Current Products Similar to the old Formby's Refinishing Fluid?
OrchidOCD
12 years ago
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randy427
12 years agobobismyuncle
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Anyone Refinish Your Old Floors Lately?
Comments (20)We used a water-based varathane on our old, much abused fir floors, and I LOVE them. I have to say that in the water-use areas of kitchen and bathroom the finish has not held up well 15+ years out and needs a re-do, but the look of the floors throughout is a wonderful honey-blonde tone that is just luminous. Somewhat less amber than the example shown by TheNarrows above. Ours is a bright house anyway, and on some days with daylight coming in, the spaces just glow. I know that current trends are toward dark floors, and you say you prefer mid-tone, but I'd go as light as possible all the time - it's the most significant thing you can do to brighten up space. And it's a warm brightness. But obviously, test, test, test and your own taste should prevail as well as the characteristics of your space. You can always darken floors by putting down rugs, but if you stain them, you can never lighten them again. The wood will darken from its naked look with any finish, of course. KarinL...See MoreCRF & Fluids
Comments (82)Just wanted to update, we lost our Peanut on Tuesday, at the age of 20 years and 2 months. He was doing really well on the fluids, but he came down with what appeared to be an eye infection in December. It improved a little with triple antibio cream and lysine, but never fully cleared up. Over the last few weeks, he lost a lot of weight though he was eating very, very well. Last week, his eye swelled up tremendously and did not respond to any treatment. The vet felt a tumor behind his eye and said nothing could be done at his age and in his condition. We miss him so much, I can't look at his favorite chair because I expect to see him in it. Hubby is the one who gave him fluids every night and he is having a really hard time too. He was doing so well on the fluids, if it had not been for the tumor we probably would have had him for quite a while longer....See MoreRefinishing character grade white oak to bare look?
Comments (10)I picked up some sample boards today of the engineered floor I am currently liking, Opus Premium European Oak Naples. Here it is pictured vs. my current hardwood below. Opus Naples below current mixed width 4-5-6-7 character grade oak below Seeing the comparison in my house leads me to a couple of thoughts. First, I want to make sure this wide-plank look will stand the test of time. If I commit to it, my best bet may be to replace all of the hardwood I currently have with the engineered, which seems to defeat the purpose of getting solid hardwood in the first place. I currently have about 1500 square feet of hardwood that will be refinished and another 1500 square feet of new to be added. If I calculated correctly, it may be less expensive to replace all with the engineered, if we do our own demo. My concern here is if the wide plank is right for my house in the Midwest and if this particular flooring brand is the best way to achieve it and if I will be happy with this decision five years from now! Secondly, if we keep our current floor, I am thinking that the grain and knots of the character grade will jump out even more with a light finish that may not give me the lighter, raw-looking clean finish that I like.....raw, but busy. Lastly, I feel like my best bet may be to keep what I have, install the same throughout the first floor and then, maybe pick a size like 5" and install a uniform plank upstairs in solid and then, figure out the stain once the floors are installed. At least that way, if my contractor and I cannot figure out the perfect formulation to achieve the look I love, I can resort to something darker that I would be happy with as well. Any insight appreciated!...See MoreIs it possible to patch and refinish a pre-finished Bruce floor?
Comments (6)I second Johnson Floorings opinion. Red oak in the 2.25" width is SUPER common and very cheap to source. Sure some of the bevels are going to remain...but it is possible to mask the look with a deeper colour floor. When it comes to fading, that has more to do with the WINDOWS and the amount of UV light coming through than the wood. Most wood species NATURALLY fade. That's just the nature of UV rays. There are some STAINS that are NOT STABLE in sunlight. Those unstable stains are often the LIGHT OR MIDGRADE stains like gunstock. So you get a two-fold situation. 1. The wood fades (making the stain appear lighter) 2. The Stain fades (making the wood look lighter) This means you have a faded stain (very pale) on a faded wood (very pale) and you end up with (sigh...you guessed it) a very pale floor. What I know about cork flooring (which fades to off-white in 1 year) STAINS and UV is this: The DARKER the stain the more stable it is in direct sunlight (ie. bad windows with very little UV rating to them). In other words, if you go dark - as you seem to like this idea - you will find your floors are less prone to LOOKING faded. Sure the wood underneath with get lighter but the dark stain will RETAIN most of it's colour. And do yourself a favour by using the SUPER TOUGH finishes. Work with 3 coats of FINISH (don't let them talk you into a sealant/stain and 2 coats...pay the extra and go with 3 coats) of the HIGH END 2 part water based finishes. They are SUPER TOUGH. Bona Traffic HD is the Platinum Standard for toughness. It is followed closely by Loba 2K Supra AT which is harder to find but just as tough. Don't settle for 2 coats of oil based or low-end water based stuff. Go with 3 coats of FINISH. Your household has managed (you plus the previous owner) to 'kill' a 25 year finish in just 17 years. Admittedly the first 11 years was someone else....but it has still occurred. The factor finish is NOT aluminum oxide. Which means the toughest finish was NEVER used on those floors to begin with....See MoreOrchidOCD
12 years agobobismyuncle
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