Finishing old fir subfloor in sections


Candice

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I found beautiful fir under the old linoleum in the kitchen of my 1929 house. I want to finish the fir with a satin finish and encourage a little amber, if anything.

 

I can't move the major appliances out, so I have to prep and refinish in sections. I have to use the kitchen while I prep, so I'd like to do something to seal as I go.

 

Will this approach work?

* Sand a small section

* Apply BLO

* Apply dilute (50-50) shellac for seal and some protection

* Come back and finish half the floor with shellac

* Finish second half and blend where they meet (probaly in a 2' wide passageway)

 

I was considering an oil, then danish oil, then varnish series, for moisture protection, but I think that might be too hard to blend the sections.

 

Any other suggestions for a close-to-the-wood look that can be protected as I go and then blend the sections?

 

Thanks!

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Hate to say it, but I really don't think you will be able to finish in patches and make it blend well.  BLO will take some time to dry enough for shellac to be applied.  The Shellac will offer almost zero protection in this type of application.  It's just not meant for floors. You really need an oil or water based poly, especially in a kitchen (high traffic and water spills.)  Anyway you could shut the Kitchen down for ~ 24 hours?  That should be enough time for most good floor finishes to dry enough for light traffic.

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Agree with Scott that BLO needs a looooong time to cure before topcoating with shellac. Not so much in agreement about shellac not being for floors, as it was historically used in such applications, Zinsser still markets it for floors.

However, I do believe it will wear faster than a poly, and is susceptible to damage from alcohol spills as well. Scott's suggestion about closing the kitchen sounds like the only way to go.

He who dies with the most tools ... leaves a great estate sale.

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I could close off the kitchen for a day or two, but I still have the section problem. I have to wait for one section to dry so I can move the appliances over.

 

I may have to create a visual division on the floor then, and use the varnish approach. That probably wouldn't be too bad.

 

This is a very informal diy project so that I can remove the flooring I've never liked and reclaim some of the beauty of the old wood. Sadly, this dear house will be torn down if we ever move (the nature of the real estate market here), so it's not really an "investment" type project.

 

I appreciate your thoughts, Scott - thanks for the help!

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wtnhighlander - I think there is shellac on the wood now (though, it is subflooring), and I love the look. I'd just pull up the linoleum and leave it, except for the streaks of mastik. I'll look into the Zinsser.

 

I understand poly doesn't blend (and I want to use something that doesn't sit so much on top), but I don't know about shellac. I'm thinking the nature of it might make a blended section more possible - or at least not be quite as obvious.

 

Thanks!

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you can theoretically blend shellac from one section to the next. but that does not make it easy. if using anything but superblond shellac you will probably get darker color where the sections meet and overlap. but even superblond has a little color.

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Shellac would definitely be easier to blend because it melts into itself, unlike poly which just layers on top of itself.  But I have to agree with Scott that shellac is a poor finish for floors.  It will get beat up so fast that you may as well just use oil.  They used shellac when it was one of very few options for finishing a floor.  Once poly and other synthetics were invented, shellac became obsolete for floor finishing.

 

And another word of caution...BLO can turn blonde woods VERY amber...meaning yellow.

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Shellac is not varnish so the BLO doesn't need to be dry and shellac will topcoat it just fine. Shellac was used as a floor finish for a long time. It doesn't wear as well as a high grade varnish but is about the same as less expensive consumer grade varnish; and shellac dries quickly, doesn't give off stinky fumes for days afterward, and is easy to do in sections or repair. The downside it isn't as water resistant as varnish. I used shellac on my living room floor and it wore about as well as the varnish I used in my dining room.

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Woodsap, Eric, McQ... Thanks for your thoughts.

I'm a little concerned about going "yellow", but this fir is pretty pink.

I'm glad to hear about the melt-in of shellac. I can see that the overlap issue is different and has problems of its own. I'll have to choose which battle to fight.

The oil will have days, at least, to dry. It's good to know I don't have to be too concerned with drying time if I use shellac next.

 

It sounds like I have the most options if I use BLO as I go (or tung oil), then a coat of shellac. Then I can go with varnish if there's any way to do the whole thing at once. If not, I could still do a shellac finish and/or wax.

 

Thank you for your help!

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