Ask Mr Sanders

Thank you for your question regarding parquet floor restoration.

Both lacquers and hardwax-oils can be used to seal parquet floors, but there are key differences to consider:

Wood Floor Lacquers:

• Durability: More hard-wearing and durable, providing long-lasting protection.

• Ideal Use: Recommended for floors with high foot traffic.

• Popular Products: Bona Mega, Bona Traffic, Loba Viva, Junckers HT700.

• Solvent-Based Varnishes: Offer a thick layer of protection but emit strong odors, making them less suitable for residential use.

Oil-Based Wood Finishes (Hardwax-Oils):

• Maintenance: Less hard-wearing, requiring more frequent maintenance and recoating.

• Aesthetic: Provide a more natural look and feel to the floors.

• Popular Products: Osmo Polyx hardwax-oils.

Choosing between the two depends on your specific needs for durability and aesthetic appeal.

Hi and thank you for your question regaring whitewashed effect on wooden flooring.

Achieving whitewashed / nordic finish on engineered oak flooring during floor restoration service with the use of either stains, lacquers or by using precoloured oil-based products. You need to be aware that there will be a slight difference in the appearance of the whitewashed effect depending on whether it has been achieved by lacquer or oil.

If you decide to seal your floors with lacquer, whitewashed effect can be done in two ways. You can either use white pigmented primer like Bona White, or you can first apply white stain on the sanded floors and then coat it with multiple coats of clear lacquer. For our wood floor restoration service where staining is involved, we rely on some of the most popular products such as Bona Create Ice, followed by the application of three coats of waterbased Bona Mega lacquer in either matt, satin or gloss finish.

If you prefer to achieve the whitewashed effect using oil-based products, then you need to be aware that this will achieve less uniform appearance.

Hi and thank you for the question regarding the choice of sealant for pine floorboards.

Pine is a softwood, and while it is possible to seal pine with both lacquers and hardwax oils, we always recommend using a hardwearing varnish when sanding and sealing this type of flooring. The reason is that pine tends to absorb oils, resulting in lower protection and durability for floorboards sealed with hardwax oils compared to those sealed with varnish. This is especially important when staining is required. Therefore, we recommend sealing stained pine floorboards with hardwearing varnish for better protection and durability.

We hope that the above helps.

Hi and thank you for contacting us with your question about cleaning and polishing of engineered wood floors.

The first thing to note is that cleaning and polishing services are not suitable for floors that are badly damaged or where the existing sealant has worn out. This service is intended for wooden floors in relatively good condition, with no areas lacking sealant. Cleaning and polishing provide an extra coat and additional protection to the existing sealant, thereby extending the life of varnished floors before they need to be sanded and revarnished. This service can be performed on any wooden floors sealed with varnish, including engineered wood flooring, parquet flooring, and solid wood flooring.

However, if the sealant on your floors has already worn out, cleaning and polishing will not be effective. In such cases, thorough sanding and revarnishing are required to completely remove the existing sealant and apply new varnish to the sanded floors.

Yes, wooden floors and wooden stairs can be both stained in the same way. Once the area is sanded to a smooth finish we can apply several samples of different colours on your stairs so you can choose the colour that best matches teh rest of your flooring.

I hope that this helps.