Your finish isn't scratched. The weight of your dog, concentrated at the nails, is crushing the wood fibers. No finish is hard enough to protect wood from indentations. You can put a diamond on a stick of butter and it's not going to protect the butter if you hit it with a hammer.

I've had dogs and noticed that some are more likely to extend their nails when stopping and starting. Other than keeping the nails clipped, you can trim the hair from between their toes to give their paws better grip. In the meantime you'll need to get some Mohawk markers to touch up the indentations. and collect scratches until you no longer have that dog.

This is the reason I did not do dark floors in my new house. I like dark floors but knew the scratches would show a lot more than with light ones.

Thanks everyone for your feedback! We know that the dog caused the scratches, the question is with what we thought was a rock solid finish, should that happen?? The Bona site says with Traffic HD being used with pets and kids 3 coats should be done, not the 2 our contractor did. Wish I had known that before!

And we've also noticed that there were a LOT of scratches from the dog in the first two weeks after he came back, but no new scratches since then.

Major bummer since we didn't expect this to happen and the floor was so gorgeous initially. I'm curious to see what the Bona rep says but from the feedback here sounds like it is what it is ...

You could put five coats on and the result would be the same. With more coats you start to fill the grain, making the floor smoother and more likely to show smaller scratches.

We just got a new dog after two years being without. She's only about 40 pounds but energetic. We try to limit her rambunctiousness to an area with slate. I like the idea of booties but don't think any dog I've ever had would wear them for long.

i have the same issue with scratching and i have a Neato so no dog here just scratches this thing does not weigh 5 lbs and boma is not getting away this time it’s junk we stayed off of it for week no furniture bubbles and tiny little white dots in the finish you can scratch this stuff with your thumb nail.

I have a beagle, and he is very energetic. He runs and he slides and he chases the cat, and they both run and slide. Yes, its hard on floors, but, I live with it, because, the pets are more important than floors. Houses are to be lived in and enjoyed, not just sitting looking at things being perfect. I much prefer having a healthy active dog, than perfect floors. Enjoy your dog.

Did you ever get a response back from BONA rep?

I have the SAME problem! It's not ONLY the dog. I have noticed scratches from just moving things across the floor. This Bona product is not as tough as it's advertised to be. Please tell what rep said.

The Bona is doing just fine. It is the "moving things across the floor" that is the problem. Concrete, stone and ceramic tiles will all have issues with things being slid/moved across the floors. Anytime you want to move something, you will need to lift it. If that is not possible, then you will need to add a 'glide-aide' of some sort (aka: old blanket).

This is a normal precaution every homeowner needs to deal with. And a freshly finished floor (inside the first 2-4 weeks) is delicate until a full cure (100% cure...not just 95%) has been achieved. And even for the fast curing products out there, that can be 2-4 weeks.

Only a UV cured finish (rare and expensive) will be 100% cured inside of 1 day. Everything else requires babying for 2-4 weeks. After that, the floors will be as tough as advertised. And Bona has MANY versions. The low-priced Mega is going to earn your refinisher LOTS of money. And the HIGH PRICED Traffic HD will lower his/her earnings because the costs is much higher at time of purchase. And a one-part product (like Mega) will offer less scratch resistance than the 2-part products (like Traffic HD).

Regardless of the finish, items need to be picked up and moved. Do not drag anything across a wood floor. But if you do...be assured the finish is working. It just shows a scratch. A floor that shows RAW WOOD is a floor finish that is NOT working.

Scratches are GOOD (the finish is doing it's job = protect the raw wood underneath)! They show that the finish is taking the abuse. It is a 'proof is in the pudding' concept. RAW WOOD is BAD (the finish has been pierced and the raw wood is no longer being protected)!

I've had wood floor nearly all my life and I know how to live and be careful with them. I've never had issues like the ones I'm having with my newly refinished wood floors using Bona Traffic. I'm calling them tomorrow. It's been over two months since they've had three coats of finish applied and I can scratch them with my fingernail over a paper towel!

My floors were finished with bona too (not sure if it is the traffic line), I had hardwood floors at my previous house and don't have any idea what he used. He didn't make a big deal of out what he used. The new house we used a new guy who kept telling me how great bona is and that he is the only one in this area that uses it. My floors are fine but I have a lot more light scratches. In my previous house I didn't have any noticeable. Same people -- same dog -- equally careful with the care of our floors. The next time I have them redone I am using the person who did the floors in our previous house (he was in the hospital when we did our current floors). Both guys are talented and hard working but -- I am not sold on Bona.

