Recently installed a wood floor using salvaged Pine boards. During the salvage process (came out of a house from the 1830’s that was never electrified!) the tongue and grooves were pretty badly damaged so I ended up ripping each side and face nailing with repro square cut nails. The boards had been face nailed before – left lots of oxidized old holes. Also planed each board to get as flat as possbile without losing too much thickness. Looks great and looks old, too. But… I do need to finish it and that is the issue at hand.

First, I would like to fill in the old holes (there are alot) before sanding. I saved lots of sawdust and thought about using mixed with wood glue as a filler. I suspect this would be a problem if I was planning to stain because this will not accept stain. But am now considering not staining, just putting some type of protective coat on. After all the trouble to get the “old house” look I can’t imagine using a poly type that will leave a plastic look – possibly an oil finish?

Am open to ideas from those with more experience. Desired result would be the most durable finish (I realize it’s pine and don’t expect miracles here) while still maintaining the character of the old wood.

Thanks in advance for your advice.