Best method to apply BLO to shop floor

[Brian Hale]

Well, today we rent the sander for the final sanding of the shop floor and hope to put a coat of BLO on it tomorrow. The floor is 30' x 40' unfinished utility grade oak T+G flooring. So my question is how best to apply the BLO.

In my mind i had planned on cutting the BLO 1/2 with mineral spirits and using a paint roller to apply it. Then let it sit overnight and wipe up the excess or do another coat, depending on how much it soaks up.

Does this sound like the way to go?

Is a 50% cut a good starting place?

Will the roller work or should i try another method?

Thanks!!
Brian

[glenn bradley]

You will get the usual arguments about thinning BLO. When I did my workbench (much smaller than your floor) I used a 50/50 mix as you describe. I used a small paint roller and is worked great. I only let it stand for about an hour before wiping it down and applying the next coat.

[Brian Hale]

Thanks Glenn

I did my workbench the same way, 50/50 and 2 coats and it seemed to work just fine. What i'm trying to avoid is wiping up the excess BLO on 1200 sq ft of floor, that's a lot of knee time. I hopeful that thinning it will help it penetrate better and dry faster. Supposed to be a very hot, humid weekend here in Maryland...

Brian

[Ted Calver]

When I was a pup I worked in a grocery store with hardwood floors. Once a month we oiled (don't know exactly what kind) the floors on Saturday night and they were ready for customers on Monday. We poured a zig zag line of oil down the isle and then used a squeegee to spread it uniformly. Last step was to use a plain cotton mop and wipe the whole thing down. The pour/ squeegee/mop proceedure worked quite well for us.

[Jim Tobias]

Brian,
You probably already know this, but BLO will "bleed back" up from the open pores of the oak. Maybe the thinning will eliminate some/most of that, but if those bleed back spots dry, you will, have a lot of small shiny spots.

just my $.02

Jim

[glenn bradley]

Jim brings up a very good point. My workbench is MDF and still took a few wipe-downs. Red oak pieces I have made would weep for a week or so.

[Rich Engelhardt]

???
Why are you putting BLO on the floor?

It's not going to do a whole lot & you run the risk of having it weep from the seams for quite some time, if, you flood the surface to apply it.

If you want something w/out too much color to seal and add some protection - (God, I can't believe me recommending it - but - )
a thin coat of 3# cut shellac, reduced 25% with DNA - will do a great job.

People tend to overlook the fact that 100 years ago, shellac was the go-to floor finish, and had been for nearly 100 years prior to that.

Regardless, I really believe you should rethink the idea of putting BLO on a shop floor.

[James Phillips]

Why not use Waterlox? It is designed for floors

[Thomas Bank]

I used tung oil on mine. Just mopped it on with an applicator, waited until the sheen was off of it, and buffed it out. Turned out very nicely!

The advantage is that if I do anything that marks it up, a rag wet with tung oil and a quick swipe and it is as good as new!

[Brian Hale]

Thanks Guys!

Well the sanding is done! First with a drum sander and then with one of those U-Sand 4 pad ROS. I still have several spots to fill so I'll do them after i get the shop-vac out there. Let me tell you, that's a lot of sanding dust

I'm setup with the roller, 2 gallons of BLO and 2 gallons of MS along with a squeegee and a box of shop towels.

As for shellac, i did consider that but having lived in a house with wood floors finished with shellac i decided against it. I remember my folks touching the floor a couple times year, mostly at the doorways between rooms and front/back doors. I suspect most film finishes will act the same. Knowing how BLO has been on my workbench these last few years it seemed like the way to go. Plus, since this is a shop floor, glue will pop off pretty easily.

Next up, wiring, insulation, wall covering and paint.

Brian

[Thomas Hotchkin]

Just my two cents, I did all our hardwood floors with Minwax Poly Commercial Floor finish in gloss. First coat cut 50-50, next coat full strength gloss, last coat cut 50-50 with flat ploy. After 20 years still looks good, with no refinishing or touch up on high traffic areas. Very easy to keep clean. Tom

[David Hostetler]

FWIW, the BLO that is on my shop floor was applied by knocking an open can over... But then again, I have a concrete floor...

[Brian Kincaid]

FWIW, the BLO that is on my shop floor was applied by knocking an open can over... But then again, I have a concrete floor...

I thought this was a joke topic (ala David quote). I'm pretty good at applying glue, poly, and quite a few other things to my shop floor, but none of those on purpose.
-Brian