The Hardwax Oil Experiment – Part 4 Pallmann Magic Oil

How difficult is it to mix the product together in small amounts. If you are touching up just a small area? It’s two part right ?

I am contractor in Indiana and am looking for something new to use can’t decide between the three Rubio OSMO and Pallmann. Ha sounds like a group from the seventies. Where do you get your pallmann products from.
Thanks,
Jason

I am a homeowner considering a resand of my cherry floor and recoating with Magic Oil. I have tested the product in a closet and like it very much. I do wish it had a greater sheen, but I want the natural look of an oil finish as well as ability to spot repair. Can you suggest something to buff it with that would increase the sheen? Will Magic Oil Care do this? Since Magic Oil Care is hard to find in my area, any thought on using WOCA Maintenance Paste over Magic Oil? Thanks!

You are not kidding about how hard its is find info on this product. Is there a link you can post?

Greetings Tadas,

Congratulations on your site, it is very well done and informative. My question is — have you worked with WOCA? A Danish hard oil finish / no wax. We have a Brazilian Cherry floor that we will be having re-finished and in my quest for the best product I came across WOCA natural oil. Our floor was originally finished with Glitsa Swedish finish so it will have to be sanded down to bare wood for the oil to penetrate but other than that it reads like a great product. I would feel more confident if I had the kind of information you have provided with the oil wax finishes.

Thanks for your interest.

Don

Tadas,
Thanks for the surprisingly quick response. My response is delayed because I wanted to do some more fact finding. I found that WOCA has been around for 30 years but their Diamond Oil is a relatively new product that has no wax and is 95% solids. Living in SW WA anything new or different than what is historically used locally has to be found on the net. That being said at least our re-finisher is willing to give Woca Diamond a try (the other two were not). Their web site appears to gloss over and ignore the real life application details and options. For example they say avoid water on the floor for three days while it is curing — I read one contractor complaining because he had to return to a job for another application because a dog drooled on the floor before it was fully cured. What they did show was a picture of water beaded on a cured floor. Part of our floor is in the kitchen and if the curing is that sensitive we may have to move out during the cure time. Their video instruction shows it is a one coat complete job but elsewhere they say to buff in the second coat 6 to 12 hours after the first (logistically that seems difficult to time). They refer to their product as Pre-treatment Diamond Oil — pre-treatment to what they do not say. I’m not sure if it is a language communication problem or incomplete instructions / it might just be my own lack of floor finish knowledge.

It would have been nice to have a guy like you really use and test the product but as you suggested I will have to hope our contractor is so inclined.

Thanks – and I will pass along the end result,

Don

Hi Tadas,

I’ve really appreciated reading your “bake off” between these four products. We’re considering using Monocoat or Magic Oil on a kitchen floor but we’re DYI. My amateur’s question is how do you buff these products into corners? The husband wants to go with stain and poly so I need to come up with a response to this problem! Thanks.

Lorene

Hello, I came across your website when searching for Pallmann Magic Oil reviews. I was even more excited to see that you used the product on rustic reclaimed flooring (which look BEAUTIFUL), as that is what we are having installed in our home! Did you think the coverage estimates per liter were accurate for use with reclaimed floors (mostly read and white oak, little bit of maple)? Thank you

Hi Tadas,

I really enjoyed your detailed product testing results. I’m considering either the magic oil or monocoat for my project. I have a home office/den that is about 150 sq feet and I’m waiting delivery of reclaimed antique Chestnut. I think I may like the magic oil because it has a little more sheen. Do you think either of these would be a good choice for a home office? I don’t want to put a plastic poly on top of a beautiful wood, but I want to make sure these would be good for a slightly softer wood.

Also wondering if you would recommend carpet or plastic under my office chair to protect it.

