finishing hardwood floors.
- Thread starter robtonya
- Start date
jaegerhund
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- Dec 20, 2007
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Robert Robinson said:
I've had good success with this route: 2-3 coats of Zinsser Seal Coat (as a sealer) followed by 3 coats of BonaKemi Mega.
http://www.onlinefloorstore.com/store/mfgline/?id=11
Justin
GreenGA
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Well, I am in the process of installing hardwood floors throughout the entire downstairs. The floors have been laid/installed and I expect to begin sanding and finishing the floors within a week or so.
In my case, I am following the information I gleaned from a couple of hardwood flooring books and an installer that did a couple of upstairs rooms for me. Proper sanding followed by two coats of gloss non-water based poly from the local flooring store (they service the trade). After the first two coats dry, I will follow up with a coat of non-water based semi-gloss.
The reason for the two different polys is because I was told that gloss is harder than semi; which is the actual finish I prefer. So, two coats of gloss which will be masked by the final coat of semi.
I intend to use a new bonnet, freshly vacuumed to remove any lint, for spreading the poly. Between coats, I will rough the surface with one of the screens supplied by the flooring store. The poly will be applied on a Friday morning, since that is the day we are out of the house the longest. By the time we return home in the evening, the floors will be dry enough, though not cured, for us to walk to the stairs, in our stocking feet, to go up to our bedroom.
After each sanding and roughing up, I will vacuum the entire area. First with the Sears Shopvac, followed by the CT22. Then I will run a tack cloth over the entire floor.
Since I have the luxury of time, and a VERY understanding partner, some even call her Saint JoAnn because of her understanding and patience
, the floors will remain untouched between coats and I expect to wait about three weeks for the final coat to cure before I return the furniture and start using the rooms. Although I do not have much remaining furniture downstairs, the kitchen will become very, VERY crowded during the five weeks while we wait for the floors to cure.
Oh I almost forgot...
Before I sand the rough floor for the first time, I will vacuum and clean the floor as I would between coats and then SAVE the sawdust so I can mix it with some poly to spread over the floor to fill in the cracks between any boards that are no longer tight against its neighbor.
Also...
When the final coat, the semi coat, goes on, I also intend to refinish the media room because the floor in that room has been scratched by careless vendors, the kids, me... ??? since it was finished about 4 years ago.
HTH
In my case, I am following the information I gleaned from a couple of hardwood flooring books and an installer that did a couple of upstairs rooms for me. Proper sanding followed by two coats of gloss non-water based poly from the local flooring store (they service the trade). After the first two coats dry, I will follow up with a coat of non-water based semi-gloss.
The reason for the two different polys is because I was told that gloss is harder than semi; which is the actual finish I prefer. So, two coats of gloss which will be masked by the final coat of semi.
I intend to use a new bonnet, freshly vacuumed to remove any lint, for spreading the poly. Between coats, I will rough the surface with one of the screens supplied by the flooring store. The poly will be applied on a Friday morning, since that is the day we are out of the house the longest. By the time we return home in the evening, the floors will be dry enough, though not cured, for us to walk to the stairs, in our stocking feet, to go up to our bedroom.
After each sanding and roughing up, I will vacuum the entire area. First with the Sears Shopvac, followed by the CT22. Then I will run a tack cloth over the entire floor.
Since I have the luxury of time, and a VERY understanding partner, some even call her Saint JoAnn because of her understanding and patience
, the floors will remain untouched between coats and I expect to wait about three weeks for the final coat to cure before I return the furniture and start using the rooms. Although I do not have much remaining furniture downstairs, the kitchen will become very, VERY crowded during the five weeks while we wait for the floors to cure.Oh I almost forgot...
Before I sand the rough floor for the first time, I will vacuum and clean the floor as I would between coats and then SAVE the sawdust so I can mix it with some poly to spread over the floor to fill in the cracks between any boards that are no longer tight against its neighbor.
Also...
When the final coat, the semi coat, goes on, I also intend to refinish the media room because the floor in that room has been scratched by careless vendors, the kids, me... ??? since it was finished about 4 years ago.
