I'm nearing completion on the resto-mod of my 200 plus year old farm house. The flooring is wide plank pine. As an experiment I've had the master bedroom floor lightly sanded and finished with 2 coats of clear poly. Reasonably satisfied with the look but sorry for the loss of some of the humps, texture and aged patina.

Two questions...I'll need to move some furniture in to the room to empty out others for re-finishing and do a little light finish construction - fit out closet. What might be the best way to protect the floor from scratches? I've looked at a number of heavy papers but I'm concerned about the abrasiveness.

Also, moving forward, does anyone have alternative suggestions to sanding and poly finishing? Sanding the boards flat and removing 200 years of patina just doesn't sit sit well with me. I'm also concerned about how well the poly will hold up in the day to day traffic areas.

Aqua are paper holds up really well. Tape the edges so no grit gets between the paper and the flooring as it is rolled out.hpfl9f
Poly is the most practical finish, but you can scrub the old flooring and apply two coats of penetrating oil/stain type of finish that could be waxed, if you don,t mind the lived in look. Wet the floor with a sponge to see what the floor will look like color wise after you spend all the time for prep and then apply the penetrating finish.