Thank you. They said they will do light buff with sand dollar. And than put coat of Bona traffic hd. That’s the normal procedure they said before putting a coat of poly..

They are just smoothing the raised grain. That won't change the color one bit.

Got it. Thanks

Hello my bona Nordic looks cloudy. What can be done to avoid that problem. We only did one coat of Nordic because two made it too white

Post some pictures, the cloudiness maybe from the sanding or lap marks.

Hi, I also have a bona question. I’m finishing my white oak wood floors myself. First time doing anything like this so mistakes have been made. I applied one layer of finisher over Bona white Nordic seal But have decided I’d like another application of bona white to lighten the color. Can I buff off the finisher and apply another layer of bona seal?

What was coat of finish you applied over the first nordic coat?

The simple answer is no, you cannot.

If it was me, i would resand everything. It would be a one cut, and shouldnt take too long.

But you can also test a spot inconspicuous, what you are looking for is adhesion issues. If it gives you the look your after then in theory you could add another nordic coat.

I would never just because my time and my $ would be on the line.

I used bona Nordic seal white and traffic HD (1 application).

Id rather not sand it again because I’ve already sanded twice. Once when project was initiated then again when I made a different mistake with the sealer application. Probably shouldn’t sand a third time.

If, you do not want to sand again. You can tint the Traffic HD with Mixol in white. Warning: it will be a PITA to spot repair any mistakes.

You may want to consider living with the color you have if, it is flawless versus trying to make it whiter. You will be obligated to resand if, the color is uneven.

how much white Mixol?

2 oz to a gallon of finish to start. You can adjust from there.

G&S floor service - I just want to say I really appreciate how unbelievably helpful and generous with your time you are responding to all these questions on here. I've been reading this thread as my floors are being done and you are so informative and helpful! Wish more contractors were like you! Thank you!

You’re welcome.

I hear about people having terrible issues with Nordic Seal application. did yalls go on okay? id really like to try it!

I could use some advice on nordicseal before moving forward.. I started on the right following there instructions, but my old floors were soaking it up I barely had time to set down the bottle down and pick up the t bar to spread it. Its so bad it l looks like the milk man spilled all over my floor. (There was previous water damage where it's dark).

I changed my method to pour right in front of the t bar while walking it across. That is the other part of the floor that looks better. I stopped with the 1 coat bc I almost ran out of product and the bad part is too white! I'm guessing I'll have to sand the bad half and reapply?? I'm just worried bc my floor can't take much more sanding.

What is your skill level?

I thought it was obvious by how bad it turned out haha! Definitely my first time. Complete amateur, youtube diy-er. But I had to at least try! Should I just put a floor over it at this point? 🥲

You will need to redo half the room. You can resand with the last grit you used. Tape off the last board that seperates the good side from the bad side. Sand up to the tape.

Regarding application, forget about the instructions and videos you have been researching. You will need to over work the product until it evens out. A traditional water base application method does not apply to finishes with pigments in it.

Pour out a 3-6 inch line of finish the width of the room. This should be enough for a 2 foot depth section, enough for reach. Saturate your applicator with finish. Quickly spread the finish, then cut in edge. Now work out your heavy spots, puddles, lines, brush marks, etc. Over work the product until it evens out before continuing.

If, using a t-bar, you may need to go over it three or four times before it evens out. Finger tip pressure may not be enough. If, your floor is not perfectly flat, finger tip pressure may not be enough to work out heavy finish out of low spots. You will need to apply pressure in those areas.

Heads up - finish will dry faster with a T-bar application.

Thanks for your input, much appreciated! I finished sanding that part and going to reapply nordicseal to the bare floor. Do you think I could get away with just one layer of nordicseal and move on to the traffic hd (2 layers)? I don't think I want it any whiter.

Yes, you can get away with applying one coat of Nordicseal. As long as you apply the proper coverage and can get it to your satisfaction (appearance wise). Becareful with a single coat under coverage. You will get tannins bleeding through when you apply the Traffic HD. The flooring needs to be sealed well.

So I did extra coats on the dark part, then bought Classic seal (a little less white) and coated the whole floor. I think it looks as best as it ever will lol. *I used a microfiber cloth to apply, which was wayyy easier to manage. I did have to do more coats b/c it was thinner but at least I was in control this time haha! Now to apply Traffic HD. Let's see how bad I can mess this up lol.

Do you think I could apply the traffic hd the same way (with a microfiber cloth)?

You can use a 1/4" nap microfiber roller.

Here is the before and after. It's as good as it's going to get lol! G&S Service, thank you so much for taking the time to help me through this, I couldn't have done it without you! If you were in my area I'd be calling you to do it next time! Lol

Looks good, Good job!

@G & S
Will there be tanin pull with only once coat of Nordic seal and two coats of Traffic HD?

Yes, if, there is insufficient coverage. If, the installer applies 600-800 square feet coverage per gallon. A second coat should be applied to meet the 500 square feet per gallon maximum coverage for proper performance. This helps avoid the tannin pull.

@G & S is that the same case with natural seal? Two coats to prevent tannin pull?

Yes, unless it can be applied perfectly without flaws at the recommended coverage of 500 square feet per gallon.

G&S the bona nordic and traffic says you dont have to abrade between coats is this ok or would it still be better to abrade between coats

Yes, that is correct. You do not need to buff the finish to promote adhesion. The products will chemically bond to each other. You do want to buff inbetween coats to promote a smoother finish.

If, your floor is not flat or you know that your sanding process causes dish outs. I recommend doing a light buff inbetween coats for best results. The soft grain will be difficult to smooth out if, you do not. Especially, with floors that have dish outs. If, you hold off to the very end to buff a dish out floor. You will have a high chance of sanding through the high spots trying to smooth out low spots.