Thanks,
Jeff

Hi Tadas,

I have a DIY project gone wrong. Yes, I know this is why should have hired a professional:/ We have heart pine flooring. I thought I had done my online research and we had decided to go with tung oil because we wanted to be able to spot repair. We have a family of 6 and our old water based finish really took a beating. Anyway, we sanded the floors down and applied the tung oil. The color was just horrible – very orangy. After spending a whole morning calling wood specialists and floor refinishers, we decided to sand it back down and start over. We stained the floor right away to protect the wood while we looked into what kind of finish to use. No contractors in our area (Ohio) seem to know about anything other than water and oil polyurethanes. I came across your site and discovered hardwax oil. It sounds exactly like what we’re looking for only I wish I would have found it sooner. Here’s where my nightmare project currently stands. I used gallon size Minwax to stain my floors and it has not fully dried. I talked to Minwax customer service who asked how much I used for the square feet I was covering and he though it sounded reasonable. He suggested I wait it out. It’s been 2 weeks and it hasn’t dried. I called back this week and they told me to wipe it down with mineral spirits to remove the excess. They said any glossy spots are excess. Well, we have a lot of glossy spots and I’ve wiped and wiped and feel like I could wipe forever before it would go away. We took sandpaper and gently rubbed it and that seemed to do the trick. Here’s my question: If we gently sand off the glossy part, can we use one of the colored hardwax oils to help make the color more consistent? We went with a darker stain (Dark Mahogany/Provincial mix) and don’t mind making it darker as long as it doesn’t get too blotchy. If we go this route, which product do you think would be the most forgiving? I see Magic Oil has a dark brown color, or Rubio Monocoat in the Chocolate or Mahagony. If you have any other suggestions, I’d love to hear them. This has become a month long project and has cost us more than expected so we don’t expect perfection at this point – just something we like. One thing we do not want to do is resand the floors all the way down again. That may just be the most depressing thought ever. We have about 700 sf by the way.

Thank you!
Dana

Thanks so much for posting these reviews. I wish you were in my area, no one in our state is doing these low/no-voc finishes (or if they are, they are keeping a tight lid on it). I plan to order a few Rubio samples but am not sold on the super-matte appearance so am trying to find samples of Pallman’s Magic Oil and have emailed UFloor – our previous house had Dura Finish’s satin liquid wax and we loved it so are trying to find a less-toxic alternative. Have you used any of the colored Pallman’s Magic Oils? I’d like to avoid the high-VOC stain we’d originally chosen (Dark Walnut) and go for an all-over low VOC finish if possible. Thank you so much for the public service you are performing by testing this for all us in the “sticks”! :)

Thanks so much for the reply, Tadas! I found a way to order samples of both from a distributor (I hope) so will do that and report back for future reference as I’m sure there may be others scouring the internet for info like I am!

Have you guys tested waterlox? We were looking for something that is durable and easy to spot refinish. I thought i read about wax floors being really high maintenance with having to reapply often. Is that not the case with Rubio Monocoat and Pallmans?
We have kids with lots of toy cars, what would you recommend? We like a more matte finish – nothing like plastic.
Thanks!

Love your site this has been great! Looking at having my contractor go with this system, you indicate that you can stain and use the neutral – what type of stain can be used?

Hello! Your site is so helpful – thank you for being so generous with your time! I am wondering if it is possible to use the Rubio fuming product for coloring a new white oak floor and then sealing it with the Pallmann Magic Oil. Or maybe it is better to stick to the same brand and use the monocoat to seal.

Thanks!

I am a homeowner who has had Magic Oil applied to existing red oak flooring, sanded down of course. I am so disappointed and am beginning to think that maybe something was missed in the application. I’ve got water spots everywhere and I cannot seem to remove them. Everytime I turn around there is another scratch or blemish. We have only had the product on a week and I think we are going to have it sanded down to the bare and start with something else. Any advice?

Hello,
First of all Thank You for taking the time to produce this site for us. The most informative site anywhere! I am in the process of staining my red oak floors with Glitsa Gold Seal Stain Sable Black. This stain has no sealer may I use Magic oil without sealing or must I use a sealer first. If so, which sealer would you recomend. Look forward to your response.
Thank You

You have the most informative site in the entire webverse when it comes to HWO’s!

This is a bit off-topic, since it’s not floors, but I have a virgin walnut slab that I am finishing for a dining room table. My experience tends towards wipe-on poly’s, but, I am very interested in HWO for this new project for a number of reasons.

My questions are:

– Will HWO work well to protect against water rings from glasses? Would Rubio vs. Pallman vs. some other have any advantages?

– In my test samples of Rubio vs Wipe-on Poly, I love the matte and in-the-wood finish characteristics of Rubio, but, the poly seems to have more “glow” from the burl and the golden sections. Do you find that HWO’s are not as vibrant as poly, especially on walnut?

– How essential do you think water popping is? I did not pop in my tests….

Thanks!

Hi Tadas,
Awesome site; appreciate all the info. We recently had new Red Oak floor installed and finished with Pallmanns Magic Oil. The floor guy did not have experience with product, but was willing to try it. We ran into a couple problems, and would greatly appreciate your opinion.

First, we’d originally wanted the wood stained w/ Minwax dark walnut, before the Magic Oil was applied, but our floor guy said he talked to the Pallmans rep., and they recommended against anything but the Magic Oil color products. We were on a tight schedule, and so decided just to go w/ the natural finish. What stains have you had success with?

