Yikes! Sounds like you need to take a break. Great news about your dog and your floor.

I am loving this floor more and more. We have been generally walking only with socks, but the kids have forgotten a few times, and it doesn't seem to have hurt it at all.

Morgen- do you think it would be safe to put low-lying furniture in after 10 days or so? I can't do the other half of the floor until I can move the low-lying furniture into the living room. I am chomping at the bit to get the rest of this finished!

I DO think you could put in the low lying furniture then. I would still wait a few more weeks for anything like a rug or bean bag but I do think you can get it in.

I'm so glad you like it. We put our bed in place early as well as our desk and I felt okay about that as long as we heaped the blankets on top during the day time to allow air flow.

Amberley, There's an OSMO finished floor in House Beautiful (May, The Advice Issue). Looks nice. How are your floors coming along?

As an aside, there's also a painted floor (pretty bold) in This Old House this month. Like a quilt pattern, but I tend to think that a tone on tone of the same design could be quite gorgeous.

grlwprls-

I just got that issue today in the mail and saw that!! I finished the kitchen floor today- on to the dining room tomorrow. So tired...

Get some sleep! It's so hard to keep up and keep going the next day. Be prepared and get as much rest as you can.

Morgen-

I decided to split up the kitchen and dining room for that exact reason. There is a natural dividing point (board running perpendicular separating the 2 spaces). I really paid for it physically after the LR side. Aside from the general soreness, my physical Lyme symptoms REALLY acted up for a about a week.

Just finished the kitchen and I am thrilled with how seamless the salvage boards in the kitchen match the original hardwoods in the rest of the space. It looks like they were alwys there.

I am SO happy I decided to clear coat with OSMO. It is really a fantastic product. I am looking to get the Top Oil to finish my butcherblock now too. Have you used the OSMO cleaning products? I was about to order those as well. Looks like I will be able to send back at least one of the cans, and maybe 2. I may be able to do two coats of 775 SF with one can!! Crazy!!

Yay! *clutches hand to heart* Amberley, you did it! I'm so proud. And I'm utterly itching to try it myself.

What gorgeous floors! Makes you want to just get down and caress them.

LOL! I know- it is like the soapstone fondling we stoners all talk about. It is SOOOOO silky.

Yea seconded! It is SO silky but I wasn't going to describe my floors that way first. Lol.

I haven't used any of the cleaning products. Thats mostly because in my littel room I just clean with a rag and water and it turns out great. In a bigger room I might try something more impressive. I can't wait to see how it all ends for you.

I am getting a couple of walnut boards planed from my local wood guy- I can't WAIT to put some OSMO on those! They will go a across the stretchers on the seating side of my island for a foot rail. I also plan to coat my wooden cabinet knobs with it (they will be stained dark walnut as well).

DH loves it so much he can't wait for this project to be finished so he can build a piece of furniture and use it on that!

Hello to everyone using and enjoying OSMO floor finish--I have a question for you re: where did you purchase your OSMO product? I live in the SE--sadly, no dealer listed on Ecohaus' website. Has anyone purchased from an out of state retailer, and would you recommend them?

Amberley: thank you so much for posting this question, your progress pics, and thanks to everyone for posting information on how-to apply, what to expect, etc. I had no idea OSMO existed until this thread and I've been following Amberley's progress. Really beautiful job!

TIA for any information re: a recommended retailer!

I got mine from ecohaus BUT I live in the same town as them so I just drove in to pick it up. I really like the people there so for what it's worth:

http://www.ecohaus.com/

I got mine from Amicus Green Building Center in Kensington, MD. I live in MD, but decided not to brave DC traffic, as they sent it to me for $13 shipping (and that was 3 2.5L cans!). They were very knowledgeable and friendly. They also have a 30 return policy, which I will be taking advantage of since the coverage was so great!

Morgne and Amberly: Thank you so VERY much for responding with the info. I guess I didn't cruise Ecohaus' site properly. I found MSR pricing, but I didn't see an option for purchase. I actually checked out Amicus' site briefly this afternoon, seeing as MD is about the closest to us (GA).

I'm actually going to try the Top Oil before doing our floors. I'm in the throes of choosing countertop materials--butcher block was an easy decision for part of our kitchen. I haven't treated both sections yet (yea Top Oil!).

Thank you once again for this fantastic information! Looks like I'll be joining Amberley's fatigued muscle ranks (this summer) when we have our floors installed!

