Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Sealing particle board for decorative flooring

Hello,

I was in a restaurant where the walls were regular old chipboard that had been sealed/varnished to a smooth, high gloss. I like this look and would like to try it for my floor.

What kind of sealer and/or clear varnish should I use to get this effect? Polyurethane?

The floor currently has vinyl tiles *shudder* and I am almost tempted just to nail these new boards down over them instead of ripping them up. Is that terrible?

Thanks for your help.

i dont know a sealer that would be effective for what your discribing but ripping out vinal really can be hard depending on who installed it and if it was installed properly. Like mine was completly glued down so i had to litterally scratch it away with a scraper. It really is a pain I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it wasnt fun.

Polyurathane would be the best coating to use but I'm not sure how well osb would withstand traffic. I have seen the little flakes of wood peel off before.

Lol, I've seen laminate that looked like wheatboard (a "green" recycled material item) so if you can find some particleboard looking laminate, go with that! Will be light years more durable and water resistant.


Which leads me to our work van, we'll be buying a new one soon and I just had a thought about putting in some tongue-and-groove MDF for the flooring...... wouldn"t THAT look sweet!