Zen and the art of floor waxing
I’ve never read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance but it’s my fella’s main text when it comes to ‘fixing’ the car. I think he’s developed some theory about keeping the windscreen wash topped up as a means to good mechanical karma. This weekend I was engaged in a bit of wax-on-wax-off meditation of my own as I started on oiling the floors. Want my number one DIY tip for free? Pay someone to sand the floors, but finish them yourself. It’s saves a few bob and gives you something to feel proud of for years to come. I think painting or oiling a floor is my all-time favourite DIY. You get to sit down, for one thing, and the slow but steady pace and lack of actual fiddle-some-ness makes it all rather restful.
So it was this weekend, as I applied a tin of Osmo oil-wax that everybody but everybody had recommended. It’s really great stuff – goes on a treat and dries to a lovely flat finish. The floors untreated were a lovely soft sandy pink, and I have to say the oil is bringing them up a bit redder than I intended. Still, I attempted to stay Zen and philosophical. I love the bleached-wood look that is currently in vogue in old Georgian houses – the effect is like your housekeeper has spent 40 years mopping them with diluted bleach. But I don’t think it’s terribly authentic, and will look fashion-y in a few years. As the floor got darker and redder around me, I tried to keep in mind that a stripped floor with oil on it is appropriate to the house and this is what it looks like, so deal.
The floor wasn’t dry when I left, and I still have to stain and oil the few new boards too. But I am wondering whether I should go for a second coat with a stain in it, just to take it a bit darker and less red. Is that even possible? Any comments from peeps who have used this product will be received in a spirit of Zen peacefulness and acceptance. Namaste.
Oh, I had the exact same issue with my parquet floors, that I spent a huge amount of time agonising about (and money purchasing gorgeous reclaimed parquet and an experienced parquet man to lay them) only to find that the Osmo oil made them a much redder colour than I had expected. I tried to be all zen about it too, and not bothered, but two years later it still bothers me how red they are. I am thinking about having them re-sanded and then putting down a coat of the Osmo “raw” finish which is meant to keep the wood looking much more natural and not stained (http://www.osmouk.com/sitechapter.cfm?chapter=82&page=312#PolyxRaw). Whether it would work or not, though, I don’t know. I suppose I should try a test area first, really…
Thanks Sabrina – yes I know my Zen state will only last so long! I need to go back and see them in good daylight and make a decision – think I might take Fi’s suggestion below and try a darker version as a second coat.
have to say i used an oil (can’t remember which one now) on boards my husbands had painstakingly sanded and it made them a bit red and basically a colour i just didn’t like. difficult few hours to say the least having watched him sand, then oil a load of boards and had to decide ‘keep the colour on the boards that i don’t like’ or ‘risk husband literally leaving me!!’. Anyway, decided to risk it and although the information of ‘we need to re-sand again as i don’t like the colour the oil has made them’ was not greeted well, he did at least stay……. opted for a very transparent one the next time and boards kept their colour which I much preferred.
if you don’t like the colour …… i think it’s going to bother you ……. gulp as to what you do next….maybe go darker over the top….???
Thanks Fi! There is no way those boards are ever getting sanded again! I’ve only done the top floor – full of light though you wouldn’t know from my terrible photos. My plan was to stain the lower floor before oiling, so the colour was much darker, and emphasised the lightness of the top floor. SO I think I will get the darker osmo and do a second coat to take the whole lot darker… that’s my current plan. Let’s hope no one leaves anyone over it! x
It looks lovely as it is but I know all about not being able to live with a colour. I had a similar problem after dyeing my hair a long time ago! I couldn’t live with the too red result so went for a darker shade on top and it was fine. Maybe it’ll be the same with floor boards.
Ha ha! Yes the colour is a bit Paul McCartney’s hair dye at the moment x
Great job and an even better advice on sanding the floors first. No matter how you want to finish your floors (or any other piece of furniture made of wood), sand them first. It will allow the oil/paint/wax to get into the wood and offer it a smooth finish.
Wait, are we living parallel lives? The exact same thing happened to me last week. Basically we had two floors sanded down and put one coat of Osmo clear on one of them. And all orange broke loose. So I bought Osmo raw, which has the tiniest touch of white pigment in it. The Osmo instructions said to do two coats, so on the first room we did a coat of raw on top of the clear. In the second room we did two coats of raw. It made a little difference on the first room (possibly only psychological) and definitely looked better in the second room. I’m not too bothered about the slight variation between the two rooms because they get very different natural light. Anyway – sorry for the long post but THANK YOU for your zen influence.
Hey Shannon! Yes we’ve got the same floor issues. I tried a tiny patch of the white and chickened out – to be honest I had grown weary of the constant mulling over that had occupied my mind for weeks! I have just got on and accepted the colour as it is, and it looks better now it’s across the whole floor. Am currently doing the downstairs with a black-tinted Osmo oil which then gets one clear coat on top. I’ll share when it’s done (the tints take a whopping 24 hours to dry so it’s slow going!). Thanks for your comment. x
I was just thinking about Osmo black in our foyer this morning!!! Please please please post a pic. I can just about wait 24 hours (I think). Thanks for the Osmo inspo! 🙂
Bet you had fun doing that!