Outside the color, it appears the finish is compromised in places, especially in the kitchen where we are seeing lots of spotting and ‘dry’ patches. The installer admitted the finish set up on him faster than he expected leaving excess oil on the floor. The installer was willing to come back and rescreen and spot re-finish. But that raised the question of how hard it will be for us to spot-fix ourselves in the future.

If the floor was improperly finished in the first place, do we have to resand to bare wood, or just screen? Does a scratch or worn spot require resanding, and then reapplication of the oil? Is it possible to do small areas with just a hand sander, or buffer? Apologies for all the questions. Love the look of Pallmans for the most part, but worried now about how much work & expense I’m settng myself up for down the road… I’m wondering if we should just sand everything down to wood, and start over with Pallmans 96 or 98, and live with the plasic look.

Thanks for your help!

Bill

Hi,

Fantastic site, very helpful!

One question. We have dogs…. and are thinking of putting down hickory flooring in our living room. How would the Pallman magic oil stand up to dog urine (if caught soon after the act)?

Thank you,

Tricia

Wonderful, informative site! I’m considering what to refinish my 100 year old pine stairs. We’ve stripped and sanded them down, and I want to use a quality product that will not be too difficult to apply and it needs to be really durable since stairs are a BEAR to strip and sand down. It has to be right the first time! The hardwax oils sound great, but do you do the buffing by hand? Or would the Pall-x 98 be best?

I know you’re busy, so if you could even link me to some answers that would be so very helpful!

Hi, excellent site! I’m planning on using a hardwax oil formulation for my white oak kitchen floors. I’ve narrowed it down to 3 contenders: Pallmann Magic Oil, OSMO and Fiddes. It strikes me that OSMO and Fiddes are essentially the same beast (chemically, application method, sheen/build, etc.) with Pallmann being quite different. I think I have a good handle on the specs for OSMO/Fiddes, but I was hoping to get your “real world” insight on a few Magic Oil questions:

1. Roughly, what kind of coverage do you tend to get for Magic Oil (again, white oak is my subject for this)? The label has a significant range; 350-600 square feet per liter can, I think. My kitchen is ~215 square feet. Summary question: From your experience, do you think I’m stretching a 2-coat application if I only order 1 can?

2. I’m a little confused about spot repairs for Magic Oil. For a small scrape or stain you might sand out, would you simply apply the oil alone WITHOUT hardener, or do you need to do a fresh 10:1 mix each time? Or, alternatively, does one of their care products accomplish this?

3. I’ve seen one head-to-head stain resistance test between OSMO and Fiddes (and a few other UK/EU brands) involving typical kitchen spills. Fiddes seemed to edge out the others in terms of durability. Any feedback from your Magic Oil kitchen floor customers regarding typical “kitchen abuse” durability (water, detergent, grease, acidic sauces and juices, diabolical toddlers, etc.)?

4. Finally, I’m looking for a bit of data I haven’t been able to extract from any other hardwax oil resource. Do you know how deep these finishes tend to penetrate? If so, do different “families” of these finishes (let’s say OSMO vs. Rubio vs. Magic Oil) tend to penetrate to different depths? I ask because I’m curious about future flexibility. For example, what if it turns out, for any number of reasons, you’d like to switch over to a traditional poly application, or maybe just switch to another hardwax oil product? Obviously you’d need to remove any trace of the existing hardwax oil for the poly; maybe less crucial for a different hardwax oil. Do you suspect that you would need to remove a markedly greater amount of wood during sanding? An extra 1/32 might not matter much, but if the oil sinks down something like 3/32 one might be in big trouble.

So, simple summary question: Are you pretty much committing to a hardwax oil for the life of the floor?

Thanks very much for your time. Again, this site has been extremely helpful!

Hi Tadas,

I’m a home owner in California restoring my 80 year old red oak floors. How Much Pallmanns magic oil 2k would I need to purchase for 1000 sqft application on red oak floors? Would I need to apply 1 or 2 coats? Any Experience or opinion on how the Neutral (no color) finish looks on red oak? Great web site! Very informative. Thanks for your time and any input on my questions.

Hello, what a awsome site, thax!
Got a unusual application, antique heart pine on a covered porch. Sun will be hitting it in the afternoon, and about 5-6 times a year it will get wet from hard wind blown rain. In Louisiana, so it doesn’t get cold, but stays hot and humid.
Wood is sappy, 3″ t & g.
Don’t won’t a shiny surface just mainly want protection from the elements, and very low maintenance. What do you recommend?
Thax again.
Rob

Hey man,
Thanks so much for the response/recommendation. I will investigate. Is this a product you sell?

