Recommend a stain/varnish for wooden floor

NIMAN

I recently sanded back a wooden floor in a home office area and was going to get it painted cream, but have decided to go with a wood finish.

I may also be getting some shelving made up, and was thinking of light cream with a light walnut colour scheme.

Anyone recommend a brand of floor stain to go for? Obviously the floor is likely to be a light walnut-ish colour too;)

And how should I apply it? How many coats and plan to do one of those diamond coat varnishes over it to preserve it? Is that ok thing to do?

byrybak

i found Ronseal Diamond Hard Floor Varnish to be very good and easy to work with too. u can roll it on or just use brush. u will get better finish if rolled on. 2-3 coats is a must if u want it to last
http://www.ronseal.co.uk/products/diamond-hard-floor-varnish

NIMAN

Thanks for that. I take it thats an All-In-One job, both stain and varnish all in one.

Do I need to prep the floorboards before I start? I will have them wiped down with white spirit a day or two before I start the staining.

michael999999

NIMAN wrote: »

Thanks for that. I take it thats an All-In-One job, both stain and varnish all in one.

Do I need to prep the floorboards before I start? I will have them wiped down with white spirit a day or two before I start the staining.

Make sure you give them a good hoovering, and a light sand between coats!

NIMAN

Best to buy a pad to apply it?
Will I get an better looker finish than I would with a brush?

Any technique to use when applying?

I stained my decking when I moved in, and I found that it was more convenient for me when I was sitting on the decking to paint from the top down til it met me, then move across to the next plank do the same, then the next plank etc. However, I found that the stain dried out as I moved across the width of the decking, and then when I went back to the first plank but moved down to the unstained bit, you could then see the joining line between the 2 different areas I had stained (hope that makes sense). Don't want this happening with my floorboards, so would plan to paint them one board at a time, rather than 5 or 6 at a time.

DublinDIYguy

Staining first, then using clear varnish over is a far better method than the all in one stain/varnishes. Mainly because you went to the effort of sanding the floor back to wood.
The stain soaks in to the wood and shows the natural beauty of the wood. And the clear varnish then protects and enhances.
My favourite stain is Colron wood dye (dyes and stains do the same thing). It's easily applied with a clean cloth (wear plastic gloves) and really brings out the beauty of the wood. 1 or 2 coats. The more coats, the darker the finish.
Then 2 coats of a strong clear varnish. There's plenty of them on the market. The price will generally give you a good idea of which ones are better. Just make sure it's not water based.
Much nicer job, By far. Otherwise all that hard work you did sanding the floor is for nothing.
Only other sanding required is a very light sand before 2nd coat of clear varnish.
Good Luck either way

cardwizzard

Hi OP, yes you want to continue your wet edge at all times, try 2 or 3 boards at once. You will soon discover how many you can keep wet at once.

I'd recommend Junckers, or Morrells floor finishes. Both stand up to heavy footfall and will last the test of time.