I have recently purchased about 1200 square feet of wire brushed white oak. It is currently acclimatizing in the house that I am remodeling. In the meantime, I am trying to find an installer and everyone I talk to gives me a different opinion. My original vision was to finish the floors with a oil wax like Osmo. However, the installer I spoke with today was very negative about that idea as he said that the wax would "pool" in the grooves of the flooring and look like cloudy candle wax. He suggested just a tung oil but warned me that it would need to be re-oiled in high traffic areas every 1-2 months. That is not practical to me at all. Another installer just scratched his head and I didn't have much confidence that he was bringing a lot of knowledge to the table.

Wire brushed floors have a great look at feel and are supposed to be wonderful for dogs (I have two Aussies), as they don't scratch -- partly because the dogs don't have a "grip" problem on the floors.

Highly textured hardwood floors are seen all over Europe and, as I understand it, oil waxes have been the norm for centuries.

Any input from you experts out there?

White oak and Rubio Monocoat work great together. Only needs a touch-up every five years or so. But as with any finish you need to keep the dogs nails groomed. Rubio can be a slippery finish as my friend Aaron says. See pics on my website's slideshow (front page).

Oils on wire-brushed flooring are a great idea for oak floors where dog nails are digging out the soft spring-wood as they are very easy to make repairs to when more damage happens - lightly sand the damaged spring-wood and apply more oil. Rubio Monocoat, Synteko Natural, Osmo, our choices are growing!! We are currently perfecting the wire brushed technique for site finished floors with just this in mind.

You should also look at the Woca Oil product. Woca Oils have no wax and have been used in this type application all over the World.

Edited by Admin: read the rules


John Armfield
WoodCare USA

Yes, Woca too, (why do I get Woca and Osmo confused?), and Oli-Nutura.