How To Wax a Stone Floor

Once stone flooring has been laid and cured, it's common to wax the flagstones to give a more aged and traditional appearance.

The following 'How to Guide' is an overview of how we wax our hand made traditional interior flagstones. The method could be applied to other brands and types of stone, but please check with the manufacturer/supplier before proceeding.

Preparation

First ensure the stone floor is brushed clean and free of any debris.

Before waxing, we recommend using a breathable impregnating sealer such as HG impregnating protector.

Once the sealant has dried we would advise warming your flagstones so they're not cold to the touch. Turning on central or underfloor heating or by closing the room off to use a fan heater for a short period, is generally sufficient.

Application

We recommend using Briwax as the stone flooring wax of choice. Colour options can be found in the tips and tricks section further down this page.

Once flagstones are clean, the impregnating protector has been applied and the stone floor is warm to the touch it's time to apply the wax. The first coat can often be the most laborious part of the job, applying the wax thinly and evenly across each flagstone individually.

The wax will draw into the stone (though less so after applying the impregnator) if you see any particularly dark areas forming, scrub that area hard to keep the wax moving evenly.

Once full coverage of the floor is reached, leave it to dry for a couple of hours before applying the second coat.

The second coat is much easier to apply, so be more generous with the wax as it won't soak in like the first application, instead appearing to sit on top and give the desired finish.

Aftercare

If the wax isn’t sealed, it will dull down very quickly so we advise using a sealing coat over the top.

We recently used lithofin eversheen mixed with 50% water on a personal project for both kitchen and living room stone floors, and the results are fantastic.

When cleaning the floors after the job is complete, don’t use abrasive cleaners as they can strip the sealant or wax off, stick to light cleaners like Dettol.

TIPS & TRICKS

• Wax the pointing as well as the traditional interior hand made flagstones.
• If applying brown wax, we recommend medium brown and antique brown combined (no science to the application, dip into 1 pot then the next. They are similar colours, so you don’t notice the change just a subtle variation).
• Light or dark products look better with a clear finish.
• The brown wax looks nice on brown and green flooring stone.
• If you're thinking of using clear wax, you can save yourself hours by opting for a shine finish sealant instead, which will give a very similar appearance.

Interior Flooring

This 'How To Wax a Stone Floor Guide' is suitable for these flagstones.