real wood floor problems

elantan

Hi all,

wonder if anyone can give me a wee bit of advice, we have a real wood floor, have had it for years, it was previously treated with laquer but i have read that laquer is best left to the professionals.

My husband has sanded the floor and we have treated it with treatex, which is a hard oil wax, this product is aimed at the DIY market as far as i am aware, it is designed to be both protective of the wood and to bring out the natural beauty of the wood.

however, the floor looks a total mess, it has cost us £67 for one tin of the stuff and so far it is a mess, it was meant to be dry in four hours, 2 days later and it was still tacky, this wasnt due to us putting it on too thick honestly, the tin we have is meant to cover 50 m2 but our floor is 36 m2 and theres plenty left in the tin.

i dont know whether to re sand ( but that was a very painful process for my husband... he has a kinda white finger type issue and a bad back, so would like to avoid it if possible) or to try something else ... can anyone suggest anything ?

elantan

Here's a picture of the floor as you can see it's a mess

elantan

Just giving this a wee bump to see if anyone can help ?

Doozergirl

I'd call the manufacturer for advice. Hopefully they have an advice line.

Maybe use a different product for subsequent coats.

skitler

when you resanded the floor did hubby sand back to the bare wood, removing all the old laquer.


to me it look in pic like the old surface was just scratched, (the laquer is very hard and very hard to remove). this is why its still tacky and may never go hard, two differing products don't mix.


you will need to remove the stuff you have put on with the agent recommended on the tin, (thinners/ turps perhaps) before you can resand the floor properly, or get someone in to do it.


sounds like a diy disaster.


try a small area, clean off recent stuff, let dry, sand till your sure its wood, and recoat. when you know it works, then get someone in to finish the job if you don't fancy it.

Tall_Tone

Firstly lacquer is far more durable than hardwax oil, and the reason B&Q sell lots of lacquer/varnish is because it is fairly easy to apply if you follow a few basic rules. Also because lacquer requires evaporation of water to cure rather than white spirit, it also dries quicker. Sorry just my view from someone in the industry.
I have to agree with Skitler above that it does look like not all of the previous finish was removed. It looks like varied uptake of the oil. To dry hardwax you need warmth and airflow. Turn on the heating and open a window front and rear of the house. At least you can then walk on it
Sorry

elantan

Hi all thanks for getting back to me, husband insists he got the lacquer off .. So I asked him to describe what he did and it appears that he sanded the boards in straight lines when they boards are on the diagonal , I did notice some lacquer around the edges when I cleaned the floor after sanding but it was jus around the very edges when husband said the sander didn't reach

So will spend this week removing the wax and oil... I noticed it was mentioned to use white spirit, can I ask is that neat or watered down ? Any advice on how to put it on ie: cloth or mop etc ... Once I've done that I will sand the floor myself as husband is not up to doing it again, should I just go and hire the floor sander again or maybe try a belt sander or something ?

Once sanded should I just use a yacht varnish ? Or maybe an oil first then seperate wax ? Or even an oil followed by yacht varnish etc ?

Thanks

cyclonebri1

This is how it works,

The manufacturer treats/sprays the floor timbers with a 2 pack lacquer finish, it's super hard and not easy to a apply, they do it under very controlled conditions and heat, plus they do it quickly.

Please don't try any simple Ronseal or such finish, better off left as is.

You need a 2 pack pro finish, you can get the stuff on ebay, should be rock hard the next day.
Expect to pay £200 for a decent sized floor

elantan

Any particular brand ? Would I be better to get someone else to do it? Should I still use the white spirit to take off the hard wax oil ? ( neat or watered down )

The floor was actually reclaimed timber from A school gymnasium the guys fitted it for us then sanded it then lacquered it, it was a milky type substance which he put on with a cloth over a squeege type thing ... I watched him doing it and talked about how he had managed something which I imagine to be very difficult to do look easy, and how he obviously has done it for a long time ...


http://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/j/JUNPFIN/


This the type of thing you mean ?

Tall_Tone

Hi
Sorry if I caused confusion earlier. DO NOT use any more white spirit on the floor. The only way to remove the hardwax oil is mechanically with a sanding machine. (What I was trying to say was that the main ingredient of a hardwax oil used to be called dearomatised white spirit but it seems they have to be more specific now and call it Naptha)
http://www.treatex.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/themes/treatex/pdf/Treatex-Hardwax-Oil-Clear-Matt-007.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naphtha

To be able to apply a water based product, all oil based product needs to be removed. Water onto oil is never a good idea!

Make sure the lacquer you are using is the right stuff for the job. Yacht varnish is for yachts.
Personally I am not a fan of Junckers lacquers. I tend to use Bona for water based lacquers or Osmo for my oils
http://www.ambiencehardwoodflooring.co.uk/bona/
Or just Google Bona Mega

Although I would agree with cyclonebri1 sentiments over Ronseal the stuff that comes on pre-finished boards is a Ultra Violet cured lacquer and they apply 5-8 coats and cure it instantly.

Cheers

skitler

elantan wrote: »

Any particular brand ? Would I be better to get someone else to do it? Should I still use the white spirit to take off the hard wax oil ? ( neat or watered down )

The floor was actually reclaimed timber from A school gymnasium the guys fitted it for us then sanded it then lacquered it, it was a milky type substance which he put on with a cloth over a squeege type thing ... I watched him doing it and talked about how he had managed something which I imagine to be very difficult to do look easy, and how he obviously has done it for a long time ...


http://www.decoratingdirect.co.uk/viewprod/j/JUNPFIN/


This the type of thing you mean ?

the one in the link is good. there are differing finishes ie gloss, matt, ect.
if you have a hard wood specialist in area give them a visit.


remove the stuff you have put on with what the tin recommends, water or turps or thinners for cleaning up. you cant water down turps or thinners so use it neat


then resand as you say with the grain of the wood, diagonally.
use a rough paper first, and then a finer one to finish. so your going to be doing the floor twice, the first is the hardest removing all the old laquer and marks in the floor. the second is just smoothing the rougher grain caused by the rougher paper. the devil is in the prep, so you need to be sure and do a good job, skimping is a false economy.


once sanded get a light damp cloth and wipe the floor with the grain, this will bring out the wood colour and you should be able to see if there is any laquer still on the wood as it will be shiny and the bare damp wood matt.


clean up all the dust.


then recoat following the manufacturers instructions for application and drying. (don't go on the floor for at least 24hrs longer than it says to be sure. you don't want to mess it up now,) especially with shoes on.


take a pic and let us see your hard work.