairs/ makeshift trampoline was inevitable I guess.
I have been thinking that the floors are due for re-oiling and wax polish soon but not because it looks bad....just that it could look fresher and because the floor deserves to be maintained before it gets too tired looking. This is one of the few things around the house I would defiantly get a professional job done rather than DIY. My only hesitation has been the need to move out for a few days to give the floor time to cure.
I have to say the oiled finish has so many positives and gives a very luscious, softer look to beautiful timbers. After living with this for 8 years (and a mini demolition crew for 6) I can highly recommend it.
Thanks, misskittyfantastico, it's great to hear of first had experinces!! I am positively surprised to hear that it's still good after many years. Perhaps the advice I am getting was assuming that floors must look their best all the time - therefore such short periods like 6-12 months
.
no problem Lex
If you do go down this path I would recommend using a flooring mob who has a long history of using oils and knows their stuff. They will give you a maintenance plan that is based on optimum 'best practice' in care of your oiled floor. Much like a carpet cleaner would recommend that you have a carpet steam cleaned every 3 months and vacuumed every day. It doesn't mean that people actually do that or that carpets instantly look crap and become unliveable with dust mites if you don't follow that regime ......just that it's 'optimum'. It is said that you should also replace your toothbrush monthly and your mattress every 5 years but do you???
I think that there is a lot of myth and misinformation about oiled floors. It is not a thin coating that evaporates or wears away at the slightest touch. It’s not like decking oils that are thin, rapidly absorbed and dry out or are affected by exposure to the elements. Tung oils can be buffed to a very hard finish yet stay flexible enough to move with the seasonal expansion and shrinkage of timber. It doesn’t crack, craze or flake like some of the horrid polyurethane finishes. With some simple care it is lovely to live with and gives timber a richness, warmth and lustre that will only be added to with consecutive coats. Like all things it will eventually need a service and some TLC to keep it performing well and looking fresh.
Thanks again, misskittyfantastico! Now that you mentioned it, one place did mention that we get the maintenance plan afterwards - and I was thinking I'd rather receive it before I even make the decision, so that I know what I'm up "against" and can factor that in for the decision making. The thing is - it was all fine until one person I liked started telling me of these maintenance nightmares!!!
Yep, I see your parallel about "regular/periodic" and totally agree. And I do love and appreciate its characteristics of allowing the timber to breathe. If only they wouldn't darken or yellow ...
Timber won't yellow with water-based polys.
I have tung oil on my blackbutt floors and don't see any hint of yellowing
I was probably using wrong terminology when asking about maintenance issues.
This is what I found on one site:
Tung Oil: a household situation - 3 months
regular waxing and
3 years before recoatingSo, I should have talked about waxing. Does anyone do this on their oil/wax/modif oil finished floors?