For the best Ceruse effect, wire brushing should have been done. The white will sit in the soft grain giving it the contrasting grains between soft and hard wood. When it is not wire brushed. Most of the grain will be sealed with the first coat and the second coat will just wipe off.

My main question is - what are the chances of this outcome being board specific? I can see where the lighter color cut through boards. Does the problem look like it's product, technique, or board specific. That is what I'm trying to figure out. This whole mess had to be sanded down. We definitely did not attempt it again.

I'm not seeing any areas in your pictures with finish not adhering. Can you be more specific? Are you referring to the light boards? If so, that's absolutely 100% board specific. If it's something other than the boards, you have to contend that something was done different on the light boards and ONLY on the light boards to have them end up different. The likelihood of that is 0%. Unless the boards are changed, resanding would end up turning out the same.

I'm not a fan of Red Oak but I like that color.

If you look to the left of the second photo, that whole area is different than the rest. It's not just those few boards, it's actually the whole section. Dark brown was on there first and the boards didn't look different - it was all evenly applied, then they added the white to create this mess with differentiated boards and color cutting through the various boards.

There were also two to three other areas that needed to be corrected. The rep came out and said it all had to be sanded because of that area to the left.

Sounds like the final word! I'm sure it's something you can see in person but it isn't terribly apparent in the pictures.

I'm still trying to figure it out. All of this mess was sanded off and we had to go with the brown/black - not much of a choice due to conversations going on between the rep, installers, and us. The brown/black was not our first, second, or third choice. This is what I'm trying to figure out:

1. First Pallman rep had never seen anything like it and states it must be board specific.

2. First installer told me it was the product - the white going on. He said he kept trying to get it off and it wouldn't come off ( or harden?).

3. The second installer said he thinks it was technique of the first installer. They worked together.

4. The second Pallman rep went back to board specific.

Keep in mind there were quite a few mistakes in the white application.

I just wish we would have done something different. This is not at all what we were suppose to get.

It looks like they had sanded the first coat out and then just coated with the white. The second coat usually goes on thin because the first coat had already sealed everything up. The first coat will never come out unless sanded.

This is an installer issue not product. I've used Pallman's magic oil on many jobs and never had an issue, all two coat system.

What was there sanding sequence and application process?

The first coat was the brown/black. We all thought it looked good. Not sure they sanded it out. The Pallmann rep felt the brown/black may not have took on certain boards and then when they put the white down it smeared off. I don't think this is at all possible. The installers thought the brown/black was down correctly and we looked at it and it looked fine. But then - we didn't touch every square inch of the floor. If you look closely, there is what I would call a "water line" across the boards. And when they went and put the brown/black on again - there were no issues in that area. I'm not sure why the Pallmann reps want to insist on board specific. It's clearly not.

Also - the Pallmann rep said it wasn't technique because he's familiar with the installer. The installer said it was the product.

If, there was contaminants present, you would have seen it when the brown was applied. These are new flooring, not old existing floors.

It is possible that the second coat was setting up and had gotten too sticky for the pads. Ripping the pads out, from under the buffer. And the driver disc marked up the floor. Then the installer made a failed attempt at repair it. Then decided to blame the product to cover up for themselves.

This: If, there was contaminants present, you would have seen it when the brown was applied. These are new flooring, not old existing floors.

I completely agree with this statement. Problem is - the first Pallmann rep didn't go in that direction. And the second Pallmann rep appears to lean towards board specific.

If, they mixed cans ahead of time. It becomes difficult to work with. The product gets thick and tends to stick. Making it difficult to clean off. Was this area near an exit point?

It was in an upstairs bedroom in the middle ( between exit and opposing wall) towards the left. That's an approximate.

Wouldn't the rep have known that? He was out here for quite a bit looking. He was also taking photos and sending them to the "technical person?). He said they've never seen anything like it before.