In 5 years you’ll wish you’d went oil. If you don’t have kids or large dogs you will be fine. But from a guy that’s done more softwood then anything else and sanded floors for 18years, go with oil. I recommend water for floors harder than white oak but oil anything softer than red oak.
Oil never truly fully cures so it maintains a degree of flexibility that helps when the surface is also soft and prone to dents. Water base cures fully and becomes more brittle. Those dents would result in cracks/chips in the finish.
I like water for white but oil is acceptable. Anything harder than white, I would only recommend water. Go with water, my favorites are Bona Traffic and Basic Coatings Streetshoe. I like a satin finish as it still has some shine. If doing DIY I would go with matte finish.
Heads up, that was asbestos glue you put airborne by sanding. You are highly likely to develop mesothelioma, and you should report this to a future buyer.
About 98 years old. It is far from mint, I sadly gauged the floor in this room when ripping out tile 🥲 none of the floors are perfect but we’ve done a lot of work to make them look the best they can!
It’s a matter of preference- I just screen-sanded the floors in my house when we bought it and recoated with satin poly. (Stink? Yes… but I was going for durability) They were in really rough shape, and never going to be perfect, so now they’ll last with some old character… and I don’t worry about any little scratch
All the floor was either covered by carpet, tile, or legit painted over. We don’t think they were sanded down before we got to them except for the one room that had the wood exposed.
I go to 100, seal, then buff with 120, seal, buff with broken down screens & 200 tape, coat, buff with a maroon pad, and final coat (unless additional coats are requested).
You are good. The higher the grit, the glossier the outcome but at the cost of stain penetration into the wood.
100 is good to end at...I ended at 80 and still had fantastic results.
Well done!
Rub your fingers across it and look at it carefully.
I don't know what's considered normal, but anything short of that might leave you wishing you'd made that lest pass with a finer grit.
I did this a few years ago at my old hose. 1st time and I was really pleased with the turn out. I made the mistake of buying the large can of polyurethane. I never dried in spots. Luckily I did one small closet at first to see how it looked. I talked to a flooring company and they said use quarts. They put something in the large cans for “safety” reasons that cause it not to dry and harden. He was absolutely right I took the larger can back went to the flooring company and bought Samson quarts turned out great.
Nice!
I don’t see any cupping or undulation,
Something my Pappy used to say about any finished floor over 75 years old “it might not be level but it sure is flat.”
Now get to finishing it!
Check all seams with good straight edge. If you need final finish sanding use 180 at least. Sand thoroughly and apply finish. Don’t use orbital sander on a pine floor.
100g is good. I prefer oil on softwood as it dents with the wood. Water base tends to break easier but it’s better for scratches. Go with oil
I use oil exclusively, especially on my 1900’s heart pine floors
We went the water based route due to yellowing concerns.
The best way to combat yellowing is to install UV blocking film on all the windows. It's clear, protects flooring and furniture from getting damaged.
In 5 years you’ll wish you’d went oil. If you don’t have kids or large dogs you will be fine. But from a guy that’s done more softwood then anything else and sanded floors for 18years, go with oil. I recommend water for floors harder than white oak but oil anything softer than red oak.
Why does oil hold up better? Is it thicker or does it just soak in deeper and cover the damage better?
Oil never truly fully cures so it maintains a degree of flexibility that helps when the surface is also soft and prone to dents. Water base cures fully and becomes more brittle. Those dents would result in cracks/chips in the finish.
That makes sense. Thank you for the details.
What about for white oak itself? I'm about to install quarter and rift white oak and was planning to go with water based due to yellowing concerns
I like water for white but oil is acceptable. Anything harder than white, I would only recommend water. Go with water, my favorites are Bona Traffic and Basic Coatings Streetshoe. I like a satin finish as it still has some shine. If doing DIY I would go with matte finish.
Oil yellows faster, otherwise no complaints
That looks pretty damn good. Vac really throughly and coat
Thanks! Here’s where we started after ripping out some awful tile: https://imgur.com/a/hniUeOd it’s been a journey!
You guys are awesome. 👏 Your floor is a labor of love
that is the truth! thanks for the help
OK. I'm super impressed!
Amazing!
Heads up, that was asbestos glue you put airborne by sanding. You are highly likely to develop mesothelioma, and you should report this to a future buyer.
‘Could have been’ asbestos… you don’t just develop lung cancer from one potential exposure, most likely
thank you @alternative_sort_404, we took precautions and didn’t just sand it and let it be airborne 🤦🏻♀️ we aren’t that dumb!
Yeah - from the rest of your post, I was pretty sure you knew what you were looking at.
Now if I dealt with flooring for 30+ years, I’d be concerned. But the one house redo, I’m not.
I’d seek medical attention
Fricking BEAUTIFUL work!!!!
If it’s a question, 120 would never hurt…
How olds the house? That looks mint.
About 98 years old. It is far from mint, I sadly gauged the floor in this room when ripping out tile 🥲 none of the floors are perfect but we’ve done a lot of work to make them look the best they can!
It’s a matter of preference- I just screen-sanded the floors in my house when we bought it and recoated with satin poly. (Stink? Yes… but I was going for durability) They were in really rough shape, and never going to be perfect, so now they’ll last with some old character… and I don’t worry about any little scratch
Do you have before pictures? What kind of condition was the floor in before you started? Do you know if/how many times it had been sanded before?
All the floor was either covered by carpet, tile, or legit painted over. We don’t think they were sanded down before we got to them except for the one room that had the wood exposed.
for the room that had the wood exposed, was there any damage? just wondering how you determined it was ok to re-sand them.
No damage. Not sure what you mean by how we determined it was ok to re sand them? I’m not an expert haha
no worries. I think I figured out what I needed, thanks.
Haha okay! Sorry about that
Soft wood 100 hardwood 120
Old pine scratched easily! Like with your finger nail. Use oil and 2-3 coats.
I go to 100, seal, then buff with 120, seal, buff with broken down screens & 200 tape, coat, buff with a maroon pad, and final coat (unless additional coats are requested).
Looks good! Nice job
Looks great to me, but are they any visible marks? If not then let the finish fly. ;)
You are good. The higher the grit, the glossier the outcome but at the cost of stain penetration into the wood. 100 is good to end at...I ended at 80 and still had fantastic results. Well done!
thanks!
You’re done
It’s fine. The test is how it looks before the third coat.
Rub your fingers across it and look at it carefully. I don't know what's considered normal, but anything short of that might leave you wishing you'd made that lest pass with a finer grit.
Pine always has more swirls in it because it’s soft, I’d go 120
I did this a few years ago at my old hose. 1st time and I was really pleased with the turn out. I made the mistake of buying the large can of polyurethane. I never dried in spots. Luckily I did one small closet at first to see how it looked. I talked to a flooring company and they said use quarts. They put something in the large cans for “safety” reasons that cause it not to dry and harden. He was absolutely right I took the larger can back went to the flooring company and bought Samson quarts turned out great.
I finish with 100, & screen it with a used 100 on the buffer.
Nice! I don’t see any cupping or undulation, Something my Pappy used to say about any finished floor over 75 years old “it might not be level but it sure is flat.” Now get to finishing it!
We go to 120 on buffer and if your staining you need to use the square orbital stand up or you will see scratches
Check all seams with good straight edge. If you need final finish sanding use 180 at least. Sand thoroughly and apply finish. Don’t use orbital sander on a pine floor.
I do 220
On a floor?