Robert

I echo what many others have posted… great website. I have found the information here very helpful as I’ve conducted several tests on a number of Rubio Monocoat colors and combinations of colors. Unfortunately, I haven’t found the exact right combination. The Pure is too amber and none of the colors are “clear” enough. I tried mixing 2 to 1 Pure and 5 %White, which was OK, but still a little “cloudy.” So, here’s my question. Will either Magic Oil or Osmo give me the look I’m trying for? Thanks in advance for any input!

I have read all your reviews… really nice and informative. I’m really interested in these finished for furniture. Can you comment on that at all? I figure if they are durable enough for a floor, they should work for furniture, right? Currently I use Waterlox and oil/varnish mixtures, but these finishes sound perfect for what I like to achieve. Can you tell me if the application would be different, or if they are even suitable for furniture? Thanks!

Thank you so much for your posts! Very valuable information. I’ve been researching Magic Oil and wanted to know what the procedure is for small touchups. Can it be done by the homeowner and does it require any special tools? Thanks again!

Hi Tadas, just wondering if you could respond to my previous post. I’m really interested in this finish but just want to know how easy it is to touch up. We have kids and pets and I don’t want to keep calling the flooring guys to do repairs. Is it possible for homeowners to do touchups? Thanks!

Hi Tadas,

I just picked up some Magic Oil 2K from my local distibutor…very exicited to try it, but I have two questions for you:

1) They said I only needed to apply one coat if I stained the floors…is this true?

2) I purchased an extra bottle of the hardener. The data sheet says you can double the amount for high-traffic areas. I plan to do this, but my question is should I expect any difference in application (will it scrape/buff any different, any thing else, etc)

Thank you for the advice.

Hi Tadas, Based on your excellent, detailed review we have started using magic oil on all of our flooring refinishes. So far we’ve used it very successfully on 100+ year old floors being refinished and new quartersawn oak floors being finished for the first time. The results are superb.

Our next project is reclaimed, dirtytop heart pine. The wood is in good shape (not terribly splintered etc) but is definitely as distressed as one would typically expect of dirty top flooring. I know you said you don’t generally recommend magic oil for softwoods. But the old heart pine is really so much more like a hardwood. Do you see any reason why we shouldn’t use the magic oil?

Thanks so much for being so generous with your advice!

Hi Tidas. Like everyone else, I want to thank you for maintaining such a high quality website. I was recently introduced to Magic Oil and am considering applying the gray colored product to 4″ ash. Our small sample looks great! One item of concern is the comments made in your Magic Oil review and Pallmann’s web site: Pallmann Clean’ should be used every few years to remove any residue from the previous two cleaners before applying another coat of Magic Oil.

We are looking for a lower maintenance floor but like the matte finish, low VOC and the natural appearance of this product. How involved is the application of the Pallmann Clean product and is the application of a new quote comparable with the original application? How frequently would you recommend the re-application? We are “empty nesters” with no pets planned.

Secondly, is it your experience that re-application would be required for the entire floor, or just the high traffic areas. We plan on installing ~1600 sq. feet.

Lastly, does the Rubio Monocoat require the same type of re-application after several years, or might this present a lower maintenance alternative?

Thanks in advance for your time to respond to this message.

Herb

Sorry for the typo…

How involved is the application of the Pallmann Clean product and is the application of a new COAT comparable with the original application?

Excellent and helpful review! I am thinking that Pallmann Magic Oil is the product for our project. We are putting in a new wide plank (7″) pine floor and are looking for a fairly rustic look in our lake cabin in Minnesota. Material was locally logged and milled for us and looks really nice. Would like to do minimal sanding if any at all. Maybe just touch ups as needed prior to finishing. Do you think the trowel application method will work for this? Also would you think coverage would be to the low end of the 350 sqft/liter? We are going to finish 1100 sq ft. Will 6 liters be enough for 2 coats?

Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated!

Hi Tadas,

Thank you for the informative blog. We had a new oak floor installed almost 3 years ago in our attic. It was finished with Magic Oil, which looks absolutely beautiful. I would like to keep it looking that way and was wondering about proper maintenance. So far I have only vacuumed the floor. I read on Pallmann’s web site that Magic Oil Care is supposed to be applied every 2-6 months depending on the use. Also, it says that application requires proper ventilation. Does it really need to be applied so often? Also, if it requires ventilation how safe is it to apply around kids? My son’s bedroom is going to be in the attic. Would he have to spend the night in another room while the product is drying?

This blog has been incredibly helpful. Thank you.

