Q: Our house was built in the 1920’s and our top story has raw fir T&G floors, with no sub floor. I’d like to finish the floors with something, both to decrease wear and to make them easier to clean, but I don’t want to use any sort of top coating finish.
The boards have so much movement in them, the finish would flake and crack at the joints in no time (like the floor in my living room, that the previous owner diy’d). I’d appreciate any recommendations you have. Thanks.
A: You could use a penetrating oil such as Waterlox. It’s very easy to work with. It’s common to have some roughness after the first coat which would require a gentle buffing to smooth it out. But after that, no buffing is required to gain adhesion. It co adheres.
Follow-up Q: Thank you. Looks like I might have some difficulty finding Waterlox out here (BC, Canada), are there any other similar products you would recommend?
A: Perhaps a hard oil-wax type product such as OSMO.
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