HTH
Dave Ronyak
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- Jan 23, 2007
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- 2,234
Robert,
I used Minwax solvent based polyurethane varnish to refinish about 1200 SF of oak parquet floor in my home about 7 years ago. I did it in small sections of about 100 SF at a time, sanding in the evenings after returning from my regular job, then brushing on the first thinned coat of gloss polurethane later that evening, followed by a second coat of unthinned gloss varnish the following morning before leaving for work, and top coating with semi-gloss varnish when I returned from work later that day. Proper timing of the interval between coats of polyurethane varnish ensures good adhesion between the layers and eliminates the need for sanding to create "teeth" for the next layer to get a grip. That floor still looks great after 7 years of use. My family does take care to remove their street shoes when they come into the house. That habit was developed years ago because I then worked for a rubber company and carbon black would certainly be on my shoes when I came home from work, and was nearly impossible to remove from carpeting.
If I was starting over today, I'd likely try one of the water-based finishing systems, mainly to avoid the solvent odors. However, I would be very cautious about switching to water based finish materials in any situation where the prior solvent based finish is not entirely removed, which was my parquet flooring situation. Application of water based varnish over remnants of solvent-based varnish may result in a blotchy appearance. I recently experienced this phenomenon when refinishing a pine and mahogany stool I had made many years ago and first finished with sprayed [nitrocellulose] lacquer. I refinished it using Target Coatings (Oxford Brand) water based shellac (universal sealer) followed by top coats of their water based lacquer. Wherever my sanding efforts did not get down to true bare wood, the appearance upon application of the water based products was somewhat different -- not as rich and warm, and lacking the depth of color that the solvent based system has. I got lazy when sanding to remove the old finish from the intricate profiles of the turned legs. Does Festool or anyone have a sander for such work?
Dave R.
I used Minwax solvent based polyurethane varnish to refinish about 1200 SF of oak parquet floor in my home about 7 years ago. I did it in small sections of about 100 SF at a time, sanding in the evenings after returning from my regular job, then brushing on the first thinned coat of gloss polurethane later that evening, followed by a second coat of unthinned gloss varnish the following morning before leaving for work, and top coating with semi-gloss varnish when I returned from work later that day. Proper timing of the interval between coats of polyurethane varnish ensures good adhesion between the layers and eliminates the need for sanding to create "teeth" for the next layer to get a grip. That floor still looks great after 7 years of use. My family does take care to remove their street shoes when they come into the house. That habit was developed years ago because I then worked for a rubber company and carbon black would certainly be on my shoes when I came home from work, and was nearly impossible to remove from carpeting.
If I was starting over today, I'd likely try one of the water-based finishing systems, mainly to avoid the solvent odors. However, I would be very cautious about switching to water based finish materials in any situation where the prior solvent based finish is not entirely removed, which was my parquet flooring situation. Application of water based varnish over remnants of solvent-based varnish may result in a blotchy appearance. I recently experienced this phenomenon when refinishing a pine and mahogany stool I had made many years ago and first finished with sprayed [nitrocellulose] lacquer. I refinished it using Target Coatings (Oxford Brand) water based shellac (universal sealer) followed by top coats of their water based lacquer. Wherever my sanding efforts did not get down to true bare wood, the appearance upon application of the water based products was somewhat different -- not as rich and warm, and lacking the depth of color that the solvent based system has. I got lazy when sanding to remove the old finish from the intricate profiles of the turned legs. Does Festool or anyone have a sander for such work?
Dave R.
jaegerhund
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- Dec 20, 2007
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- 311
I think GreenGA touched on it but use full-gloss for your 1st couple of coats and then choose a satin or semi-gloss as your final coat if you want a satin or semi-gloss look. Semi-gloss and satin have a "flattening" additive which can cause a murky, not so clear look, if multiple layers are applied.
Water-based poly dries very fast especially in summer so there is little work-over time ---- you need to be ready to complete the floor with little delay. You might want to use a brush to cut in along the edges and watch for pooling at the edges --- you can imagine that as you pour the poly out on the floor and apply/push it along like a small tidal wave with an applicator, that it will tend to pool up and collect along the edges.
I suggest to use some type of seal coat of which I think shellac is the best to trap impurities that might be release upon application of the poly --- I've had this happen to me causing fish-eyes and other weird anomalies. Shellac also adds a warmth to the finish as well.
Justin
Water-based poly dries very fast especially in summer so there is little work-over time ---- you need to be ready to complete the floor with little delay. You might want to use a brush to cut in along the edges and watch for pooling at the edges --- you can imagine that as you pour the poly out on the floor and apply/push it along like a small tidal wave with an applicator, that it will tend to pool up and collect along the edges.
I suggest to use some type of seal coat of which I think shellac is the best to trap impurities that might be release upon application of the poly --- I've had this happen to me causing fish-eyes and other weird anomalies. Shellac also adds a warmth to the finish as well.
Justin
