Parquet - hard wax oil curing time

[TheBash]

Hi everyone,

I've read through loads of helpful posts on the board so hoping one of the many knowledgeable people out there might be able to help.
I've just bought a house and found a parquet floor under the carpet. it's in pretty condition (I think) so was wondering about renovating it.
I would like to take off the old finish and put on a hard wax oil (Osmo seems to be the forum's choice). At the moment the place is empty. If I sand this weekend and get the finish down I will have 8 days before moving in furniture - will that be enough to cure? Or is there a faster drying/curing option?

Thanks.

PS would a trio sander be enough to get the old finish off or do I need belt and trio?

 

[WoodYouLike]

Most, if not all, HardWaxOils take appr 10 days to fully cure - depending on the weather (temperature and humidity).
8 days should be enough time

The equipment to use depends on the "toughness" of the original finish - do you know what that is: varnish or oil/wax?

 

[TheBash]

thanks for the reply.

I think it's probably varnish (though no 100% sure) but doesn't seem to be that tough a finish judging by a couple of accidental scratches I made when pulling out carpet staples. Fairly sure its pine blocks around an inch thick x 9 long x 3 wide (the house is a 1930's build).

Also, if you (or any other reader) can offer an opinion, is it realistic to think I can get a 35x12 room and hall way (6x15) sanded and finished in a weekend? i would class myself as competant DIYer but floor-sanding novice.

 

[WoodYouLike]

The sanding needs to be finished in time for the two coats of HardWaxOil to be applied. We would normally apply the first coat end of day one, second coat morning of day 2

Start as early as possible with the sanding I would suggest and DON'T apply the second coat of HardWaxOil f the first coat is still sticky!

 

[TheBash]

thanks again.
So as long as I can get the first coat down on Saturday i should be ok. (I might try and start on friday if I can).
One last question, are there any alternatives to Osmo that cure faster? and is it worth investing in the Osmo application stuff or will roller/brush be ok?

 

[WoodYouLike]

You can use Saicos Premium HardWaxOil with a drying time of 3 - 4 hours.

I wouldn't bother with special application stuff: a simple applicator works fine

 

[TheBash]

thanks.
A faster drying one might help.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Compared with Osmo the Saicos is pretty "quick"

 

[aveatry]

With thanks to all the posters on this forum I have just compleated 40m2 of floating engineered oak floor

My floor already had a coat of factory "oil" that when tested with water left a mark.
I used just one coat as I was advised to use the factory coat more as a primer / top coat.
I used Bona hard wax oil that was carefully walkable after 12 hours with no air flow (iwanted to give the product time to sink in without drying)
then with 2 hours of air flow it was safer to walk on.
I did one room 1st and had to put some furniture in after 48 hours.
I have seen that every day it looks alittle more matt so the 10 day fully cure thing sounds about right but it is still ok well befor that BUT with care.
I use a paint pad £5.99 with a tray from screwfix to apply and it went on a treat. The paint pad seemed a good idea so I was rubbing it in more that laying it on with a roller and as it was not very big it did not hold and waste half the product within it.

 

[TheBash]

Thanks for the help again.
I think I'll be going with the Saicos - as I'm a little worried (either founded or unfounded, I'm not sure) about the drying/curing time it might buy me a little bit more wiggle room if things take a bit longer than expected.
I've got a belt sander, edger and trio booked in (40 grit & 80 grit on the belt, bit of filling and 120 on the trio to finish?) and am looking forward to a long dusty weekend.
Will let you know how I got on next week.

 

[TheBash]

Hi guys,
Just thought I would let you know how I got on (sorry for long post)
First up, it's hard work. The edger is a beast of a machine which really takes it out of your arms, legs and back. Much respect to anyone who uses one of those every day.
The belt sander was surprisingly easy to use - I was pretty worried about gorging big chunks out of the floor so probably started on much to fine a paper - after using the 40 we went down to a 24 for the next room, which did a much better job of shifting the old surface.
At the end of the day one we had shifted pretty much all the old surface (like I said it would have been much quicker if we had started with the really coarse stuff + we lost time cleaning up before, and dashing out to buy a heavy duty extension cable after our started getting a bit warm).
Next day was meant to be trio-only but one of the pads on the machine we had just wouldn't hold on to the discs. Called the hire firm - got through to someone who said they would try and get soemone back to us, but no-one did (it was sunday morning afterall). So after an hour waiting we decided to go back to the belt sander (only had 60s no 80s). Sanded, then filled. Tried the trio again with new 120s, it still spat out one disc. Then trien with one old worn disc and two new. Which worked (well kept all the discs on the machine). So at the end of the day, we got it pretty smooth but a little scratchy/swirly in places. So I plan to spend the next couple of evenings with a small sander/hand sanding blocks to (hopefully) finish it off before waxing.
So my top tips are get a heavy duty extension cable before you start, don't be afraid of the belt sander, leave plenty of 'rest' time in your time calculations for edging and consider getting some knee pads (my keens are raw).