Special
Parquet oil
THE DISCRETION OF OIL IS STILL THE BIGGEST ASSET THE NATURAL ASPECT IS DECISIVE FOR MANY CLIENTS
Photo – Blanchon
Just as a growing preference for natural and durable materials stimulates wooden floor sales, so, too, it seems that those aspects persuade clients to opt for oil. Moreover, parquet oils really are based on natural products such as tung oil, castor oil, soya oil, and linseed oil, albeit in a modified end product. Obviously, environmental legislation also applies to oil finishes, so that means that water-based oils have been an integral part of the range for some years now.
The assets of parquet oil Lots of sales arguments support an oil finish for parquet. Let’s consider the main ones.
Appearance and feel Oil preserves the natural look of the wood like no other finish. The structure, grains, and colour all continue to resemble closely the features of an untreated floor.
Good protection Since the oil impregnates the wood (i.e. it saturates the pores of the wood), a floor treated with oil repels damp and dirt. Scratches on an oiled floor are obviously possible, but they stand out less than scratches on a lacquered floor.
Maintenance and repair An oiled floor is easy to maintain. Moreover, applying a maintenance oil to the floor also nourishes the floor constantly. Moreover, an oiled floor also has the major benefit that it can be repaired (read: re-oiled) in patches.
Renovation When an oiled floor needs to be freshened up, you don’t need to sandpaper it. With a lacquered floor, you have to empty the whole room and sandpaper the whole floor completely pale again. An oiled floor can be renovated without sandpapering and, if necessary, it can even be done in phases.
Natural and technological Linseed oil Traditionally, lin oil or linseed oil has been used to treat (nourish) wooden floors. Lin oil has some outstanding properties specifically for use on wood. In particular, lin oil maintains the wood structure and stimulates the moisture-regulating effect of the wood. That’s why lin oil has been processed for years in industrial paints, stains, oils, and waxes. However, if we use natural linseed oil, we don’t achieve a very high level of scratch resistance and in many cases the wood becomes discoloured (yellowy). Moreover, natural linseed oil has a relatively long drying time. However, it goes without saying that the human intellect has also discovered a solution for that.
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