I’ve spent a long time researching this one, and we’ve tried a number of different approaches ourselves. I am now happy to share what I believe to be the perfect way to get the best out of your lovely old pine wooden floors.
The process splits down into 4 main stages and there are a good number of different ways of doing each one of them. I’m not going to discuss the pros and cons of each approach as it would take forever, and there are plenty of other disparate resources online which do that if you want to compare.
I will say however that this way is definitely the best 
1) Sanding
Follow the preparation and sanding instructions on Professionalfloorsanding.com.
This is not a job that should be done by a novice. I wouldn’t try it myself (again), and I would be very sure that any tradesman I chose to do it had done it many times before, and was a patient and detailed person who will definitely follow the instructions to the letter. Get this bit wrong and it’ll look horrid forever. Be afraid, be really afraid.
2) Filling those pesky gaps
Use antique pine slivers made from old floorboards to fill the gaps. These guys at The Old Pine Company sell lovely ones.
This approach to gap filling will look gorgeous and last longer than any other.
3) Staining
Use Osmo Wood Wax Finish Transparent – we used 2 coats of the Cognac colour, for a beautiful rich dark oak colour on our original pine floorboards.
Well actually, we’ve only perfected the stairs to the cellar at the moment…in our living room we used the Osmo Polyx Oil without a stain and regretted it, and in the bathroom we used the Osmo Wood Protector as an undercoat, and the Osmo Polyx Oil on top, which made the floor a bit darker, but orangey, which we also regretted.
Perfection will now be rolled out across the whole house once we’ve saved some more pennies up!
By the way, the Victorians stained their pine floors as pine was a cheap wood that should either be painted or stained, so your restoration conscience should be completely clear when staining your floors.
People also say that it will look stained, but it won’t if you follow the sanding guidelines above and use the Osmo stains.
4) Finishing
Use 2 coats of Osmo Polyx Oil Original in Satin Finish.
It’s some kind of crazy combination of sunflower oil, soybean oil, thistle oil, Carnauba wax, Candelilla wax, paraffin and all sorts of other splendid things.
It will look more alive and be easier to repair than varnish, and its super-easy to maintain unlike waxes.
So if you follow this mechanism you’ll soon have a super lovely restored floor that you’ll love forever. All in all – I really can’t recommend it highly enough.
If you’re not yet convinced, then either try a patch somewhere using tester pots, or spend a few hours Googling until you’ve seen enough supporting evidence to feel ready to make the leap, or both of course.
Hopefully though this post will help someone reach the same conclusions we did with a bit less research, and trial and error than we managed.
[Apology] Sorry to be rubbish and make this post without pictures….I’ll add them as soon as I get a mo…
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Chris – do you have any photos of the stairs? Also, I have been told that if there are gaps which need to be filled this can only be finished with a lacquer finish – have you come across this? Did you do the work yourself or do you have any recommendations? Best, Lisa
Hi Lisa – I’ll try and dig out a photo for you over the weekend. Your source isn’t right, we have lots of gaps that we have filled with antique pine slivers and smaller ones with filler, and it works absolutely fine with a hard wax oil finish. I can’t recommend this finish highly enough, and as you have a whole range of colour options with it, then i’m sure you’ll find one that works for you
Hi there, great blog post, did you ever get round to taking some photos of the stairs? I’ve had this page bookmarked for months in the run up to my own sanding and staining attempt, but now I’m ready to start sanding and the blog seems to have stopped! If you could post a picture I would be very grateful indeed. All the best,
Hi Chris, do you have any photos of the osmo cognac finish on your original victorian pine that you could post or email to me? I’m having a nightmare, nothing seems to look good. I originally wanted to white wash my original pine boards, but have tried every way of doing this and none produce a good or nice finish. The boards are just too orange/pink from old age. So i’m now reverting back to a more natural finish but i want something that won’t emphasize the yellowness of the original pine and isn’t too warm a colour but also not too dark. I’m very hard to please but its become a bit of an obsession and i want to get it right. Also, how did you apply the osmo cognac? I’ve had so much different advice on the best way to do it and from having done tests in different ways i’m finding it hard to spread it evenly. Any help would be much appreciated!! Thanks
I’ll see if I can dig out / take a photo. It does look lovely though – a nice dark, authentic, rich browny colour. We did – I think – 3 coats of the Cognac stain. I had a similar problem with attempts at a whitewashed bathroom floor, and ended up going for white floor paint – which was super easy and still looks really good – the grain shows through it well and it softens as it ages. Good luck!
Hi Chris, thanks it would be so helpful to see a photo. What did you apply the oil with? And also, if you can remember, which brand/finish was the floor paint you used? Thanks! Jo
Here’s the stairs with 3 coats of the Osmo Cognac Stain: http://victorianjack.com/?attachment_id=188
And the paint we used for the white bathroom floor: http://victorianjack.com/?attachment_id=187
Hope that helps