A finish that soaks into the timber instead of sitting on top of it. Hard wax oil leaves a floor you can feel the grain through, and the one real advantage nothing else has: damage can be repaired in place.
A polyurethane forms a plastic film across the surface. Hard wax oil does the opposite: natural oils penetrate into the timber fibres and carry a wax component that hardens near the surface. The protection is in the boards, not on them.
That is why an oiled floor still feels like timber. Bare feet register the grain and the texture of the boards. On wide-board oak in particular it looks and feels like nothing else we apply.
Scratch a polyurethane floor and the fix is to sand and recoat the whole room, because a patch will always show as a ring. Scratch an oiled floor and we abrade the damaged area, re-oil it and blend it in. On a floor that is going to take knocks, that is a very big deal.
It also means the floor can be maintained rather than resurfaced. A maintenance oil over the traffic lanes every year or two keeps the whole floor even without ever taking it back to bare timber.
An oiled floor is not a fit-and-forget floor. It needs the right cleaner, no steam mops, no supermarket floor products with silicone in them, and a refresher coat on the busy areas periodically. Do that and it will outlast everything. Ignore it for five years and it will look tired and grey in the walkways.
We leave every oiled floor with a written care sheet and the name of the specific maintenance product for the system we used, because mixing brands on an oil finish causes trouble later.
European and American oak, wide boards, engineered oak, and anywhere the brief is natural and matte rather than shiny. It suits coastal interiors, and it is very forgiving on a floor with character marks, old nail holes and patina that a high-build gloss would only draw attention to.
It is water resistant, not waterproof. Spills wiped up promptly are no problem. Standing water left overnight will mark it, the same as it would mark most finishes.
No. Steam drives moisture into the timber and strips the wax. Use a barely damp mop and the cleaner made for the oil system on your floor.
Yes, but it has to be sanded completely back to bare timber first. Oil cannot penetrate through an existing film coating.
That is what the free in-home estimate is for. We will look at your timber, show you samples on it, and tell you honestly what will work.
Tell us about your floor and we will get back to you fast, usually the same day, to book a free in-home look and an honest price.
Local timber floor sanding, polishing and restoration across 97 suburbs - from the Logan line and the hinterland to the NSW Northern Rivers. View all areas we service
Fine FinishedFloors
Floors worth showing off - cut back, stained and finished by Gold Coast specialists since 2010.
22 Springsure Drive,
Mudgeeraba QLD 4213
Monday to Saturday, 7am to 5pm
Servicing the Gold Coast, Logan fringe and Northern NSW to Ocean Shores. Free, no-obligation in-home estimates.