OS Hardwax Oil

The Many Benefits of a Natural Floor Finish 

Plastic floor finishes such as polyurethane have become so standard in the United States that many people are surprised to learn they have an option: a repairable floor finish, also known as a penetrating oil or wax finish.  Instead of coating the floor with a film, as polyurethane does, these finishes penetrate into wood fibers and protect from within.  When the finish wears, as all floor finishes eventually do, spot-repair is so easy that homeowners can keep the finish in good shape themselves  indefinitely. 

The only problem with most oil and wax finishes is that they need frequent maintenance.  Our OS Hardwax Oil is far more durable.  Tests in Germany, where it is manufactured, showed it to be just as tough as polyurethane.  Yet it is very definitely a repairable floor finish, with the added benefits of being natural, low-toxic and pleasant to use. 

Ease of Touch Up & Repair 

Polyurethane finishes are difficult to touch-up should your floors ever get scratched or need repairs.  Spot repairs on polyurethane are difficult for three reasons: 

$                   Polyurethane finishes don=t bond chemically to previous layers, so touch-ups adhere only where the surface has been thoroughly scuffed.  But if you attempt to scuff up a spot with sandpaper and then paint fresh finish over the area, you discover the problem: inevitably, the dried repair shows.

$                   Particularly with oil-based polyurethane, which gives wood a rich amber tint, color-matching can be difficult.

$                   The sheen of a patch differs from that of the surrounding floor, unless the repair is done while the surrounding finish is still relatively new.  The problem is that polyurethane losses gloss with heavy wear, and no amount of buffing will restore the sheen to the same level that will show on the patch. 

OS Hardwax Oil, on the other hand, can be buffed repeatedly to its original luster.  Wear spots treated with our Liquid Wax Cleaner buff well too.  And when a fresh coat of finish does need to be applied, it=s a simple process. 

With any floor, it=s important to avoid letting the floor get in such rough shape that it must be totally refinished.  With polyurethane finishes, the trick is to apply a fresh coat as soon as the old finish dulls.  At that point, the old finish can be thoroughly screened (abraised with an abrasive pad mounted on a machine) and recoated with another layer of polyurethane.  If this job is delayed until the finish wears off in spots, however, it won=t work.  Then it will be necessary to sand off all the finish and some of the wood and start over.  Unfortunately, screening and recoating can=t be done unless all the furniture is moved out, and the job usually means calling in professional help.  As a result, many families wait too long.  As a result, the life of their wood floors is cut short.