Why oiling / waxing...

Treating wooden floors with oil is a long-standing practice. It was invented to protect the wood from moisture. To make the oiled flooring even more impervious to water, it was then treated with (bees)wax. The wax also functioned as a protective layer trapping fine dust particles. The wax coating would wear away and would be regularly renewed.

From time to time, the wax coating needed to be completely removed so that heavily "leached" areas could be re-oiled, after which the floor would be waxed again. This basic cleaning was done by hand, using steel wool to scratch away the wax layer. After each wax application, the wax layer was polished with hand-held pads. When you consider the methods used, it's not hard to imagine how difficult and time-consuming these tasks were.

Given the effort involved, it was ultimately no wonder that oil was increasingly replaced by varnish and other finishes. A floor finished with such products provided a smooth, closed surface which, as long as it remained intact, provided far better protection from moisture. At the same time, the floor could be very easily cleaned: dry cleaning with a broom, vacuum cleaner and mop is sufficient in most cases. More stubborn dirt can usually be removed by wiping with a moist cloth and a good all-purpose household cleaning product. The wax treatment was replaced by polymer dispersions, which formed a hard coating on the varnish layer and required no further polishing (and which could not be polished using conventional means).

Nonetheless, oil treatments of wooden floors are undergoing a renaissance at the moment, since the treatment of wood with varnishes also carries with it some inherent disadvantages. For instance, the attractive matt appearance of an oiled floor can only be achieved after applying a matting agent. Even more problematic is the fact that a varnished floor cannot be partly renovated. If the varnish layer is damaged, the finish needs to be completely sanded away and replaced. An oiled floor, on the other hand, can be patched up in sections.

A trend can currently be observed which is bringing the two treatment methods of oiling and varnishing closer together. Varnishes are being designed to be so matt that their appearance resembles that of an oiled floor at first glance. On the other hand, oils are being modified chemically so that they dry faster like varnishes, and form hard, resistant layers.

LOBA caters for both methods with highly developed modern products in each field.