I have a three-part question. We sanded down a 200 square foot floor, wiped it down with odorless mineral spirits, and then applied one coat of minwax wood finish penetrating stain in special walnut. We sanded using increasingly finer sandpaper, and spent about 13 hours sanding with a rented machine from a big-box store. After the stain was put on, the color was blotchy, uneven, and there are “wave” patterns across the floor.

1) What is the best way to fix the blotchiness and waves? Will this require a re-sand?
2) Is it possible to apply Pallmann Special Oil after the minwax stain?
3) I would like to use a low or no-voc option (like Pallmann or Osmo), but I am having a horribly difficult time figuring out where to order either product. Do you know the easiest way to purchase samples or liters of these products? We like in the Kansas City area.

Thanks!

Hi Tadas,

I’ve been researching for quite a while, and your website is, hands down, the best resource out there on hardwood floor finishes.

I am getting ready to refinish our existing wood floor in the kitchen/entry, and have wood installed in the dining room and living room as well. The existing wood (white oak, common #1) has a water-based poly finish, which was done when we built our house about 10 years ago, and with two kids and two dogs it’s taken a beating. I am planning on refinishing with a hardwax oil – probably the Pallman Magic Oil – because I love the low VOCs and the beautiful, natural look. But, here’s my concern…

We have an 80-pound white German Shepherd that obviously has contributed to a lot of surface scratching on the existing floors (any of the deeper scratches have been caused by us humans). I’d like to get your thoughts on how the Pallman Magic Oil would hold up to a big dog’s fingernails over time, specifically…

1) How would it compare to our poly finish (which looked pretty marked up and probably needed refinished about two years after we got the dog), in terms of how visible the scratches would be after a few years? I know the poly coating can be more reflective of light and make scratches more visible, but I’m wondering if you have any specific knowledge of this vis a vis the hardwax oils you’ve used.

2) An extension of Q#1 – Given that the dog’s scratches are mostly surface, do you think the normal, recommended maintenance schedule of the oil would be enough to keep the floors looking good – or might I be setting myself up for frequent sanding and reapplication if I go with a hardwax oil? I absolutely don’t mind the maintenance that goes with reapplying the oil, but just a hair nervous that in 2 years the floors could look way worse than 2 years post-poly.
From what I understand, the repeated oiling of the wood over time actually makes the wood stronger, so I’m thinking this would be the best choice in the long run. But I would love your expert input if/when you get the chance.

Thank you so much. You guys are the epitome of a customer-centric business, and I hope you are killing it in Chicago.

Amy in KC
(If only we had the Royals AND Tadas)

Hi Tadas,

Thanks so much for all the great information, and taking the time to respond to all of our questions. I just finished building a large edge-grain countertop out of black walnut (about 3′ W x 14′ L). I had several professionals recommend rubio monocoat or magic oil, and I went with magic oil to get a little extra sheen. Sanded to 120 grit, then applied two coats consecutively (spread on pretty thin with plastic trowel-like tool, left on for about 15 minutes, excess wiped off with paper towels, then buffed with a random-orbit polisher with microfiber cloth covering. Immediately repeated same steps with 2nd coat. After curing, it looks very blotchy – lots of uneven sheen, almost hazy/dry in some spots, where it looks like the wood soaked up the oil more than the areas around it. My hunch is that since it’s edge-grain / butcher-block style, it’s maybe trickier since there’s such a variety of grain patterns, openness, etc. Maybe I didn’t sand well enough, or need to go to a higher grit? Or do I just need to apply another good coat (or two?) to even things out? Really appreciate any feedback! Willing to sand down and start over if that’s what it takes. The specific steps I used and materials were recommended by Pallman rep, by the way. But I’m totally open to changing any of that, whether it’s what I use to apply, buff off . . . whatever. I do have white and red floor pads, but not sure if those are of any use unless you’re using on a floor with the the machine they’re made to pair with . . .

Thanks again!

Rob

Hi Tadas-
Like many others I want to thank you for answering so many questions. Your blog has been a great help.

My husband and I are experience DIYers and had to take on our doing our floors simply due to financial restraints. To make the whole thing more tricky we had some very old white oak floors as well as a new white oak floor in our kitchen. After going through the process which included staining the floors prior (to match the rest of the house) to applying the Pallmann’s Magic Oil, I would agree with you wholeheartedly that this is job that should be done by professionals, if at all possible.
I will say we did manage to get A GREAT RESULT. But it’s a lot harder than you may think (and we have done many types of home repairs/construction.)