Poppy09,

I think you actually call and place the order over the phone. LMAO! How old school is that? I think that because there's a little picture of a woman holding a phone in the upper right corner of the screen. That's actually REALLY funny because I call and tell them my order just so that I can save a little time. I wonder how many employees I've confused by doing what they thought was an online order and then requesting pick up!

Morgne,

I spent more time on Ecohaus' website today and sure enough, I saw the operator image and phone number (doh!). I placed my order and should see my order of Top Oil within a week. Yea! Thanks for the info!

I am ordering the Top Oil as well for our butcherblock. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

I want to use this product! your floors look beautiful.

I am worried that my flooring guy has probably never used it before and is likely to balk at the idea. Also, we are trying to match existing oak planks and run them in to the kitchen. So I am worried that after we sand that there might be a matching problem.

If we want to stain, do we need the Top Oil version?

Tarnator: The Top Oil is an Osmo product for butcher blocks. I defer to others to direct you to the proper Osmo finishing oil by name.

@ amberley and morgne: I can't wait to see how Top Oil works for our butcher block!

Poppy09, when do you think you'll get it done? I'm really excited to see if it turns out as well as the floor product.

tarnator: I think OSMO makes a stain that's meant to be used with their floor finishes. (link below) They offer tons of advice on their web site, so I'm thinking you can print that off for your floor guy.

I'm so thrilled with all the great OSMO results! I've been itching to try it forever -- highly recommended by a painter friend of mine, thus my recommendation to Amberley -- perhaps I can try it on some furniture just to see.

I'm also wondering if anyone has ever used their Park Lane outdoor deck finish ...

Here is a link that might be useful: Scroll down just a bit for all the OSMO products

Morgne: I should receive the product (early?) next week. I hope to have two sections of butcher block to treat as soon as possible, so with any luck I will take care of it by the following weekend (fingers crossed).

So we are going to use IKEA birch butcherblock, which comes pre-treated with their oil product. Do you guys think I should sand it down first, or just apply the Top Oil?

So I had to put a third coat on the kitchen, by accident. I dumped the can!! I got most of it up, slowly, with a brush, but decided that with such a small amount of floor, the spot covered about 25% of it, so I might as well recoat the whole floor!

So that backed me up a day, and I took a day off today to do some gardening chores. On to the DR tomorrow!

Amberley--we have the IKEA beech butcherblock, and I will sand the pieces before applying the Top Oil. One piece I treated already with a beeswax/mineral oil combination (about two months ago), so I may need to sand that piece a little more than the other.

At least your kitchen will be well protected! :)

I just purchased the IKEA VDE which I believe has a solid Birch top. IÂve read so many posts here about Waterlox  how dose this Top Oil compare to that?

Amberly  you are working so hard. IÂve really enjoyed following your adventure. Your floors look amazing! You are a true inspiration. :-)

Jeri

I will take pics of the DR/kit sometime in the next few days to show you all the finished floors! I haven't finished all the painting yet though, so it is still a work in progress.

Side note- the 5 year old dumped a whole cup of water on the 5 day finished floor. NO problems. Perfect. Love. It.

Amberly, so great to hear that it's still going well and yes, I'd definitely to a complete resand of any wood that already has a finish!

Jeri, waterlox and Osmo are not really similar products at all as far as I can tell. Waterlocks is more like a paint and osmo is more like a stain. There may be different kinds that stack up more closely though.

Watching for yours too poppy!

This thread has got me so interested in using the OSMO top oil for my Boos block table top. I was getting ready to use Waterlox but everything I read here and about the OSMO has got me so excited about this option. Can anyone help me about where to purchase the TOP OIL online? Ecohaus does not show it on their website and I am not near a store. Also if anyone has used the top oil yet on a countertop I'd love to hear feedback Thanks!

Tina

If you were to use this product on a new kitchen floor, when would the cupboards be installed--after the floor treatment or before?

(The unfinished new floor will be installed before the cupboards are installed.)

I'd do before but it could be done after. I might worry a little about the toe kicks on the cabinets if they were installed already.

Don't care which anyone uses as they both sound like good products but for the record, Waterlox is nothing like a paint. It is an exceptionally durable oil-based wood finish which comes in various sheens and tinted. It's put on with a lamb's wool applicator and cures down.

As for water resistance, I Waterloxed our reclaimed chestnut oak powder room floor -- wide boards, lots of knots etc. Well, we had a clog in the sewer line and guess which room the system backed up into?

