Tuesday 16 December 2014

Sourcing the products used to fill and hot wax oil a solid reclaimed Mahogany strip floor






After paying our due diligence to the sanding of the floor and signing up to the "how to sand a floor" website it is now time to source the relevant products required to get the floor back to it's former glory.

We are in two minds wether to lacquer the floor or hardwax oil it,  due to the fact we are working on a wooden boat we want the floor to look as natural as possible, ideally a natural matt finish that brings out the natural beauty of the wood.

Wether we are lacquering or using hardwax oil we will be filling the floor, Ben at how to sand a floor swears by Repsol 7500 filler, after a quick search on google we have found a supplier, The direct flooring Centre who have everything we require and luckily enough for us are local which gives us the perfect opportunity to get some advice face to face. After a long chat on the phone with at first one of the boy;s from the firm then the owner I am on my way to pick up the filler and everything else we require.

When I arrive I am greeted with a wealth of information, Tony the owner is a master craftsman who has worked on some pretty impressive and well known buildings and airports around the world.

After years working on building sites and renovating buildings to English Heritage's standards he at first set up Heritage flooring to supply solid Oak flooring and subsequently set up the Direct Flooring Centre to supply the products to the trade and home user.

After speaking to Tony for half an hour he impresses on me the importance of the process involved in getting the right finish, this is no rush job as with the caulking it is a timely process that will pay dividends in the long run, the floor must be sanded with a 60 grit an 80 grit a 100 grit, dispose of the dust, we will need the dust from the 120 grit to mix with the filler. The floor is then filled, we mix the dust from the120 and filler to the right consistency we want it runny so it can get into the gaps, milky not too thick.

We then fill in 2 metre sections let it settle then buffer the excess, the empathis is on settle not set, it will dry hard and quick the more excess we can remove at this point the less work required to remove it the long run.

Once the whole floor is filled we then buffer once again we start with a 60 grit then 80 grit up to 120.

Tony recommended a matt hot wax oil for the finish, we will start the sanding taking pictures along the way, Tony has given us some very good tips for getting the best finish from the oil which will be in a separate post.


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