Unfortunately, we had some paint leak through one of our painting tarps and it dried in spots on our hard earned beautiful floor !!!! I tried several methods to remove the paint from the surface, but finally resigned to sand and repair the spots. My repair job did not work so well. I sanded the spots feathering them out a bit, restained, waited 24 hours and then reapplied the Magic Oil buffing in well. The spots that were repaired now look like scuff marks instead of blending in with the rest of the floor. Is this a sanding issue?

Can you provide any thoughts to what I may have done wrong or how to proceed?

I haven’t been able to find anything on the Pallmann’s sites about how to repair it. Hoping for a better result the next go around

Also, I noted that you had told Rob he could add an additional coat of Magic Oil to his project after the first one dries. Can you do this on floors as well? The rep we spoke had suggested we only use one coat of magic oil because we we staing the floors prior to the Magic Oil. Basically stating that the floors would only absorb so much product. We are concern our floors won’t have the same durability without the second coat of Magic Oil.

Thanks so much for your time. I really appreciate it.
Jennifer

As a side note, anyone working with this stuff should wear gloves and arm/knee protection. I got a serious rash from exposure on skin.

Ive noticed that a second coat of magic oil over a minwax stain doesnt look any better than 1 coat. Why would you need a 2nd coat?

I’ve had RM floors for almost four years now ( see previous post) and while I love the look they have been a maintenance nightmare. Easily stained by blueberries, or the like. Oily foods leave a mark, metal legs of furniture leave a black stain, and the new puppy teamed havoc while potty training. It was not a DiY and not sure if the product was ever applied correctly, though I’ve had the guys from RM out to look and they did not seem surprised. Need to reapply something, as parts of the floor near glass doors seem totally unprotected. Wondering if I can do magic oil over the Rubio? Would I need to sand it? Thanks for your site and your help.

Hi Tadas,

Your website is really informative and helpful. We’re in Denver and are planning on white oak select floors in our great room (kitchen and family room). We have 2 young, active kids. Our contractor proposed a sealer, a coat of Pall X-96 followed by a coat of Pall X-98. Talking with the regional Pallman rep out here, he actually suggested that as well. But I’m afraid of the floor looking too much like plastic and I like how Magic Oil seems to be easier to touch up without too much hassle. We want to keep a light, natural color for our floors. What would you recommend: Magic Oil or the X-96/X-98 combo?

Hi Tadas,
Great website with so much helpful information! I have very old wood floors in my house (1800’s) and just installed wide plank red oak in an addition. When we renovated the 2nd floor of the house (3 years ago), we installed wide plank pine and white oak and decided on a paste wax finish as we were told it was the most traditional option (trying to be true to age of the house!) and we don’t love the look of poly (or at least the poly we’ve seen). The only issue is the water spots . . . Now a flooring guy is recommending Rubio Monocoat, which I was ready to use after reading your website, but I’m nervous about the “unfinished” appearance that some people have commented on. Also, thinking it would be best to have all the wood floors in the house finished with the same product for ease of maintenance. So for my actual question . . . What do you think of paste wax? Do you think Rubio Monocoat would be the right look for our old colonial? Thank you!

Hi Tadas,
Your website is an invaluable source of info on HWO, thank you!!
What do you think about using the RMC fumed on new white oak select flooring and then Magic Oil on top?
Thank you!

I have Magic Oil on my white oak floors all over the house and generally I love the look and durability. My one complaint is that it is not as durable in a kitchen as I had hoped. The biggest problem is that if you spill grease on it (which sometimes happens when moving a pan from stovetop to sink or taking something out of the oven) the grease soaks in immediately and shows, no matter how quickly you wipe it up. I am having to redo my kitchen for the second time in six years. Is there a solution (aside from banishing oil from my kitchen)? Maybe a doubling of the hardener?

Any tips on getting rid of Magic oil droplets? We 2 coats and floor turned out great but it seems like droplets are appearing now that 4 days have gone by?

Can elaborate any more on the working time when applying the magic oil? Specifically with white oak floors:
-Once I start applying with the trowel, what is the minimum and maximum amount of time before I need to start buffing? The instructions from Pallmann vary on this. If not a hard number of minutes, is there anything to watch for in the oil’s curing process to indicate “I’d better get back to that with the buffer now”?

-Once I start buffing and get the first pass done with the red pad, is a bulk of the rush over now that oil is mostly off the floor?

-What is the amount time you’d recommend spending on each step, applying oi, red buff, white buff, cloth buff?

Basically I have ~260 sq ft of floors with a large amount of interior corners to be finished and I am trying to figure out if I should do each coat in 1 big section or two sections. Right now I plan on starting a timer when I start and have that dictate how much I’ll tackle at once but I need to know how long to set the timer for to make sure it comes out nicely.

