Classic impregnating oils

Classic impregnating oils

Impregnating oil is important for wood finishing as it provides protection 1mm into the wood so in the event of slight scratches the wood is still protected from moisture and marking. Due to the smooth nature of an oiled finish it is not only aesthetically pleasing to the touch but it is also hygienic. The smoothness of the finish negates the risk that it may collect dirt and bacteria. Since the protection of the wood is from within then the surface is also absorbent of sound contributing significantly to your space's accoustics. Ongoing cleaning with Woca Natural Soap will add a fraction of oily soap to the surface to maintain protection. If wear builds up then reoiling is an easy process that will reprotect all damage. In this manner your wood becomes an everlasting surface. 

In our view this type of product is a classic: it is the best solution for its purpose and maintains that status regardless of what the competition tries to develop.

When we started oiling floors some 25 years ago it was under the instruction of floor sellers dealing to the highest specification projects in London. They wanted that their floors would outperform all competitors for initial look, ease of care and lifespan. Our first call was to an American solution popular in Hollywood where the view was the longer you took over a job and the more applications of oil the better the floor would get. Shortly after I went to a country fair in Northumberland and was admiring the finish that specialists were getting on their shepherds crooks. Again I was told; as many impregnations of oil as you have the patience to do. They also introduced me to the notion of intermediatory fine abrasion as the wood is wet with oil. Now that is easy if you have a small piece of wood to work as wire wool or wet dry paper wont break down before you are finished. The search for an abrasive durable enough work large areas of flooring whilst wet with oil led me eventually to 3M glass polishing materials and the notion of patina disks was founded. Mission accomplished – 3,500 floors later we have no complaints and floors that look great 25 years on. 

Feedback on our works: 'silky smooth', ‘such depth of colour’, ‘acoustically quiet’, ‘easy to clean’.

So of course there are competitive solutions:

  • cant be bothered with oil curing time; use a quick drying polyurethane BUT what is essentially a thin layer of plastic over your wood will wear through in 4 to 5 years. Then you are sanding again
  • want to pinch the notion of oil, but make it look immediately like a built up finish; use a hardwax oil BUT again it’ll wear through in 3 to 4 years and it’s a slippy surface to boot. 

The only justification for top coating with polyurethane or oil resin is to seal in a colouring process you may have chosen. That is fine, however, we advise:

  • to preserve colour you need a UV-filtering lacquer. See our Quartier Magnum
  • to build a high finish with oil when colour fade isn’t an issue then use our Hesse Oil Resin which is more durable and non-slip.

I come back to where I started 25 years ago; the pursuit of excellence. For this there remains only the Woca impregnating oil and our patina disk solution. Do the job correctly, invest a couple of days in it and enjoy a lifetime of excellent performance.