Our finishes produce a beautiful and rugged surface on earthwork! We make a special earthen floor oil and wax for Claylin, Inc. called Claylin Oil and Claylin Wax which you can order through Sukita Crimmel at Claylin, Inc. HERE. First, build up coats with our Claylin Oil Finish, then top coat with Claylin Wax. For more information about oiling Earthen Floors, please get in touch with Sukita at 503.957.6132 or on her website HERE.
"Earthen floors are laid as a wet mix of clay-rich soil, sand, and fiber. After drying, these raw floors are sealed with many layers of linseed oils mixed with thinner and then finished with a wax or resin. The Natural Earth Finish from Heritage Natural Finishes works great for me. It already has citrus thinner in it, which I prefer. I apply many layers until the floor is full and then let it dry for about a week. I then use their Liquid Wax End Sealer, which I apply with a buffer. It's beautiful! I have also been playing around with the pigmented oils; they color the basic brown floor nicely.” -Sukita Crimmel, From These Hands, LLC.
To calculate how much oil & wax you need to finish your earthen floor, use this formula (from Sukita):
4 coats of Earth Finish is a product of 0.023 x total square feet of earthen floor (ex: 350 sq. ft. to cover x 0.023 = 8.05 gallons needed)
6 coats of Earth Finish is a product of 0.029 x total square feet of earthen floor.
1 coat of Liquid Wax is a product of .002 x total square feet of earthen floor.
To finish your earth floor, apply Earth Finish with 4-6 coats over several days. You don't need to thin this product. Buff in a thin top coat of our Liquid Wax for a more finished top coat. Dries to a matte sheen.
Clean Up:
To clean up spills, overspray, or brushes, use our Pure Citrus Solvent or another solvent (e.g., Turpentine, Mineral Spirits, etc.).
100% Bio-based. Food safe once dry. VOC levels below LEED Certification requirements.
Composition
We disclose ALL ingredients that we use. Heritage Natural Finishes contain NO petroleum products, or metallic drying agents whatsoever! We use only the highest quality ingredients from the most sustainable sources possible. What you see here is what you get. If you have any questions, you can always call us!
Tung Oil
100% pure with no additives. This is the highest quality tung oil available; drying harder and forming a more durable finish than linseed oil alone. Both oils are dryer-free and slightly heat-treated (polymerized).
Special Aged Linseed Oil
Obtained from flax grown in the Red River Valley of the U.S. and Canada. It is purified and refined by natural oxidation and blowing, and dries as clear or clearer than tung oil, with none of the characteristic discoloration that is typical of hardware store varieties. No other finishing oil penetrates as deeply into wood.
Beeswax
Only filtered, chemical and bleach-free white beeswax wax is used. Beeswax adds visual depth of grain, smoothness, and elastic durability. Beeswax forms a skim coat that keeps the finish on the wood, slowing the evaporation of the solvent, which gives the oils more time for absorption.
Pure Citrus Solvent
This is the purest form of citrus turpenes (solvent), extracted from cold-pressed orange peel oil. This is the only solvent used in our finishes, and is also sold separately for thinning product or cleaning up. Pure Citrus Solvent is a safer alternative to mineral spirits, and other harsh solvents and can be used the same way.
Pine Rosin
Gum rosin extracted from pine sap and separated from the turpentine. This is the gum rosin found in heart pine, giving the wood its hardness and durability. We use only top grade, crystal-free, water-white rosin. No synthetic resins are used.