What finish for an old pine floor?

[PinkCamelias]

We've just had floor in two rooms sanded to bare wood (they were painted before) and I have to decide what finish I want on it now. These are original pine floorboards, ca. 120 years old. I am saying that, because I suppose the age of the wood matters, and of course there are several imperfections, which are totally fine, as I don't care about a uniform look. The ceilings are high and the walls and woodwork are white.

The options are:
leave the natural colour and apply a water based varnish; my builder suggests satin finish
apply a stain to darken the colour, and then varnish
apply coloured oil
apply coloured hard wax-oil.

I will go to the shop today to ask for advice and hopefully get samples of products, but I was wondering if someone may have an advice/experience? Not so much on the actual products, as i am not in the UK. I am not keen on natural colour and varnish, because I think that even with modern, UV protecting products the pine will ultimately become orange. If I add colour, which method is better, stain and varnish, or oil or wax? What is the difference between the finish if you use oil or hard wax? And what colour to choose? This will be in kids' bedrooms, so not high traffic like stairs or a hall, no shoes, but for example moving chairs (at the desk) or potentially other furniture or objects. I know that when varnish is damaged, you have to re-sand, while oil or wax can be reapplied without it.

On the other floors in the house we have the same floorboards, but they have always been waxed with a liquid wax, the old fashioned way, twice a year (by the previous owner). They have a beautiful, honey colour (photo attached). Some floors got quite scratched during the works and the builder is going to re-wax them now, without deep sanding, as that would remove all the layer. I hope it will work! So I would love the same, or similar colour for the kids' floor, although the natural colour now after sanding is nice too, just too light for what I think I want.

We had our floorboards sanded in our Victorian house when we renovated a few years ago. The floor sander applied about 5 different products to patches so we could see what we wanted. We wanted them to look natural so went for a clear natural varnish, we have it throughout the house including the hallway and it's all still fine. I wanted it to look nice and nice and natural, like you I was worried it would look orange or for some it looked far too shiny and almost like cheap laminate.

I'd say testers is definitely the way to go to be sure as it'll look really different once it's dried.

Also on care for them, it's been about 4 years and apart from a hoover/very light wet clean every now and again, we haven't really put much care into them and they're still fine. I like the natural/weathered look, so took the stance of not being too precious with them from the start, they're floors, they're going to get marked!

Clear satin water based varnish will look lovely

Thank you! That's exactly what my builder is suggesting. Yours is also pine? Do you have photos perhaps?

I really want samples, and I will see what I can get today. I am afraid I will have to buy full size tins, becauze i doubt they make small size here to try :)

@Chocolatelabradorsarethebest sorry I forgot to tag you in my reply!

@DrySherry do you mean it on natural pine? The photo I atatched is the other, waxed floor (I'm saying it just in case, as I am not sure how clear it is from my post).

We applied a coat of watered down pale cream coloured paint to lighten the colour and take out any yellow tones, then added a coat of clear water based varnish. That was about 26 years ago and it still looks pretty good today!

Picture attached - could probably do with re-sanding now....

@not4profit maybe sanding indeed, but the colour is very nice.
I did not think about lightening...

You want Osmo hard wax oil in shade "natural".
It's a slightly white pigment that doesnt show but neutralises yellow tones.
Hard wearing and very easy to maintain. You can cover scratches and worn areas without having to sand the whole floor.

We have used this on our living room and hall floors and wooden kitchen counters. We have water based varnish in the bedrooms but those floors ever need sanding we will definately use Osmo Hard wax on them too.

https://www.osmoshop.com/en/interior/floors-hardwax-oil/30/osmo-hardwax-oil-effekt-natural-3041

I have just found this https://www.floor-restoration.co.uk/victorian-pine-floors-restoration.htm with the photos of pine floors with clear varnish only. It looks very nice, and a bit darker than I expected. @Chocolatelabradorsarethebest does your floor look a bit like that?

Thanks a lot @StillCalendula ! I am so glad you wrote, because I am considering Osmo products, and the shop I'll go to stocks them. I see the hard wax mentioned often, and I trust this brand. Have you considered it in another colour too, or have you always wanted a natural shade?

We used hard wax oil to - Fiddes. https://fiddes.co.uk/product/hard-wax-oil/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzMzMvfuRhgMVQpxQBh3kMw2uEAAYAiAAEgJjUPD_BwE

It's lovely to work with, and feels like it's really nourishing the wood, unlike varnish. The finish is nice - gently glossy but really natural looking. It's expensive, but a little goes a long way. They do tinted and clear versions.

I found a photo of the floor in the dining room, which has been varnished in matt. I will leave it varnished, because this room leads to the garden, so it is more practical than wax (the reason why previous owner did it like this). That shows what the floor would look like upstairs, I suppose, with either clear varnish, or with the natural hard wax. I am starting to think there is no need to change the colour.

Question re dining room: the floor will not be sanded, just buffed, and the new varnish will be applied. My builder suggested satin, also because of the wax finish in the living room (behind the door), which is slightly shiny. He also thinks it will look better. I agreed, but I am hesistating now, if matt is not nicer here?

We have also used clear (on the worktops) but since I found the natural one we have gone over to that one.

We have a table we have treated with one of the darker brown colours. Looks good too.

Osmo is great and really easy to live with, as when it needs redoing you just add another coat, no need to re-sand etc

we've topped up areas of more wear and it just blends in perfectly - would def recommend

I got a sample of Osmo Clear and Raw. If a layer of Clear is added after Raw, it is like Natural, if I understood correctly. The shop assistant said that these are the two options for natural looking pine. I have actually realised after leaving the shop that @StillCalendula's suggestion had a different number than what I got; however, the description mentions this whitening addition exactly. I was advised to make three samples: Raw, Clear nad Raw with Clear on top. I also got samples of matt and satin varnish since I will need it for the dining room. The builder will make the samples tomorrow. I forgot again to take a photo of the sanded floor; it looks so nice, I am now sure that it only needs to be a bit enhanced colourwise.

This is the yet untreated floor, and the samples of Osmo Raw 3044, Osmo Clear 3032, and a layer each Raw and Clear. The difference is very subtle :) I think I will go for the last opinion, a layer each, which will give a slightly satin effect. Raw only is totally matt.

I’m a bit confused about 3041 Natural and 3044 Raw. Some shops have one and some the other, depends on the country too. The description seems always the same, the addition of the white pigment, and in the shop they did say something about Osmo replacing the Natural, so I suppose it must be the same product.