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| 02/04/04 |
Parquet Flooring Misery |
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| A large water stain kindly shows up in the middle of the parquet floor |
Having finished varnishing the floor with the first coat of matt oak at midnight last night, imagine my disappointment this morning to see a dirty great water mark in the middle of the floor! Getting the floor to this stage has meant sanding the whole area twice by hand - next time I'll be sure to cover it properly before painting the ceiling (I think it needed another going over anyway, though). And, then meticulously sanding along the numerous scored lines made probably by moving furniture over the years. There were literally dozens of these and each required sanding carefully along the groove, because previous sanding hadn't removed the varnish from the depressions. This helps them to fade into the background, becoming part of the antique patina. We chose not use an industrial sander, because this would flatten the whole floor down to new wood, losing all the character. Instead we just lifted the varnish off with 80 grit aluminium oxide paper. Initially the varnish was looking great, bringing the floor out in a deep warm colour - like an antique table. You have to be careful to brush it out well so you don't leave any streaks, though. Unfortunately, the varnish also really shows the stain off to its fullest potential. I've been searching the Internet for possible remedies to remove a watermark to little avail. I'm going to try trusty household bleach and water, followed by salt to draw it out again. I'll let you know next time how I got on. At least the pelmet is looking good. I used a couple of lengths of skirting in the same style as the house (but smaller profile) mounted upside down. Rather than curving it around the bay, as was previously done, I've followed the angles made by the windows. Just need to get plenty of paint on it to make it look original! |
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