We have uncovered the original oak floor of our 90 year old home. We love the look of the floor as it is and hate to sand it down. We want it to look like a 90 year old floor and not like the day it was put in. What can we do to protect it from water/kids/pets/etc...? We have cleaned the paint drips off of it and would like to apply a matte finish coat. Any suggestions? Do we have to worry about what residue there might be from prior care (i.e. wax, etc)? We are looking into Waterlox and Danish Oil but want to be sure the floor will be well protected. Thanks for any help you can give!

I would clean it thoroughly and rewax it with a quality floor paste wax.

Gary, thanks for the tip. Do you feel wax alone would be ok in a kitchen? I'm concerned about water spots. It will also be the main entrance for us from the driveway. I have 4 kids and a dog. That adds up to a lot of wet mess tracked in. I just want to be sure it will hold up to the wear and tear we will undoubtedly subject it to. Is there a reason to not use Waterlox? The floor is worn alread which I like the look of. I just don't want it to ruin it. Thanks for your help.

I suppose you could try it in a out of the way spot. But Waterlox works by penetrating the wood, and if the floors are worn, there are most likely areas where their worn smooth and areas where there is still some wax or whatever kind of finish they used all those years ago. I think the results would be "iffy" without a full resand but go ahead and try it in a out of the way location. Worst case scenario. The Waterlox won't dry well or will peel and flake off, in which case you'll need to resand. It sounds as if you aren't too concerned with appearances and just want a finish to add protection to the floors. Wax would work as well but would require a little more maintenance.

Gary,

Well, we took your advice and went with the wax finish. It looks really nice until someone walks across it! I'm afraid we put too much paste wax on. We are having a little problem with a smudgey film on the surface. When you walk across the floor you can see tracks when the light shines on it. I expected a harder finish than that. Did we put too much on? Any suggestions? There isn't much info out there on waxing hardwood floors. We have my Mom's ancient Hoover floor polisher and used the brushes to work the floor paste wax in (Bruce "Lite and Natural"). We tried to use the felt and lambswool pads to buff it but they got bogged down and wouldn't spin right. Thanks for any help you can offer (or anyone else for that matter!)

You don't want a whole lot of build up.

Does it sound like that is what I'm dealing with? If so, what can I do about it?