Even with 3 coats of Traffic HD. Bona recommends using a sealer. You will maximize your film build and performance. For residential, all you need is a sealer and 2 HD. The sealer + 3 HD application is rated for commercial use of 500 daily traffic, overkill for residential.

Hopefully the contractor will apply the proper 350-400 sq. ft. coverage per gallon and not 600-700 sq. ft. coverage for proper performance.

"For residential, all you need is a sealer and 2 HD." I agree 100%.

I would be wary of anyone who wanted to use Traffic with no sealer and "apply it thick". There was a post here quite recently where a contractor using Traffic caused tannin pull on a White Oak floor. From the pictures it appeared it would have to be done completely over. A coat of sealer and proper technique, including application at the proper spread rate, would have saved them some grief. Learn from their mistake.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/new-hardwood-white-oak-finishing-issues-dsvw-vd~5474829?n=17

Finally, the only excuse for extra coats is that you're going to let the floor get scuffed, scratched and worn and that you have no intention of moving the furniture in the future and recoating. I do mostly higher end residential so when floors look bad, we prepare and recoat them. More coats will take longer to wear through but the floor will look worn and in need of attention well before it's worn through.

Johnson flooring thank you for your comments. I am just like the person in the link that you posted... I have no idea about hardwood floor finishing but I want it done correctly. I have talked with several finishers and they all tell me different things. I have tried to educate myself so that I can choose someone that knows what they are doing. Are you able to tell me if using a T- bar to apply the sealer is acceptable. I had one finisher tell me that is what he does and another tell me that method was “old school” and that it should be brushed and rolled. ( this is the same one that told me 3 coats of HD is what he would use with no sealer). I wouldn’t consider this guy based off of what you said but I have seen his work using oil base and he did an amazing job with that floor. He is willing to do the sealer plus 2 coats of HD but the application is now throwing me!

It's really tough to know. The one who didn't say he'd use a sealer might be great but didn't give a good impression. Frankly my own guys don't all do everything the same way. The few floors on which I applied waterborne finish, I used the snowplow method with a t-bar. I have others that use a foam applicator on a pad, which is the most common method. Another, who is my most experienced, mostly uses a roller.

The biggest difference between oil and water based is the drying time. It's easier to over-work the water borne or get lap marks. As they say, the proof is in the pudding.

Of course it doesn't matter how one does with the finish if they lack in the sanding department. It would be best to see one of their jobs if possible.

T-bar is a approved application procedure. MO, it lays the finish thinner compared to rolling. At the end, it comes down to how much experience the installer has applying the product to give you the required performance.

Applying waterborne without the sealer is tricky. It's a 90% chance that there will be tannin pull and lap marks somewhere. If, the installer is that confident. Let him do it, but prepare for the worst. Touch ups and repairs are a pain.

And just to add another vote for "someone else", I would like to add the difficulties OIL BASED finishers have working with WATER BASED! I've seen absolute $hit shows happen when a "oil guy" tries his hand at Bona. OMG! NASTY AS NASTY CAN BE!!!

For that reason ALONE I like to work with people who are SUPER comfortable around the water based stuff - ESPECIALLY Bona. Bona's working times are SUPER SHORT (like 2 minutes). Compare that to the 10 minute working times of Loba (water based). Now compare those two to the 45 MINUTE working time for oil based.

Someone who THINKS they have 45 minutes to fudge around with a wet edge is GOB SMACKED when they run into the "2 minute" rule for Bona! And they don't understand why. So they try HARDER to fix it...which is SUPER wrong. And because it looks so ugly, they try even HARDER to fix it. Which is the worst thing you can do. It's a vicious cycle that 'oil guys' get into.

Don't really like the classic time stain floor natural 3 coats traffic looks sweet