The 'regular' Bona (1 part product such as Mega) is a very nice residential product. It isn't special. Sadly some people are told (by the professional) that Bona is the best...only to have the professional use the ENTRY LEVEL Bona (the Mega). The SUPER HIGH END product is the Bona Traffic HD. It runs almost $100 more per gallon than the Mega.

You can see where the professionals (whether intentionally or unintentionally) can make a ton of extra denaros by using the word 'Bona' without using the BEST...because 99.9% of homeowners do not realize there are SEVERAL versions of Bona.

Sorry you aren't getting the wear you believe you should have. Ask for a photo of the ACTUAL product used on your floor. And then compare that to the price on your invoice.

A good ad for tile.

I'm currently getting another layer of finish on the floors, only this time, Traffic HD. The Bona rep said the floors might not have cured if there wasn't enough fresh airflow. We did not leave windows open during the cure time as we have ac and were not instructed to leave windows open. The rep said if not enough fresh air, the vapors would not escape the room and instead fall back onto the floor, keeping it soft. This time around we are leaving windows cracked during the day and hopefully it will harden up like it should!

Vapors???? Now there's a new one! Turn your AC on, run fans:)

I just had my floors done. They used 1-2 coats of Mega and then 2 coats of Traffic HD (I definitely saw them pour the hardener in). Looks like I might be spending then next 2 weeks carrying my dog downstairs :)

"Vapors"? Hmmmm. Probably the 'rep' (possibly just some warm body answering the phone) meant the EVAPORATION cure (water evaporating out of the finish) was stymied by lack of air flow. That is to say, the lack of air movement/exchange SLOWED DOWN the cure. By slowing the evaporation rate the finish remained SOFT (too much water left in it for too long) for much longer than anticipated.

That would be my interpretation of 'vapours'. This would be the chemically illiterate 'warm body' on the phone type person trying to man-splain some technically hooey dooey type talkin' to a 'nother person.

Or we are back in the 1650's were 'vapours' were considered an illness-carrying entity from which women often suffered. "She was suffering from the vapours," was a COMMON diagnosis from the 1600's.

I'm hoping the Bona rep meant the former and not the latter.

the rep said that relying on the AC for air flow was a "common misconception", it only recirculates the air, you need fresh air/oxygen. And honestly vapors may have been the word my own chemically illiterate brain attached to his description of the possible problem, which yes, was exactly what you described above :-) All I know is there definitely was a problem and that problem seems to have been "cured" ;-) by introducing fresh air this go-round.

@dorrio Please let us know how is your floor holding up now...after some time... We are having some issues with our new installed floors (Bona Traffic HD) and I am wondering if it is a product issue or the human error.

Thank you

Hi, The initial Bona Traffic finish was awful, like I said (I can email you a video if you want). But, the new Bona Traffic HD finish is much better. Im not sure if it was the product, my feeling is human error (either not enough oxygen or they went too chintzy with or forgot to add the hardener). I am happy with the HD. I did get an initial scratch mark that we have no idea how it got there but maybe the finish hadn't fully cured at that point because Ive had contractors wearing shoes in the house since then with no issues. I hope you get it figured out, what a pain!

Thank you. Appreciate your comment...we had to postpone moving in as they are trying to fix it twice already...patience is running low...

This is an interesting article.

https://theflooringgirl.com/blog/best-hardwood-flooring-for-dogs/

Since you said that the scratches appeared early on, and the dog has not made any new scratches, could they have been made by a human's shoe?

Most likely human error. Second time around, hopefully they know what the cause is to prevent it from happening again.

We had Bona HD applied on a newly added section of our dining room and all the floors on that level refinished. We used the new Metropolitan stain which was a whole different nightmare but we finally got the floors to the color we wanted and they looked beautiful. We then went on a trip for two weeks. When we got back we brought the dining chairs back in and added the felt pads. At some point during that process we must have managed to scratch the floor. We were so careful but most likely should have rested the backs on a blanket when adding the felt pads because apparently that made three scratches. I guess we thought the floor would be rock solid as described "you will dent it before you scratch it". In hindsight and in looking at the above posts, it appears it might not have cured enough yet. I'm surprised the higher traffic areas didn't scratch. If that is the case, I hope contractors start letting their clients know.

Bona HD should be 90% cured inside of 5 days. It would take another 2 weeks or so to gain that last 10%.

Finishes dent. Wood dents. The finish is like the shock absorber of wood flooring. They take the bumps. The rips. The scrapes instead of the wood. A little dent like what you describe from flipping chairs over = totally normal.

What has happened is society has an entire generation (or three) that have NOT grown up with wood flooring. Laminate, vinyl, linoleum, tile, etc have all become common place. Wood is durable (as in it can last 60-80 years) but the FINISH does not have that live span. Why not? Because, like the shocks on your car, it needs to be repaired several times during the WOOD'S life span.