Uh huh. The powder room. Floor got soaked overnight. I had a tiny bit of cupping on one board (the other settled down after a firebrick was left on it) but the Waterlox finish is teflon. It is as perfect now as it was before -- after an overnight soaking (and yes, I disinfected).

Who even wants to tell such a story but I had amazing results with the Waterlox through a really bad issue.

I put the used rags in a large can filled with water. That helps soak out some of the stuff. Then I let them dry and let the water evaporate outside. When the rags are dry I pop them in a paper bag and burn them on a rainy day. It's not a big fire and problem solved.

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Rocogirl, I was comparing waterlox to paint because it leaves a laquer or film on top of the wood as opposed to a stain which soaks into the wood. I don't know what you mean when you say it's nothing like that?

Waterlox IS an excellent product. In comparing it to paint there was no insult intended. I was just using the comparison to show that the two products, Waterlox and Osmo are not really comparible products in this case.

Waterlox is a tung oil finish. It leaves NO lacquer, NO film on a floor. It is nothing like paint and I'm sure no one meant to misstate its qualities -- though that appears to be the case.

I used Waterlox it on an antique wood floor and it looks exactly like my other 100% tung-oil finished floors except it is more durable.

When you go to both websites, the two products appear, in fact, to be similar though the Osmo uses sunflower, soybean and thistle oil, plus two hard, natural waxescarnauba (familiar in car wax and lipstick) and candelilla.

Osmo appears to have lower VOC mineral spirits and therefore, perhaps is greener.

I don't know how they actually differ in terms of VOCs (Waterlox definitely needs open windows though the smell goes away completely). Nor would it be possible to assess the long term wear of each unless they were in the same place.

I know Waterlox is very good and from the enthusiasm about the Osmo it seems to be as well.

But I do think it's important to accurately state what products are -- it's too easy to create misconceptions which I don't believe was intended.

Here is a link that might be useful: Waterlox

Okay, here we go again: These are the instructions for using waterlox on a countertop from the waterlox website: "6. After the last coat is dry, lightly sand the surface with 320 grit or 3/0 or 4/0 steel wool to smooth out the finish." If it was a stain type of application there is no finish to smooth. I'm really not trying to be argumentative but for the use in question, waterlox on a table top, there is a significant difference between that and the osmo being discussed for floors.

I say this as someone who also loves Waterlox for many uses: Waterlox is based on tung oil, but it's not actually an oil finish, since it is cooked up with solvent (phenolic resin). This changes the tung oil into an entirely different finish: a wiping varnish. Unlike a wax or oil finish (OSMO), you can build up film coats of Waterlox like any other varnish, sanding in between coats. I've done it. My bath floor has Waterlox and it's a great resilient floor finish. I've also used it on furniture. Because it has a high solvent content, it can be applied more thinly (although requires more coats) than a polyurethane -- but also smells more. (Yikes, that smell! And the low VOC version is even worse than the original.) But it is a gorgeous finish, no question.

Pure tung oil, on the other hand, which I've also used, doesn't build at all, it soaks in and if you apply too many coats, it just gets smeary and gunky. I don't think pure tung oil is used much if at all for floors; it wouldn't harden enough for any kind of wear. (We used it on some window trim to accentuate the grain.)

From the horse's mouth.

Here is a link that might be useful: also: Bob Flexner on oils and varnishes

circus -- my whole first floor (except for the Waterlox powder room floor) is 100% tung-oil finished. 4 coats. It's worn very well with no reapplication for 4 years now. It's absorbed, with a soft sheen; no gunk. We weren't living there and had fans on 24/7 for 36 hours to help the oil absorb.

My mantel, OTOH, which also is finished with tung oil (3 coats) was steel wooled in between each coat.

Perhaps my house would not meet official approval of the coatings folks (my contractor has his own very definite ideas) but one reason floors are not so often finished with tung oil these days is cost and the difficulty in finding people who know what they're doing with it. We only did the downstairs and had an upcharge for the oil.

The quote you linked above is really handy for clarification in this instance so I'll pull it in here.
Hi Leyla:

I happened across your post, and would like to address your question without making this to "too much" of a commercial.

The first thing I should make clear, is that while the solids in our products are mostly tung oil, Waterlox is NOT pure tung oil, but a complete wood finish.

