Planex on a hardwood floor

BJM9818

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Feb 17, 2011
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So I have this customer that decided to use a waterbase finish on his oak floor. He was concerned about the smell of poly and neighbor complaints.  My flooring guy just finished three coats of Bona Traffic HD. Floor looks good but doesn’t have that amber look -this was explained before we started.

I may need to topcoat this thing with regular Poly after it cures in a week. Manufacturer said no problem.  Just need to cut the surface with 150 grit

I was thinking of using the Planex. Only 600ft2 so not a large area.
Anybody try this?
 
Do you own a Planex? If you do it may be worthwhile trying it in a test area.
One of my clients owns a flooring company and they use some big old heavy floor sanders and edging sander kit but they also use a Rotex 150 for areas that need more help. As you only need to knock the existing finish back with 150 grit a pair of knee pads and a good sander (with an even better supply of discs) should suffice.
 
While I haven’t run it as a screed or in-between sander, I have used my Planex to sand floors where my regular sander wouldn’t fit. I would use higher grit than 150 to scuff the coat, you could use Abranet Discs as well instead of Granat, but would need an intermediate pad that Festool sells to act as a buffer since Abranet can be hard on the Hook and Loop of the stock pads.
 
Adding oil on top of traffic is just a waste.  You will not get any amber look.  You online and buy basic coating amberizer or just get amber analine dye and add it to your traffic for another coat
 
Using the Planex sounds like a back saver. Be curious to hear how well it works.
 
PA floor guy said:
Adding oil on top of traffic is just a waste.  You will not get any amber look.  You online and buy basic coating amberizer or just get amber analine dye and add it to your traffic for another coat
Although I'm not a floor finisher, that's some solid advice. Typically, applying solvent based coatings over Waterbased coatings isn't recommended anyways.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
PA floor guy said:
Adding oil on top of traffic is just a waste.  You will not get any amber look.

Absolutely correct...
The time for the oil was the first step. The next 3 steps would then be the application of Traffic.

I did this for a maple floor with a Jatoba border. I applied a coat of oil based poly ONLY on the Jatoba. Then 3 coats of Traffic on both the maple and Jatoba. This gave a very nice contrast between the different woods.
 

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Cheese said:
PA floor guy said:
Adding oil on top of traffic is just a waste.  You will not get any amber look.

Absolutely correct...
The time for the oil was the first step. The next 3 steps would then be the application of Traffic.

I did this for a maple floor with a Jatoba border. I applied a coat of oil based poly ONLY on the Jatoba. Then 3 coats of Traffic on both the maple and Jatoba. This gave a very nice contrast between the different woods.

Sweet looking floor Cheese.  If you use oil on the first coat to be followed by a WB such as Traffic, do you need to seal before applying Traffic or can you just wait for the oil to cure?  Is it usually a reasonable cure time?   
 
live4ever said:
Sweet looking floor Cheese.  If you use oil on the first coat to be followed by a WB such as Traffic, do you need to seal before applying Traffic or can you just wait for the oil to cure?  Is it usually a reasonable cure time? 

Thanks...I knew what I eventually wanted to achieve so I gathered the Jatoba I needed and applied a coat of clear oil based poly. I then spread the Jatoba on a table outdoors in the sun for a week. The sun helps give a red tint. I then brought the maple upstairs and let it and the Jatoba acclimate. Put the floor down and applied 3 coats of Traffic along with an additional coat of Traffic Antislip on the stairs. That was probably 8-9 years ago.

Those photos I took today so you get a good idea of how well the Traffic holds up. Two large 90#dogs, 3 cats and 2 humans later...
 
Cheese said:
I did this for a maple floor with a Jatoba border. I applied a coat of oil based poly ONLY on the Jatoba. Then 3 coats of Traffic on both the maple and Jatoba. This gave a very nice contrast between the different woods.

Nice-looking floor job, O Cheesie One!!!  [big grin]
 
Sparktrician said:
Nice-looking floor job, O Cheesie One!!!  [big grin]

Thanks Sparky...This was a very interesting project. When I started off, this was a space with a 7 foot ceiling with bad wood paneling. It was strictly a storage area in the attic with no insulation, no windows, no electricity, no heat and water dripping on the floor because of a lack of a vapor barrier. It’s now a 500 SF master bedroom with 8 1/2’ ceilings. It was just plain fun to learn...
 
[member=44099]Cheese[/member] I'm very interested in using Traffic HD and Traffic anti-slip when I replace the stairs in my house. How did you apply it to your stairs? (Brush, spray, etc.)
 
PaulH99 said:
[member=44099]Cheese[/member] I'm very interested in using Traffic HD and Traffic anti-slip when I replace the stairs in my house. How did you apply it to your stairs? (Brush, spray, etc.)

I use a painting pad. I'll hit the 3 sides of the tread with a narrow brush and then fill in the middle with the pad. The pad seems to put down a thicker coat and it also seems to be more even. It's also probably 3-4 times faster than a brush which allows it to level better.

The white pad itself is not foam, rather it's nylon with millions of short bristles. It's also very soft to the touch. 
 

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One 12 hour work day without internet service and everybody responds.  [big grin]

Thanks guys.

Yes I know this is a ass backwards way of doing it but Bona said it will be fine.  Floors have been sanded and three coats of Traffic HD have been applied so not about to start over.

I have used a Rotex150 more times than I care to remember to sand down a floor. I have the Planex so was thinking of a quick once over with tge Rotex  in the corners.

I’ll know more Tuesday when the homeowner stops by.

Personally I’m a oil poly only kind of guy but he was worried about the smell so went this route.

 
That's awesome! Thanks for the tip.

Cheese said:
I use a painting pad. I'll hit the 3 sides of the tread with a narrow brush and then fill in the middle with the pad. The pad seems to put down a thicker coat and it also seems to be more even. It's also probably 3-4 times faster than a brush which allows it to level better.

The white pad itself is not foam, rather it's nylon with millions of short bristles. It's also very soft to the touch.
 
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