Scratches on a wood surface are FINE. They are NORMAL. They are to be EXPECTED. Whether they happen on the FIRST day you move back in or on the last day before they are refreshed, it doesn't matter. It will happen because it is supposed to happen.

So long as the coating has not been BROKEN (ie. no exposed raw wood) then the finish you paid for is doing it's job.

Good luck with your floor. Bona HD is the TOP finish on the market. It cures INCREDIBLY fast. It is super hard. You probably won't have many more issues for a few decades or so. A snick of softness (dents or dimples) is to be expected for any finish. I'm sorry you did not know that before you moved back in. This type of information is widely available on the net.

What do you guys think would be a good way to touch up traffic HD without spending $100+ for a gallon when you only have a small amount?

@ Adam Ailion Purchase the gallon OR buddy up with a flooring refinisher to 'bum' some finish from him/her after a job.

Traffic HD doesn't normally need to be 'touched up'. Do you have photos of what it is you are dealing with?

We had our engineered floors refinished before moving in last October. The floor guy scratched the floor moving the refrigerator back into the house. Since then, it has one scratch after another. In addition, the floors had an odor for over 4 months. He came back and washed the floors with something to neutralize the odor. That finally resolved the odor issue. The scratching is another issue. My previous home at hardwood floors. The original finish lasted years without scratches. We restrained and refinished it 4 years ago and never had a problem. Bona was not used. The floors were great. These floors are terrible. Bona Mega is a worthless product.

Bona Mega is Bona's 'cheap' line. It is a 1 part product that has the Bona name but not the performance. It isn't even in the same HEMISPHERE as it's over-achieving big bro = Bona Traffic HD. It is for refinishers who like to boast they use Bona...but are too cheap to offer the HIGH END products such as Bona Traffic HD (which would have DOUBLED the cost of material).

And then there is the 'coating' system. Many refinishers want to use 2 coats of finish. The Gold Standard is 3 coats of finish. Some guys will use a cheaper 'sealant' on the wood and then two coats of the low-grade Mega and call it 'a three coat system'. Again this SOUNDS great to the homeowner but it isn't the top of the top.

The good news about Bona Mega is it can accept a buff and coat. You can get another coat of the high-end Bona Traffic HD (I would suggest 2 coats). It is the HD that has the SUPER TOUGH properties...but you need to build up the coating of the HD to get the toughness.

I hear your pain. But Bona Mega is NOT Bona Traffic HD. It isn't even close.

We had Bona Traffic HD in Extra Matte put on our floors about 2 months ago, and it’s holding up very well. Half of the house is 100-year-old 2” wide maple. The other half is 2-year-old 4” maple. The original finish on the new flooring when it was installed was garbage. We live in the country and no matter how hard we try, there’s always grit and small pebbles on the floor. A piece of dirt under the wheel of the vacuum could take the finish down to bare wood! In addition, we’ve got two mid-size dogs that are constantly zooming around. The original finish was completely trashed in about a week.

We’ve been renovating and we’re finally ready to have the 100 YO floor refinished, and decided to get a price on redoing the new floor at the same time. Our refinisher recommended the Bona Traffic HD. Aside from a color debacle (which the flooring guy fixed) we’re really happy with the Bona. They put on 1 coat of AmberSeal and 3 coats of HD Traffic and because we were away, it was able to cure for almost 10 days without anyone in the house. If you go with Bona, make sure your flooring guy is certified by Bona. It’s my understanding the Traffic HD has a very quick dry time and if they don’t know what they’re doing, it can easily become a mess. If things start to go south in the future I’ll repost, but it looks like it’s going to hold up nicely.

This was also my experience with the Bona water-based polyurethane finish. After a few short months, the floors looked worse than they did after 10 years with the old finish. We have a 21lb dog and an 80lb dog and they are walked regularly, so they do not have sharp claws. This was a huge disappointment and I am not sure what to do next.

This was also my experience with the Bona water-based polyurethane finish. After a few short months, the floors looked worse than they did after 10 years with the old finish. We have a 21lb dog and an 80lb dog and they are walked regularly, so they do not have sharp claws. This was a huge disappointment and I am not sure what to do next.

Bona has many lines. The disappointments come from the lower level Bona and only 2 COATS used at time of application.