Buff between coats if, you sand pole your floors instead of using a buffer. And also, buff inbetween coats if, your buffing process is with a 1" polishing pad and screen. The 1" pad is too soft and does not apply pressure evenly through the disc.

Hi, just found this helpful thread. has anyone applied bona traffic hd x2 on a sanded floor without any sealer? I wonder how the floor color will turn out? Thanks!

I think you have to use a sealer. Everything I read indicated the need to use a sealer. We did one coat of natural seal and two coats for traffic HD matte.

Thanks! Just read some other posts about sealer helps tannin pull on oak floors. But now, I’m debating between natural and classic sealer. I saw somewhere:”Nordic and natural sealers are building sealers”. Is classic building sealer also?

Need to figure out what finish to use, satin or semi-gloss. Seems like satin is very trendy nowadays, but from the picture below, I don’t see much of a difference between these two.

I think the sealer helps stop the Tannin pull?? Whenever I show someone a photo of my white oak floors they always comment about how they are NOT yellow. I read somewhere that two coats of sealer is better than one but my contractor only wanted to do one coat.
In all the research I did (I spent hours reading up on this as the white oak floors were a big investment and I wanted to make sure they would NOT look yellow or orange. I always had red oak floors and they always looked orange/red. Anyway, everything I read indicated that the Classic seal pulls a bit more yellow than the natural seal. So we opted against the classic seal.

Can you try some samples?

We ended up going with the Matte finish (everyone talked me into it lol), but I quickly realized I like a little bit of sheen so I probably should have picked Satin. I don’t think you’re going to want gloss or semi-gloss, those are super shiny.

I will say that the matte finish really hides scratches and dust. Can’t see any scratches on the floors unless you’re looking really closely.

Thanks Renee! Unfortunately It’s too late to try them on the floor, need to get the sealer and finish first thing in the morning. I think I would go for natural and satin finish! :)

Good luck!!
Have them start with a bedroom and take a look. If it’s not looking good to you change course!

Can anyone help please. We sanded our old pine floors, stained with Morrells Light Fast Stain in Medium Oak and then have topped with Bona Classic Primer. The primer has made it go very red/orange rather than the more brown colour the stain was prior. I have Bona Traffic HD in satin ready to go on but is there anything I can do to tone down the orange colour now? I've seen some things about tinting the finish but (with Mixol?) But I'm not sure what colour to add in to counteract the orange, whether it will work or just end up cloudy or losing the grain? Also would I tint both coats of finish or just one and add the final in standard Bona Traffic HD...? I'm gutted as the floor had come up beautifully and my tests of tge stain hadn't pulled orange like this. Thanks for any advice.

Classic seal will not bond to stains. It will flake off. You can do a quick adhesion test. Stick blue tape on it, score hash marks on it and pull the tape off. Any finish comes off then you have adhesion failure.

Other than that, you can fix your color by going darker or starting all over. You can skip the seal coat and just go ahead with Traffic HD.

Thanks very much for your reply. I am annoyed with myself for using the primer as I had understood that a primer had to be used under the Traffic and was trying to do it correctly....doh! I'm going to test the adhesion now, thanjs for that advice. Otherwise if I were to sand back again what grit grade of sandpaper would I need to use? Would I need to sand off all the stain too or can I sand back enough just to remove the classic primer? Thanks again for your advice.

Sand it back with the last grit you used. Should be at least 120. take it down to bare wood.

How was it? Any pictures? I am in a dilema right now, I have white oak stairs, I want the natural look, but trying water based polys still makes the color darker. Thinking maybe using bona nordic instead, if I use bona nordic, should I use polyurethane after? Here is the picture of my white oak next to my white oak (finished) floor.

Here you can see the natural white oak, it looks the same as my finished floor, the water based poly turn the wood darker, I want to keep it the same (but of course I need to put a protector) any suggestions?

Here are some evening photos of my white oak select grade hardwood, site installed, with one coat of Bona Natural seal and two coats of Bona Traffic HD Matte.

It’s a lot lighter IRL than in the photos. I agonized over what sealer to use (bought different stains, Loba 2k, all sorts of products). This combination seemed to look the closest to the natural wood (which I LOVED). The sealer did make it a tiny bit darker but it’s ok.

I also included a photo of my stairs. They are red oak. It was a fortune to replace the stairs so we kept the red oak and used one coat of wheathered oak stain and two coats of Bona HD traffic extra matte (same as on the floors).

Two lessons learned:

1. Use a third coat of Bona HD traffic in high-traffic areas (our first floor gets a ton of wear with a dog and three teenagers, a third coat would have added an extra layer of protection against scratches).

2. If you are a sheen person and like gleaming wood floors, do not use matte, use a satin finish. I had satin in my other house and I do miss the shine of a freshly washed wood floor. Although a matte does do a great job of hiding scratches.

We installed white oak throughout the house (with the exception of the stairs) and even in the kitchen. I love wood floors in the kitchen - easier on the feet, knees, and not cold like a tile floor.

Photos

It’s hard to tell from the photos but the stairs “work” next to the white oak floors. They blend. We went back and forth and almost stained the floors Jacobean but I’m glad we went with something that is closer to the white oak. Railing will eventually get replaced but we ran out of time and had to move on to the kitchen rehab.

Hisensis how are your floors?

And the photos don’t do my floors justice. They do not pull yellow or orange. They truly look stunning and it’s the first thing people comment on when they walk into our home that the floors looks beautiful. Like I said, it’s really hard to tell in photos. I’m also glad I didn’t go lighter (Nordic seal) as I think that would have pulled more gray-ish.