How To Finish Unfinished Pine Flooring

Four things to look for in heart pine flooring.

How to finish unfinished pine flooring.

The most natural but least water resistant film finish is shellac. The flooring installation and finish process for video haters. Then apply a final coat of stain varnish or oil. Oil based finish will last much longer in comparison.

Most people prefer a clear oil finish. You can buy heart pine flooring in a variety of widths and grades. Although in my opinion 4 coats of satin polyurethane makes the very best finish for a pine floor there are many alternatives. Cleaning and sanding the pine floor.

Because pine flooring typically comes unfinished you have the chance to finish your floor in any color that suits your preferences and the color palette of your home. Maple and birch are tight grained woods with very small pores and the density of the pore wall fibers varies drastically. For you purposes at least 5 6 coats of shellac can be brushed or rolled on to a well sanded pine floor. But pine also takes stain and paint well.

Part 1 of 3. Floors made of maple birch and coniferous woods especially pine or fir are all very difficult to stain evenly. Before applying stain to your wood floor you need to know what species it is. If you choose varnish instead of polyurethane to finish your floor you will want to make sure that you select a varnish or finish that has hardening agents added to it to give additional durability to the pine wood.

To finish a pine floor which is basically plywood that is purchased and finished from large sheets you need to use stain varnish or oil. The pine will develop a slightly darker patina with age and exposure to light. For maximum protection and durability give the floor 2 coats of stain or varnish and wait 24 hours for the floor to dry. Pine is a softwood so an old pine floor is usually distressed which is part of its charm.

We chose yellow pine unfinished flooring from lumber liquidators sand floors with an orbital sander rented locally. When the finish gets dull you can restore it by a screen and recoat. A step by step video for a home owner on how to use various wood floor sanders and how to apply the finish. This process is detailed in this post.

You ll need to finish your own pine flooring using stain varnish or oil. Stain it or leave it natural and topcoat it with an oil or varnish. It dries very fast so 2 3 coats can be applied. It needs regular sweeping and mopping to protect the finish.

Ryan used an air nailer to nail the boards in place.