POPPING THE GRAIN

Grain popping can be used when applying dark stains, by wetting freshly sanded wood, letting it dry and then applying the stain. This is called "popping" the grain. The stain will penetrate deeper and result in a darker colour. Grain popping can also be used to enrichen the colour of natural wood prior to sealing.

GRAIN ENHANCEMENT

Grains of many woods can be enhanced by applying one coat of shellack to the floor prior to sealing.

WHATS THE BEST SEALER TO USE

Of course there are many types and kinds of sealers that can be used on natural wooden floors, but which is best for your floor?

In general most domestic propertys have (light traffic) normal use of there floor, In this case a Waterbourne sealer is the natural choice, It is available in matt, satin and gloss finishes and has a good life span of 3 - 7 years without no real maintenance. Waterbourne sealers are virtually odourless and non toxic, which is safe for everyone in the home.
Our preference goes towards 'Granfinish Super' By Granwax, Who are a british company that have been running since the second world war, The application is very simple and lines are easily smoothed off. Unfortunately Its not available at your local DIY store, other brand names we use are 'Bonakemi' , Pallman and 'Carver"

For high traffic areas, Night clubs, Sports halls, offices or schools we would use a 2 part waterbourne sealer, this type of waterbased sealer is very tough and cures exremely hard, it is very resistant to scratching and scuffing and is virtually odourless and virtually unharmful.Granwax, Bonakemi and Carver have all developed slightly differen't versions of 2 part waterbourne sealer. Our prefernce here is Master finish, which apart from its extreme resistance to black heel marking and scratching also gives excellent duro-elasticisy and anti slip that conforms with all british standards.

Finally we move onto oils, Normally quality Oak and dark woods would best receive 3 good coats of Oswax, hardwax oil, applied with a special Osmo brush and buffed in to get an even spread, a great looking finish thats healthy for the wood, although drying times are about 12 hours in between coats on application, which makes using this product somewhat tiresome it also needs buffing quite often.

Im sorry we do not use solvent based floor seals.

I hopes this will guide you in choosing the right sealer for your floor.