Oil/wax and "hard oil" finishes are very popular in Europe, and are starting to make inroads into the US market. The ones that I have seen are indeed beautiful, and are repairable, but are not easy for an amateur to apply, they need to be reapplied on a regular basis, and will water spot. They cannot be tinted, and there is no choice of sheen.

(OK, here comes the commercial)

Our products are different from those that are 100% tung oil. We basically take Tung Oil (a superior drying oil), Resin and Mineral Spirits and cook all the ingredients into a complete wood finish that gives you the look and feel of a naturally oiled wood, with the additional benefit of forming a film that is waterproof, stands up to foot traffic, and protects against household spills, and is easy for an armature to apply...If you can roll paint on a wall, you can apply Waterlox.

Complete finishing instructions can be found on our web site: http://www.waterlox.com/site/478/default.aspx

best
David Zarzour
Marketing Manager
Waterlox Coatings Corp

I used Waterlox it on an antique wood floor and it looks exactly like my other 100% tung-oil finished floors except it is more durable. I stand corrected on the "film" however it's invisible.

Believe my point is more clearly made now thanks to you. (BTW that Festool drill you put me on to rocks. I'm still learning about it but what a beautiful instrument! A thousand thanks).

Excellent! Now we are all on the same page. Cool beans.

Morgne, amberley and others: After a delayed start date, I began my butcher block project today. After sanding, and sanding, and sanding...I had to keep sanding to take all the beeswax/mineral oil off the wood. I haven't applied OSMO yet--literally waiting for the dust to settle! Taking the beeswax off was a bit of a nightmare, but I want to be sure I give the OSMO the best surface to work with.

Just wanted to say I haven't forgotten about keeping up with my progress.

And buffalotina, if you are still shopping for OSMO TopOil, I purchased mine from Ecohaus in Seattle. Highly recommend them! No option for ordering online--call the number on their website. It arrived on the East Coast within two days!

Hi Poppy! I just wanted you to know I am following your progress as well. I have a BB from IKEA that I need to use either this or waterlox on. Im so confused! :-)

Good luck! Ill look forward to your progress.

Jeri

poppy09: Please keep us updated on your progress with the top oil! I have it and the brushes on order. I need to sand my block too as I have mineral oil on it. Please post your experiences. Thank you!

Poppy09? Did you get it done????

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I wanted to post that I successfully finished my Boos Block table with the Osmo Top Oil. It was a simple project and I love the results. It is a nice smooth satin finish, no shininess at all. It also did not change the color of the wood too much, just enhanced it. I am pleased with the top oil and it sounds like it will be easy to just lightly buff down the top and reapply if needed. Tina

{{gwi:1725990}}

Yes to all- I did finish. It just about killed me, but I did. It looks great, of course. I also used the Top oil on the IKEA butcher block, and I am thrilled with that too. We are still trying to get a piece of IKEA bb to finish the counter though. My two pieces didn't even remotely match in color, and they don't have any that do, and they don't have it on the website...sigh.

My DH wants to coat everything with OSMO. He loves it. My GC loves it too. Actually, everybody that has seen it seems to love it!!

Anyone heard of using OSMO on engineered flooring? Beech to be exact?

If your engineered flooring is unfinished Osmo will work great.

I realize this post is super old, but I just wanted to share some critical information with anyone considering Osmo on their floors. I just finished installing 2800 SF of flooring and finishing it with Osmo. I think I like the look, but the verdict is still out. It's definitely a more rustic look, so keep this in mind. I don't know if we didn't sand well enough, but the floor finish is not as even as I would have liked. Hopefully the look will grow on me.

What I wanted everyone to know is that rags soaked with Osmo will spontaneously combust!!! There's a warning label on the can, but it's not especially noticeable, and we didn't read everything on the can. Well, let me just say... our rags spontaneously caught on fire, so take the warning very seriously. We had thrown the dirty rags in the trash and about 12 am, the bags caught on fire. Luckily, the bags were in our front yard awaiting trash pickup the next morning so the house was safe. Fortunately, my neighbor's dog alerted our neighbor, who called the fire department in the middle of the night to put out the fire. The flames were 6 feet high in no time. So if you use Osmo, do not under any circumstances leave soaked rags lying around and never, ever leave them inside of your house. I just wanted to get the warning out there. I feel blessed that no further damage was done but it would have been catastrophic had we not taken out the trash and if our neighbors didn't have such an alert dog.

Wondering if anyone has an update on how they like their Osmo floor finish?