The most common line = Bona Mega. It is common because it is the cheapest option. Refinishers taught 'Bona' as their finish but they fail to explain WHICH Bona finish. It is not much better than 2 coats of off-the-shelf stuff. But it SOUNDS awesome to the homeowner. The Refinisher then uses the ol' bait and switch and voila...2 coats of mediocre finish instead of THREE coats of the BEST = Bona Traffic HD (which is 3 times more EXPENSIVE than Mega).

I would say, without much hesitation, that the "After a few short months..." would be referring to the low-grade Bona Mega.

My suggestion: find your receipt and find out WHICH Bona finish you received. And then figure out how much you PAID for that finish. Bona Mega is going to come in around $4/sf. Bona Traffic HD (with 3 coats) is going to be closer to $7/sf. That's how you tell which one you have.

Don't slam the brand...slam the guy who 'sold' you on Bona but then failed to offer the TOUGHEST of the Bona line which is Bona Traffic HD (at the price of $7/sf).

Bona Novia is there entry level water base poly. The Mega family is a step above that. Traffic family is the top tier with HD being their top of the line finish.

What is the recommendation for when to move furniture and rugs back in after using Bona HD traffic?

Our flooring guys told us it’s ok to walk on it after a day. Then to wait a few days to move furniture back in.

Generally, wait a full week before rugs. A couple days for furniture. Walk after a day.

No Scratches, our floors turned out GREAT!

Here’s what was done. We did our floors before moving in. Our contractor applied two coats of Bona HD. After 3 days we covered all floors with flooring paper. Then movers came and delivered the furniture. We kept our floors covered everywhere.

After 3.5 months paper came off, we were having kitchen wiring and painting in all the rooms which took time.

We try not to drag heavy items across the floor, but dragging an ottoman or a bar stool left no marks at all. Granted the legs have plastic protectors.

I would attribute your scratches to two possibilities, not waiting long enough for finish to completely cure or improper application of Bona HD, or both.

It has been 2 months since we removed floor paper coverings and not a single scratch. I specifically check heavy traffic areas (shoes with taps on them, think of nails) and around the bar stool area against reflective sunlight.

We are 100% satisfied

I alway find it funny that people only ever want to hear what they want... don’t believe the flooring professional! They couldn’t possibly know more than my friends contractor, or even my friend who’s floors are preforming great. There are always many factors on why one floor can perform different than another and finish is one part of dozens of things that make one floor seem to perform better than another!! Colour, species, density, lighting, traffic, lifestyle.... are what should be considered first. Finish and workmanship should always be the last thing to consider!!

This is why you hear one story of a cheap finish done poorly performing great and great finish done right performing badly!! Never assume just because your paying for better means it will perform beyond expectations!

I had new how floors installed 4 years ago, my contractor used Bona Traffic HD. I am totally disappointed in the way the floors show evert scuff and scratches. I even have areas that are peeling and two spots that the finish has completely worn off. I would NEVER use this again. From what I'm seeing I need to have the floors buffed and re-sealed with a water poly base . Any suggestions as to what band is best?

Your installer is at fault...not Bona. Bona Traffic HD is the TOUGHEST product on the market. If it 'goes wrong' it means the applicator (the dude[tte]) messed it up.

If you have PEELING you have adhesion failure. That's 100% the HUMAN BEING having the issue.

Because you have peeling you cannot work with a buff and coat. You will required 100% sand/refinish and new application applied.

Can you show a photo of the floors? Do they have stain applied? What type of wood are they?

If you insist on getting away from Bona Traffic HD (which is 100% applicator issues and NOT the finish!!!), then work with the MORE EXPSIVE Loba 2K Supra AT.

The scuffs and scratches are from the gloss level (I'm guessing you have matte????) and not the product. The scratches are also from having only 2 coats instead of 3 coats.

A full sand/refinish with Loba 2K Supra AT (satin is lovely and lower gloss) with 3 coats (if this is over white oak...you can use EasyPrime as the sealant + 2 coats) should cost you $7-$8/sf.

I know this is an old thread but I felt the need to reply.

We used Bona Traffic 5 years ago using spice brown stain followed by the Satin poly HD 2 part system. I remember back then it stated the darker color allow 12 hour dry time which we did. Then we applied two coats of finish. I recall that it took longer then 2 weeks to fully set and get solid but eventually it did and worked out great.

Fast forward we got a new house. Great wood floors. Again we refinished them using the Bona HD traffic 2 part system in semi gloss. We used a lighter finish this time which stated on the stain can stated to allow 2-3 hours drying time in normal humidity. So this time around we followed the instructions and allowed 3 hours for the stain to dry on a lovely 75 degree sunny day. I did not go heavy on the stain and I would use a dry cloth to buff out the excess as I went along. Everything looked great.

