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A wooden floor is oiled in two thin coats of Hard Wax Oil, applied along the grain 24 hours apart, on wood sanded to 120-150 grit and perfectly dust-free. Excess is removed at once, the surface is touch-dry in 6 to 8 hours, nobody walks on it for 24 hours and full cure takes 7 to 10 days. The result: a matt floor, UV resistant and spill proof, cleaned with Floor Cleaner and repaired locally.
Page updated September 2026 · by the Mylands France woodcare specialists
Why oil
A hard wax oil does not form a film sitting on the wood: the oil penetrates the fibres and the wax hardens at the surface. The floor keeps its touch and its matt, it resists spills and UV, and above all it repairs without redoing everything: a scratch is lightly sanded and dabbed with fresh oil, a dulled corridor gets a maintenance coat. That is why the flooring trade uses it so much. Mylac lacquer makes a harder film but is redone by whole area: the choice between the two is in Which wood finish to choose.
Success comes down to one thing: the wood must be able to absorb the oil evenly. Hence sanding that stops at 120-150 grit — finer, the wood burnishes and blocks penetration —, the complete removal of any old wax, oil or lacquer, and dusting with nothing left behind. The seven moves below apply to a new floor as to an old one re-sanded to bare wood; the general method is in Hard wax oil, explained.
The method
Allow two days for the two coats, then a week of care. Work in a temperate room: an oil does not dry in the cold.
From 80 grit to 120, then 150 to finish, without skipping a step. Never sand finer on a floor: burnished wood stops drinking. Every trace of old wax, oil or lacquer must be gone; on an old floor, go down to bare wood.
Sanding dust is the enemy: it sets in the oil and makes lumps. Vacuum the floor, the skirting and the window sills, then wipe with a tack cloth until it comes back clean.
Stir the tin thoroughly. With a floor brush or a short-pile roller, apply a thin, even coat along the boards, working the oil well into the fibres. Work in manageable sections to keep a wet edge.
Wherever the oil shines or pools, wipe at once with a lint-free cloth: what stays on the surface goes tacky and never dries. The floor should look nourished, not wet. Touch-dry in 6 to 8 hours.
The next day, run your hand over it: if the wood feels slightly rough, a light de-nib with a fine pad, 240 grit or finer, then dust off again. If the surface is smooth, go straight to the second coat.
Same move, same direction, but less product: the wood has already drunk. Two coats are enough for domestic and commercial use; an additional coat increases durability further in a hallway or a shop.
No heavy traffic for 24 hours. Full chemical cure takes 7 to 10 days: no rugs, no dragged furniture, no washing until then. Afterwards, Floor Cleaner or a damp cloth for routine cleaning.
The tints
Hard Wax Oil comes in Natural and six tints, applied in exactly the same way. A tint colours and protects in one operation; always test on an offcut or inside a cupboard, because each wood renders it differently.
01
The classic: the oak keeps its honey colour, barely warmed, with a matt that shows the grain and the pores. Two thin coats in a sitting room, a corridor or a bedroom; the floor is washed with Floor Cleaner and refreshed with a thin coat when it dulls.
02
To keep a pale wood truly pale: the whitened tint gives ash, light oak or pine a Scandinavian, almost chalky look without hiding the grain. On oak the effect is softer and warmer than on pine, where it reads cooler.
03
A chestnut brown that calms the orange of pine and evens up boards of uneven colour. On a softwood the first coat is drunk fast: keep it thin and wipe without waiting, as the soft zones of the wood drink more than the hard ones.
04
The deep brown-black of reception-room floors: on walnut, fumed oak or an oak you want to darken, Wenge gives a dense, even colour in the same matt as Natural. Two coats, the second very sparing to avoid overlap marks.
Room by room
| Room | Traffic | Coats | The advice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedroom, study | Light | Two thin coats | Twenty-four hours between them; furniture comes back after 7 to 10 days |
| Sitting room, dining room | Medium | Two thin coats | Remove excess carefully under the windows, where raking light shows everything |
| Hall, corridor | Heavy | Two coats, a third possible | Each additional coat increases durability; a doormat at the entrance once the floor has cured |
| Kitchen | Heavy, spills | Two coats, a third possible | Spill proof: wipe without waiting, wash with Floor Cleaner, never a puddle |
| Stairs | Very heavy | Two coats | Every other tread to keep the stair usable: see Finishing a wooden staircase |
| Shop, restaurant | Intensive | Two coats, plus one | Designed for high-traffic areas; a maintenance coat as soon as the floor dulls |
Touch-dry: 6 to 8 hours. Between coats: 24 hours. No traffic: 24 hours. Full cure: 7 to 10 days. Upkeep: Caring for an oiled or varnished wooden floor.
To avoid
Frequently asked
Only after re-sanding it to bare wood. Hard wax oil has to penetrate the fibres: the slightest trace of varnish, lacquer or wax blocks it and the floor blotches. Full sanding with 80 grit, then 120 and 150, dust off, and the method starts again at the first coat.
Light traffic after 24 hours, in socks. Furniture goes back carefully after 24 hours, without dragging; rugs and heavy pieces wait for full cure, 7 to 10 days, or they mark the still-soft wax.
Two coats are the rule, even in a bedroom: the first feeds the wood, the second builds the protection. In a hall, a kitchen or a shop, a third coat increases durability further. Each coat is thin, and the second more sparing than the first.
That is the advantage of hard wax oil. A scratch: light sanding of the spot, a dab of fresh oil, wipe. A dulled corridor: clean with Floor Cleaner, then a thin coat over the whole area concerned. No repair shows after a few days.
Floor Cleaner, a low-foaming cleaner for all wood floors, with a mop or a machine, or simply a damp cloth. Never a harsh cleaner or a puddle of water: the floor is wiped, not soaked.
See also
The sixth wall: tired floorboards become the room's best gesture, in one weekend and three coats.
“Thin, along the grain, and the excess off at once: the rest is patience.”
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