Floors may be previously stained any desired color, with a good turpentine, or oil stain before applying the filler or shellac, varnish or wax, or a stain can be mixed with the filler as desired and thus save one operation.

It is best to apply first a thin stain which will penetrate the fibre of the wood, before other treatment, as by this method the color will be much more permanent, and not so easily worn off.

To Summarize:

Floors may be painted.

Varnished with, or without previous staining.

Coated with paste or liquid wood filler, or shellac and varnished or waxed.

Simply shellaced without other treatment, or wax may be applied alone. The last two methods are adapted to hard wood floors.

The quickest method to preserve the natural wood and obtain a fine finish is to shellac the wood (two coats) and apply one or two coats of prepared floor wax.

Floors may also be oiled without other treatment, but this tends to darken the wood and, after repeated coatings, it is apt to retain much dust and dirt. A floor oil, or polish is made by mixing four parts of raw linseed oil, one part of turpentine, and 1-2 part of orange shellac varnish. Shake well when using. In applying, rub this in thoroughly.

It can be used to advantage as a polish on finished floors. Raw oil, to which a little dryer has been added, one part of dryer to ten parts oil, will also make a satisfactory polish for the same purpose.

The so-called floor oil in common use, sold under various names is similar to the folowing:

Take pale paraffine oil of light or medium body, (25 or 28 degree gravity) heat it gently, and to each gallon, stir in one pound of melted paraffine wax. Be sure that the wax and oil are thoroughly combined. This mixture makes an excellent furniture and bar polish also. It both cleans and polishes.

Paraffine oil, without the addition of wax, is also an excellent cleaner and polisher for all wood work.