Re-Oiling Wooden Floors

Some people are torn between oil and lacquer finish for their wooden floors. And the prevail in many cases goes to oil due to its natural look and feel. It manages to bring out the grain of the wood and give it depth.

The group of oil/hard-wax oil seals the timber by going directly into the wood grain, soaking and leaving the surface protected but exposed to the environment. The benefit of that type of finish is that it can be re-coated and the maintenance period is about 16 to 24 months for domestic and 4 to 6 months for commercial wood floors.

We offer wood floor re-oiling service with a clear new coat, applied after light buffing with a fine abrasive screen to prepare the wood. One or two coats of our recommended oil or hard-wax oil based products will be applied as a top finish.

Act On Time

We often get called in for wood floor re-oiling service and ending up providing a floor restoration service due to the fact, reaction time for the recoating should have been on earlier stage.

Following manufacturer's recommendations and applying maintenance coat with the first appearance of wearing is the right approach for having and looking after oiled wooden floors. Especially important is on time re-oiling of the floors when they are finished in a colour different from clear. Once oil colours are worn out, they will be difficult to revive back to original oiled finish.

How to Maintain Your Oiled Floors

Oiled finishes require more care and attention compared to lacquers. Re-oiling actually is kind of a regular maintenance procedure which can keep the floor both healthy and attractive looking.

Remember that re-oiling is a viable way of protection only as long as the finish is in decent enough condition. Dirt and dust are the worst enemies of penetrating oils and the best way to preserve such a floor with such finish is by preventing their appearance as much as possible. A routine cleaning schedule with a vacuum cleaner and a moist mop should be enough.

If for some reason you couldn’t keep the surface clean, re-oiling would be pointless and you have to lightly sand the floor in order to remove the dirt and grime layer on top.as well as the damaged finish. It is up to you to decide how to best treat your wooden floor. Just remember that everything we neglect will one come back to trouble us.

A Few Tips

If you are keen to have an absolutely flawless looking oil finish, you may want to consider getting a product like the Bona Refresher which will provide additional protection especially in areas where liquid spills are a real possibility.

It’s important to avoid using too much water when cleaning. A wet mop is acceptable but damp one is a bad idea. Oils are said to provide some level of protection against water but there is no need test it, is there? Some flooring specialists claim that oil are vulnerable to liquid spills and we cannot disagree. Truth is, it doesn’t matter if you have oil or lacquer finish. Wood and water don’t mix well.

We suggest to also avoid using general purpose cleaners for oiled surfaces since they tend to leave a dull residue upon application which requires a lot of water to clean. And as we said water is bad.