Thanks for this website and blog, it really is exceptional.
Alex

Tapas,

We have dogs and when we built our new home we installed White Oak solid hardwood floors. We applied the Magic oil 2K product and it wears beautifully. Our problem come with the dogs, if they have an accident on the floor we have terrible staining.
How can we repair this small spots in the floors?

Quick question, do you typically water pop your flooring before using magic oil?

Tapas,

Great Blog.

I’m planning to install wide plank reclaimed white oak skip planed floor in a house I’m building. Will a hardwax oil such as Pallman or Monocoat work on the the partially planed boards of the hit or miss or do I need to go with something film forming (Bona Traffic) to help smooth out the un-planed areas. My preference would be the hardwood oils so I dont have to re-sand in the future, since re-sanding will eventually remove the hit or miss look. I also have dogs so I’m worried about their accidents staining the Pallman or Monocoat. I appreciate any advice you can provide.

Refurbished my white oak floors and finished them with 1 coat of NEUTRAL 2K. Obviously a second coat is in the near future:

Has anyone ever topped a neutral colored finish with 2K White?..

Any thoughts are welcome.. idea if you didn’t catch this, is to make the floors more light/white.

Cheers

I’m installing a cypress t&g ceiling in a bathroom (will be tiled over the tub), but wood will definitely see spikes in humidity/moisture during showers. I hate to completely cover the clear natural wood with a common poly coat, but is Pallmann Magic Oil or Osmo Wood Wax a good option for a BR ceiling that will be tough to (remember) recoating every couple years? What type of finish would you recommend in this application?

Tadas,
We do complete luxury home woodwork interiors in China using American hardwoods – Walnut, Cherry, Oak doing parquet flooring, wainscoting, coffered ceilings, doors, cabinetry and custom furniture {haha we contribute to the American side of the trade deficit!!}. All told, from our time in California to the last decade in China we have used natural oil finishes for everything for at least 25 years.

We have developed a broad pallet of very clear toned, non-muddy, non-blotchy colors by doing a coat of oil, letting it dry, then applying solvent based dye, then topping off with one or two coats of oil. There are a few dark colors (especially on oak) where we direct dye the raw wood first then coat with oils. All the oil coats are put on wet and then buffed dry to the touch with rags before drying.

In China we’ve used Becker Acroma, {Now Sherwin-Becker} a product called GX-1540 which is a UV light curing oil-wax. We use a super high-intensity UV tunnel to cure the oil in a minute. We then final coat with a polymerized tung oil.

I would like to develop some finishes that do not require the UV tunnel, and I’m always experimenting and learning to do things better.

Which of the 3 hard-wax oils you tested and liked (Osmo, Monocoat and Pallmann’s magic oil) can we do apply more than one coat? Your review on Monocoat seemed to apply you SHOULDN’T do a second coat, but your review of Magic oil sounded like you do do second coats as you were talking about how you could do another coat after an hour but you like to wait overnight…

Also would like your thoughts on any of these finishes to wipe on for doors, cabinetry and furniture. On our oils above, we typically apply heavy on the first coat to get good saturation and penetration, but wipe everything off “dry” to the touch, then let dry/cure. With these oils, do you leave them “wet”? if so, how would one use them on things that are NOT flat like moldings, raised panel doors, etc.

Thanks for your wonderful blog!
Scott

Hi,
I am installing new pine floors in my house. The wood will be kiln cured and then left to rest for a month prior to installation. I am stuck between using Rubio or Pallman. I have read good and bad things about both.

Which do you recommend? I have two medium sized (40 pound) dogs that live mostly inside so durability is a huge factor for me. I also live in Louisiana so rain, heat, and humidity are all factors. I also have some oddly shaped corners and areas that a buffer will not be able to access. Is it possible to apply either by hand in some areas?

What is the product coverage for either Pallman or Rubio on pine? How many coats would you recommend for pine? If I am doing 1100 square feet of smooth pine, how many liters would I need to apply sufficient coats?

Thanks,
Caroline

Tadas,
I noticed above on Caroline’s question you suggested putting two coats of Monocoat on a pine floor. I thought Monocoat could NOT be top coated… Is it just that it is so good you only need to do one coat? What would happen on a hardwood floor if you did a 2nd or 3rd coat of monocoat? peel? Can you get more gloss with a 2nd coat?

Also, all these hard-wax-oil finishes are relatively matte, which one can I get the most gloss from? we generally like a satiny finish on our doors and cabinetry. We still want to stay with these oil finishes. Also, any advantages to doing a base coat with one brand and top with another?