We have experience with the sanding so we spent roughly 10 hours using the different grits down to the 100 grit as the final step as instructed. Floors were lovely and down to the bare unadultured wood. We then vacuumed them and got every last bit of dust off using special footies as to not contaminate the floor with our feet. We could not have followed the instructions more perfectly. In fact we researched for a week and spoke to a floor refinishing company just to insure we did things 100% correctly.

Well here we are now, 12 days in and I can scratch this off with my nail in many places. I am not talking just a scratch in the wood, but a peeling of the top coat scraping down to and exposing bare wood. I am sick to my stomach. The floor will not last. It is supposed to be strong like for a gym. This would not hold up to a room of infants. We luckily were finishing in a vacant home so nothing was placed on the floor for 10 days. It's not even worth moving all of our heavy furniture and starting over so I am going to put laminate floors over top of this and be done with it. I called Bona and they told me that they suggest 8 hour stain drying time. Well then why the heck would you state on your product 2-3 hours? Human error on my part? I think not I did everything that Bona said. Disgusted with the product. I should have used a cheaper oil base from the big box store. Biggest regret of my life. Perhaps Bona stored the product in a cold warehouse? Maybe it was a faulty batch with bad hardener? I have no idea but it behaves like something that did not have hardener. However I checked the unused bottle the next day and it was solidifying in the jug. Something failed and I can't understand what because I followed Bona instructions to a T.

The 2-3 hour dry time is recommended for the natural color only. All other colors is 16 hours or more. Allow all stains and colorants extra time to dry, overnight always. Colorants is one finish I would not follow the manufacturer's instructions. You will always run into peeling issues with insufficient drying.

Thanks! On Bona's site they said if using lighter colors 2-3 hours. That's what it said on this can. Clearly the dry time was the issue here but not because of lack of direction. Bona has a major malfunction in their directions. They need to update the label in regards to this. When we used the Spiced Brown directly on the side of the can it stated 12-18 hours. But on this one 2-3. But I believe your correct it's failed due to lack of drying time. Unfortunate.

@dorrio We just had 3 coats (supposedly) of Bona HD in satin and our dog is able to scratch/scuff the surface when he is wearing 2 layers of socks. He is 60#. We have had wood floors for 30 years and I have not had this problem ever. It is driving me nuts. Contractor is coming Tuesday. I may just purchase the traffic HD myself and make him rescreen the floor with another layer. I was wondering how your floors are holding up?

Unfortunately my floors have been THE biggest nightmare of my remodel. This weekend in fact, we just finally moved our furniture back into our house after being moved out since June so that our floors could be completely resanded and finished - the reason? Because that buff & coat with the Traffic HD did not adhere, I noticed the floor would peel a couple times when I dropped a can (above the dent would be a flaky layer of white looking finish). I was talked out of it being an actual problem, and was told there was 'too much finish on the floor'. We went ahead with painting our trim and when the painters pulled their tape up it pulled the finish up in a strip right along with the tape! I can't tell you what a nightmare this has been, not only did we have to move everything out of our whole first floor (all hardwood except bathrooms and laundry room) but when I had the floor sanded and finished again they ruined every square inch of my new baseboards, had to be completely repainted. We went with Swedish finish this time hoping to avoid some of these issues with the water-based finishes, but I have to say I think the single biggest factor is the experience and technique (and integrity) of the professional. I have spoken to a handful of flooring guys since this ordeal began and many of them use Bona/waterbased finish. Since you can't 'spot-fix' a wood floor, just do your best to make sure whoever you are hiring to do the job has an impeccable reputation because it can turn into a nightmare real quick. Sorry for everyone who is dealing with this crap!

@Dorri Oldham . Thanks so much for writing. We are having the flooring guy out tomorrow.

We have had wood flooring for many years with another massive dog and they never did this.So sorry to hear of your problems. I do believe another coat of the bona HD will solve ours ( at least I hope)

Our dog did these scuffs/scratches with socks on and many times I double the socks. I can't buff them out. And they are getting more numerous. I have never had to keep socks on my dogs and my last dog was a 90# er. Additionally, I get water stains after 30 seconds of water being on the floor. It is like there is no coating. Furthermore, after a rain yesterday, I let the dogs in. I cleaned their feet thoroughly and put on socks. But I can see their paw print stain on the floor and when I try to buff it out , the foor peels.

I am writing 7 months later. I have spent $200 on dog socks thus far, but it appears the floor has finally hardened. My 63# doodle is no longer making scratches on the floor. The original scratches were very surface like, more like scuffs. Who would know that it would take months for the floor to cure!

Bet ya they did not put the hardener into the Bona Traffic HD so you did not get the real product or it's intended results!