finishing Oak planks

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Stringman_uk

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Apologies for the dual post ( I started in flooring but realised this may be better- mods please delete if required)

Hi (again) All

Continuing the ongoing summerhouse saga, we are now into the final stages.
The oak plank flooring is fitted, and next week I will be sanding them down ready for finishing.
These are solid oak planks.
The walls will be clad in unfinished pine T&G ( may well be washed or painted at a later date) so we want a bit of a contrast.
My original plan was to use a light oak varnish to darken the floor a bit ( the house has pine floorboards with Wickes med oak varnish) but, on reading here, it seems the majority of the coloured varnishes are either not brilliant quality or will over darken ( designed for pine?)

So we have considered Bona Mega silk matt varnish or a Dulux trade varnish. But they seem to be only in clear.
I have now started to look at stains (more work)
I like the look of Manns stains as they seem specifically for oak and also show you pictures of how they will look.

So Is Manns any good?
Any other recommendations?
Or are there any good coloured varnishes?

Thanks in advance
 
I would recommend Hard Wax Oil this is clear but not totally clear and will give a slightly warm colour but after time and with sunlight the wood itself will darken especially in a summerhouse.
 
aveatry said:
I would recommend Hard Wax Oil this is clear but not totally clear and will give a slightly warm colour but after time and with sunlight the wood itself will darken especially in a summerhouse.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply, I hadnt thought of oil/wax. will it protect the floor? Will it need constant upkeep?
Thanks
 
Stringman_uk said:
Thanks for the reply, I hadnt thought of oil/wax. will it protect the floor? Will it need constant upkeep?
Thanks
Click to expand...
No its brilliant stuff I used the Carls hardwax oil but I think bona took them over. I used it on my unfinished oak floor in my living/dining and hall, the hall gets heavy traffic and dirty shoes and i think its as good today as it was 10 years ago. I give areas a wipe with a bona cleaner every now and then.
I put it on with a cloth flat mop thing and it leaves no streaks or marks. And only put one coat on.
 
Aveatry
Thanks for that.
I had a look a the bona product and it looked really good. But when I looked at some reviews ( admittedly in the usa) they talked about problems with gaps. Now because it is is second hand floooring I had to remove the Tongues before fitting, so some of the gaps are uneqal. I intended filling them with sawdust epoxy paste but not sure that would work.
I know its not the same thing, but i used some clear beeswax polish to see the colour change and I am not sure its dark enough.

I see that Fiddes do a similar product but with tints is that any good?

Many thanks
 
Just had another thought.
I was originally going to fill the gaps with a resin/sawdust mix.
Would the HWO adhere to that or would i be better off making a filler "paste" with HWO and sawdust?
Thanks
 
Stringman_uk said:
I was originally going to fill the gaps with a resin/sawdust mix
Click to expand...
What gaps are you filling?

how was the floor fitted?

solid oak floors need space to expand and contract, especially in a summerhouse which has a potentially large r/h range.
 
Oak can be darkened with ammonia…..not wiped on but by leaving an open dish of ammonia and letting the gas do the work.
 
Stringman_uk said:
Just had another thought.
I was originally going to fill the gaps with a resin/sawdust mix.
Would the HWO adhere to that or would i be better off making a filler "paste" with HWO and sawdust?
Thanks
Click to expand...
The problem may be that the HWO will soak into the oak and slightly darken it but it will not darken the filler, so you go to all that trouble getting the filler to match the oak colour and then it shows up like a sore thumb after its been HWO
 
Stringman_uk said:
I had a look a the bona product and it looked really good. But when I looked at some reviews ( admittedly in the usa) they talked about problems with gaps.
Click to expand...
I dont get what the reviews mean about the gaps. Its varnish.
 
I used fiddies hard wax oil of oak flooring, it's a good finish, and goes a long way... as with hard wax oils they do 'yellow' slightly over the years.
 
Notch7 said:
What gaps are you filling?

how was the floor fitted?

solid oak floors need space to expand and contract, especially in a summerhouse which has a potentially large r/h range.We
Click to expand...

Notch7 said:
What gaps are you filling?

how was the floor fitted?

solid oak floors need space to expand and contract, especially in a summerhouse which has a potentially large r/h range.
Click to expand...
The gaps are a bit random as the planks are second hand flooring (its going into a summerhouse so we havent the budget to be too fussy!) so the tongues have been cut off and the wood has been nailed to the subfloor(18mm osb) the largest gap ( should be hidden) is around 5mm but most are around 1.5mm to 2mm as I have fitted in the Autumn/winter and the temp is around 12-15deg and the last time I checked the RH was around 75-78%
I was hoping to use Fiddes gel with sawdaust mix and fill the gaps now as it will only contract in summer?
 
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