Thanks for the reply above to my question. Yes we already do buff everything off by hand on the oil finishes we use. We buy t-shirt cloth rags by the bale!
Scott

Thank you for the blog. Reading the product reviews and comments helped me decide to use neutral Pallmann Magic Oil on our newly installed red oak floor. They look beautiful, but there was a sanding mark that the installer has tried to fix twice now. Both times, the result has been that the re-sanded area is more matte than the rest of the floor, and there is a shinier band where the re-sanded area meets the surrounding floor. The installer said that he used the same procedure as the original finish, so I’m wondering if it should have been buffed more. I’m not sure what to do at this point, and I wonder if it needs another light coat across the whole area.
Thank you!
Mindy

Tadas Sadunas,

My husband and I refinished our 106 year old Douglas Fir floors in our home in Portland, Oregon. I researched forever to find a product that would protect the floors but not make them look and feel like plastic.

I found the online series on Hard Wax Oil and your reviews on the performance of the top brands you felt you could recommend. I decided to use the Pallman’s Hard Wax Magic Oil with a dark tint. Wow! Our floors turned out beautiful! My husband trusted my research but when we were scraping on the product and then buffing it off, I think he began to question my product decision. That is until the floors fully cured and we could walk on them in our bare feet and the wood felt like warm wood underfoot, not plastic and the floors reflect a warm glow from light not a harsh glass reflection that appears fake.

Thank you so much for your wonderful Hard Wax Oil series! We benefitted from your expertise all the way out on the West Coast and we are extremely grateful for your influence on our decision that we are thrilled with!

Hello, and thank you for your helpful posts! We are finishing a newly laid yellow pine floor. We have used a grit sequence of 40,60,80,100 with a buffer then hand sanding a final 120. I see on Pallmann’s instructions that the floor must be water popped in addition; however, testing with color samples (with no hardener), our trials on water popped flooring are blotchy and “unclear” whereas trials on NOT-popped flooring is clear and smooth. We prefer the look of the floor “unpopped”…have you had success with Pallman Magic Oil 2K on “unpopped” floor?

Tadas,
Was there stain used on the rustic floors you did for Arvydas or just magic oil natural? Also what was the process to buff out the stairs given the surface was so uneven…..the finish looks great in your pictures.
thanks
Garry

Wow, your blog is incredibly informative! We are in contract on a 1920 farmhouse (Dayton, Ohio area). The house has a mixture of original wood, newer wood from an addition in 1980s, plus areas that need complete flooring altogether – like the room with three layers of lino over subfloor, ha! The kitchen is wood (80s wood, perhaps partially original wood, but not sure yet) and one bathroom is original wood as well. I’m thinking ahead for ideas. I want the wood to be as protected as possible, but I am also the kind of person who doesn’t want to use toxic/harsh chemicals of any kind. I clean with water & norwex microfiber primarily, and castille soap, baking soda, vinegar, or wood ashes when necessary. But I really haven’t given my wood floors much thought (We’ve had 1850s floors, 1920s floors, and currently have lovely 1940s floors). I didn’t really think of maintenance of my floors beyond sweeping until my dog got an abscess in his paw recently, and a poultice of castor oil left oily dog prints all over the clearly-very-thirsty wood floors. I reoiled them and cleaned them with DIY kitchen items on my hands and knees (that would perhaps make you groan, but my floors DO look beautiful again), but, again, I’m thinking ahead to this new old farmhouse that will have multiple areas starting from scratch, and, most likely, sanding and refinishing all floors so they match as much as possible. The Magic Oil seems like it would fit all my preferences in terms of safety as well as performance (we’re a homeschool family with three kids and a big dog and we allow skating in the house, even though shoes are off at the door – throw in farm work and we’ll have very heavily-used wood floors indeed!). We live a lot of life on our floors, so having safe products on them truly is paramount for me. I don’t mind some high-maintenance, as I’m kind of a believer in hard work being an important part of being human (and putting physical care into things really increases one’s appreciation). As I reach back into antiquity myself for older, more self-sustaining ways to clean and maintain a home (for example: clean your oven with wood ashes – it’s the easiest “life hack” I have ever learned), my thoughts now wander to my floors. Perhaps older methods won’t exactly work, but maybe there’s a blend somewhere of the old and the new. Do you think Magic Oil would be a good fit? I do NOT want that sickly yellowed, shellac’d look so many Arts and Crafts houses now have. I want real wood floors that I can really take care of in a self-sustaining manner as much as possible. Thanks!