hardwood floor polish

[zahc]

My 2000-era house has whatever builder-grade hardwood floor. When I use murphys oil soap and scrub off all the residue that the Toddler Army tend to leave, I find that it's in decent shape but it's not shiny at all. I feel like once its clean, I should finish with some kind of wax or protective finish. I heard that shopping mall floors last literally forever because they wax them, and the wax is the only thing that wears. It's a good theory. So what do people suggest?

[Andiron]

Anything but hard wax oil.  *expletive deleted*ck that stuff.  Shows everything.  It scratches if you look at it funny.

[Hawkmoon]

Butcher's Bowling Alley Wax

http://www.bwccompany.com/bowlingalley.html

[roo_ster]

Hmm.  I specified satin oil-based polyurethane finish when we had our true hardwood floors refinished.  They stay satin, even if they get befouled.  Maybe yours are satin or flat(ter) finish to begin with?

Usually just vacuum them, but when I wet-mop, I use dilute pine oil cleaner.

[Kingcreek]

Anything but hard wax oil.  *expletive deleted*ck that stuff.  Shows everything.  It scratches if you look at it funny.

Huh? I finished our floor with nothing but Fidde's hard wax oil and it's been awesome. Looks fantastic and hasn't been any maintenance other than dust mop or vacuum in 6 years. Floor is antique oak barn beams milled and skip planed. It's a very hard durable finish. Expensive though.

[RoadKingLarry]

Just spray it down with Pam cooking spray. Use the organic olive oil  to keep it "natural" . Of course it'll be slicker than greased owl *expletive deleted*it on a glass door knob but it'll look *expletive deleted*ing marvelous.

[Andiron]

Huh? I finished our floor with nothing but Fidde's hard wax oil and it's been awesome. Looks fantastic and hasn't been any maintenance other than dust mop or vacuum in 6 years. Floor is antique oak barn beams milled and skip planed. It's a very hard durable finish. Expensive though.

http://www.amazon.com/OSMO-Polyx-Hard-Wax-Liter/dp/B003Q9R3RA

This is the stuff we use.  Scratching from dog claws and daily traffic was so bad that after 2 years I re sanded the whole mess and tried again,  on the off chance that I had applied it wrong the first time.  Same result.  Not thrilled with the Osmo brand.

Oh,  floor is new tongue and grove black walnut. 

[BlueStarLizzard]

http://www.amazon.com/OSMO-Polyx-Hard-Wax-Liter/dp/B003Q9R3RA

This is the stuff we use.  Scratching from dog claws and daily traffic was so bad that after 2 years I re sanded the whole mess and tried again,  on the off chance that I had applied it wrong the first time.  Same result.  Not thrilled with the Osmo brand.

Oh,  floor is new tongue and grove black walnut. 

Not wax, but to prevent dog nail scratches you can A) keep the nails ground short, rather than cut short and B) cover the nails with soft plastic tips. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=1408 We have a few customers that have gone over to using these things and they like them.
Also, the colored ones provide a better reminder to keep the nails maintained in the first place.

[Boomhauer]

I helped my father lay hardwood tongue and groove flooring in his living room and we put down gym grade poly...need to find a good wax for it though