Chust put new floor down in hall. Now comes the tricky bit - finding a finish I like... I've done this oodles of times, but always find it a real awkward b'stard: the colour or finish I end up with is usually a case of "it's ok, but not quite what I wanted..." I have used floor dye (gives best appearance), finished with satin Diamond Hard, and also tried coloured varnish (gives a more 'even' finish, but does obliterate the grain more). I usually end up applying more and more coats to try and get a shade I like - often ends up quite dark ! Anyone done this, and found a finish they're really chuffed with? Cheers. (Also posted on Painters' Forum)
If you have just installed a new floor I presume you must have scrap pieces.Try stain on some of them to decide first, before you go ahead and do the whole floor.
You are all a bunch of ***! (Except mack4, of course ) Yes, I usually do this, mack, so end up with many tins of useless stain/varnish (even worse, I have in the past mixed them to get closer to a shade I like - which, of course, can never be matched ) [Edited by: admin8]
Hi Devil, Trust you are well and still voting conservative I prefer the stain mixed polyurethane. The spirit stain tends to go patchy and it raises the grain. More sanding more dust created. You can mix up your own colour using same brand poly's using lighter and darker colours to get to where you want. Floors need a hard lacquer and I think floors should be lighter rather than darker. just my opinion. DWD
Hi dewaltd. Yep, Tory it is Ma botty. Cheers for the suggestions. The two ways I've gone before is to use a Floor Dye, water-based (Ronseal, I think) which works well, is easy to apply, and doesn't raise the grain. protected with Diamond Hard varnish. The other was to use coloured varnish - can be effective but tends to hide the grain more. The main problem I have is to get a good 'realistic' colour. I do want to keep things fairly light in the hallway, but previous attempts at light shades have looked a bit weak and insipid - so I've tended to slap on a few more coats... I'm hoping someone out there has done this job and can say that X product in Y shade looked fantastic!!! Is life ever that easy...
I recall jasonb mentioning a water based varnish he used on floors but can't remember what it was. I'm sure he'll be along.
Just used dulux natural matt woodwash (french oak) followed by a couple of coats of acrylic varnish on some stair parts, I think it looks great - your taste might be different though.
Hi foxy. Cheers. Cait, on the painters' forum, recommended products by Bona, often used by the pros. Hi 2 a month (I won't ask ). That sounds interesting - I'll check it out. You are quite right, of course, it's always a matter of personal taste; just hoping that if someone's done a job they are chuffed with, it would be worth me checking out the product. Were the stair parts hemlock or pine?
This s a good site to have read through Devil http://www.woodfloorsonline.com/products/finishes.html DWD
i have used Junkers waterbased lacquers, they are good http://www.scaffoldtowers.co.uk/ for scaffold towers
BLINGMATIC, your scaffolding planks are beautiful - obviously this junkers stuff is really good. Shedmen - thanks for the link - I'll investigate!