Finishing your floor

Wax Finishes

Oils and waxes are soft finishes that render timber impermeable by blocking its pores. If you wish, this allows the kind of rich patina associated with traditional wooden floors to be developed through maintenance.

Although these finishes are not 100% resistant to stain (ink or red wine spills left overnight can permeate even the best of them) and may scratch in the first instance more quickly than lacquer finishes, their big advantage is that they look better rather than worse over time.

Small areas of wear or scratches can be locally repaired with sandpaper and a rag full of oil or wax if required, but generally the marks of day to day wear will improve rather than damage the look of the floor.

.In our opinion by far the best soft finish available is OS Hardwax (Polyx) Oil. This product is a combination of oil and wax and so can be easily applied with a brush, but dries to leave a durable satin matt finish that is water resistant, stain repellent and locally reparable.

If you wish to colour timber, there are a range of wood wax finishes in the OS range which can be used under the Hardwax Oil.