I’m sanding and finishing my loft floors… they are very close to long leaf pine… I got out of south america… the loft floors are basicly a high grade 3.5″ x 12″ gluelam laid flat one joined to another and bolted to a steel framework… most are 16 x 20… with part of that a bathroom which has backerboard and tile…
the rest is sanded and finished… this is somewhat soft wood… dents pretty easy… and I’m not even try’n to get it super smooth… I’m sanding with an 80 grit screen on a floor buffing machine…. they are sanding pretty nice…
on my first test floor… i sanded and cleaned… then applied the following mix 25% gloss ploy floor finish… 50% BLO and 25% mineral spirits…. i applied that yesterday… and that alone looked pretty nice… only took about 1/2 gallon to cover the aprox 250sf i was finishing…. waited til midday today… you could walk on it without leave’n any marks… wasn’t tacky or oily feel’n…
so i mixed up a 50/50 mix of my first coat mix… and 50% more polyurathane semi gloss floor finish… guess that would be a 25%BLO 12.5% mineral spirits… and 62.5% polyurathane
it looked good when i left… it’s about 60 degrees here… so I’ll be interested in what it looks like in the morning…
My options are wide open… i can then leave it…. i can buff it with a tan pad and paste wax and buff it… i can add more finish…
it’s a warehouse.. i’m not try’n to polish a turd… it is what it is… i considered beat’n the floor with a chains and spikes to add character… but i have 12 more of these to do…. so… ease… & speed…. and looks all count… the more worn they become i think the better…
thanks for any ideas on finished…
btw i have a couple hundred gallons of BLO and Mineral spirits… and maybe 20 gallons of floor poly… i have maybe 20 gallons of a water based poly floor finish that they sell at HD for $34gallon… not sure i can put that over my homemade first coat sealer…
thanks in advance for insight & ideas
P
Replies
I'm curious to know why you chose linseed oil. Not a criticism, just curiosity.
I'd used it before on a heart pine floor... and years later it still had a nice soft worn glow... but that was 200yo heart pine...
i tend to use what i have... and i have alot of BLO and mineral spirits... i didn't want to use a hard plastic (poly) finish on such a soft floor.... figured that look like krap fast... i don't know that just pictured the floors look'n like a general motors paintjob from the 80s... worn thin, faded and peal'n...
p
Edited 2/6/2009 8:36 pm ET by ponytl
I've just used linseed oil forever rubbed on furniture, cut with mineral spirits, but I never thought of it on a floor. I always considered that it left a soft finish one wouldn't want to walk on. Maybe the poly makes the difference in your case. Sure smells good, like Hoppes #9, or maybe I'm just an old solvent junkie.
bump
snorK*
now you went and did it.YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'TMOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THEDUCT TAPE.
ya, saw it and just couldn't resist.
the devil made me do it.
real nice....
Polyurethane is very flexible and should not be considered a hard finish.
Polyurethane is excellent for soft woods.
Polyurethane is also self healing. See a scratch today and in a month you can't find it if the wood wasn't damaged.
I like BLO. In a few years you can go back over it with BLO and It should be fine. Frenchy is going to say shellac ,fine too, but you have the BLO. I use BLO and or tung oil on my shovel handles and other things like that.
i have (found this afternoon late... ) 3 gallons of "danish tung oil wiping finish" says on the can something to the effect of... "gets into the pores and makes the wood harder"
i have 12 units to get it right in.... maybe by #12 i'll have it right...
p
Sounds like a good chance to run test floors to see which coating works best.
""danish tung oil wiping finish""That could either be a wiping varnish, a thined varnish.Or it could be an oil, varnish, thinner mixture.Put a few drops on a piece of glass and let it cure..
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googled a ton of linseed oil floor finishes... (something i guess you should do BEFORE you start)
anyway floor number one... 1st coat was the 25/50 /25... went on easy second coat was 50/50 of the first mix and 50 poly... pretty moist here so took a day or so to dry... looks ok but some areas have a nice gloss where other areas soaked it all in... I'm guess'n one more coat of all poly would be good... or buff what i have and leave it...
next unit... i sanded and 1st coated with the same 1st coat mix but added about 6oz of an oil based maple stain to the mix... not a huge difference but a bit warmer... have not chosen the second coat yet....
seems there is a great history of linseed oil thinned with spirits as a floor finish... seems it's considered "green" and used when solvent based finished might be an issue... also seems some people that have problems with NUTS also have a problem with tung oil... as it comes from nuts...
last... some people melt beeswax with BLO to make a finish... don't see me going there... but interesting read....
thanks for all the input
p