Toby Newell
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Finishing...
- Thread starter Toby Newell
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Toby Newell
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- 1,635
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- Surrey
^^^^ Special pale transparent shellac, tinted to even up, probably around 6 to 8 coats, but moot unless you coat the same as me, you might need 10 coats or more. Shellac soaks in and helps to stabilise the wood, it's also 100% reversible ie can be stripped with meths or even a hot soda wash so no further sanding needed. Finished with 2 coats of beeswax and canauba. Totally impractical unless you wear non stick shoes and walk at 1mph as it's smoother than a smooth thing.
Applying wax to the bare wood is a very silly idea, wax isn't a wood finish, it's an ingredient in finishes and varnishes and a finish-er and cleaner. Wax would simply clog any holes left, take months to dry go patchy, then misty white and opaque as it absorbed moisture. You always seal the timber beforehand with shellac mostly, then you apply one or two coats of wax over the surface. You do this after sanding back with a very fine abrasive and going over the surface with a soft 0000 wire wool. The wax lays on the shellac and helps to even out the sheen, the wiring removes any nibs so the surface feels smoother than glass. Regular (annually) but incredibly sparing rewaxing cleans the top surface and provides protection to the shellac. This is where the 'nourishment' myth comes from. Wood requires zero nourishment, it's the finish, especially shellac that benefits from a protective coating of wax. Shellac will naturally perish after a few decades, much faster if exposed to heat and especially direct sunlight. Waxing slows this. After a few years (5 to 10) you will of built up a thick wax layer, this will absorb dirt and moisture and may go milky and slightly to very opaque. You then need to remove it using an antique reviver / gum turps or hot soda, then you can rewax and the cycle starts again.
The floor above should never need to be sanded again.
You can use totally un traditional modern 'oil finishes' which are really misnamed long spar vanishes, these are harder to remove, technically non reversible, but not that bad as they are so weak. Only issue is they can pool in any gaps left and off gas for (literally) years as they cure. The advantage is you can get uber matt versions that are like 3% and so look like the timber is bare. I am eager to try this at some point. Mind you, if you don't wax afterwards you can also buy special matt or satin matt shellac, well, from one single company in the UK (Jenkins), but that might be an option to keep the sheen down.
I have coated these types of floors in modern water based lacquers on top of the shellac for clients who want an easily washable surface. This of course is much harder to strip.
Coating directly with a waterbased finish I think you lose about 30% of the depth, chatoyancy and vibrancy and I have never done it. It's the shellac that gives the warmth, contrast and vibrancy, the top lacquer, if any just provides a durable, even sheened protective layer.
Applying wax to the bare wood is a very silly idea, wax isn't a wood finish, it's an ingredient in finishes and varnishes and a finish-er and cleaner. Wax would simply clog any holes left, take months to dry go patchy, then misty white and opaque as it absorbed moisture. You always seal the timber beforehand with shellac mostly, then you apply one or two coats of wax over the surface. You do this after sanding back with a very fine abrasive and going over the surface with a soft 0000 wire wool. The wax lays on the shellac and helps to even out the sheen, the wiring removes any nibs so the surface feels smoother than glass. Regular (annually) but incredibly sparing rewaxing cleans the top surface and provides protection to the shellac. This is where the 'nourishment' myth comes from. Wood requires zero nourishment, it's the finish, especially shellac that benefits from a protective coating of wax. Shellac will naturally perish after a few decades, much faster if exposed to heat and especially direct sunlight. Waxing slows this. After a few years (5 to 10) you will of built up a thick wax layer, this will absorb dirt and moisture and may go milky and slightly to very opaque. You then need to remove it using an antique reviver / gum turps or hot soda, then you can rewax and the cycle starts again.
The floor above should never need to be sanded again.
You can use totally un traditional modern 'oil finishes' which are really misnamed long spar vanishes, these are harder to remove, technically non reversible, but not that bad as they are so weak. Only issue is they can pool in any gaps left and off gas for (literally) years as they cure. The advantage is you can get uber matt versions that are like 3% and so look like the timber is bare. I am eager to try this at some point. Mind you, if you don't wax afterwards you can also buy special matt or satin matt shellac, well, from one single company in the UK (Jenkins), but that might be an option to keep the sheen down.
I have coated these types of floors in modern water based lacquers on top of the shellac for clients who want an easily washable surface. This of course is much harder to strip.
Coating directly with a waterbased finish I think you lose about 30% of the depth, chatoyancy and vibrancy and I have never done it. It's the shellac that gives the warmth, contrast and vibrancy, the top lacquer, if any just provides a durable, even sheened protective layer.
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Flyfisher
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I suspect that floor never looked that good even when it was first laid. Magnificent job Toby, my cap is well and truly doffed.
Toby Newell
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True, but not really down to me. I simply applied elbow grease, imagination and dedication, it's age that made the floor as beautiful as it is. That and the incredible timber to start with.
Funny thing is I don't think that is the most striking improvement lol. Before it was like walking the plank, a wobbly, crumbling jigsaw, now it is rock solid, certainly the most solid item in the house and possibly the entire village. Makes it feel more impressive and weighty when you walk on it.
It was a bit nuts tbh, more of an experiment. I wanted to know if you had crumbling, worm eaten timber that was 50% air which no company would dare even consider repairing, could you actually do it? Apparently you can. So, at least I know I can save any timber of any age in any condition as long as it doesn't turn to dust when I pick it up.
Toby Newell
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Lol. I have been misleading, I appear to have missed out the parts where I repair each board individually using £2,000 worth of clamps, wood hardener and 4 different types of glue... 
will be rectified shortly. Or my services to noggins.
will be rectified shortly. Or my services to noggins.
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