If, you want a white floor like the picture. Apply three coats of Nordicseal and top it with two coats of Traffic HD MAtte. For, the Loba system, apply their pre-tone white, Intensive stain white and top coat with Supra Matte.

We do not have Taz oak in the states. Based on the images, I personally would do a Natural white oil over the tazmanian oak and then top coat it with the same mfg's two component finish. It will give it a slight bleached look but, still keep most of the natural wood tone.

Thanks very much for your advice. I’ve actually found a Bona Certified flooring company in the local area so I’ll get the quotes for those products. I just spoke to another company who works with all different products and he tells me Loba Easy Finish is basically a pre-mixed version of 2K Supra - he was so firm that I didn’t ask him further but my research says it not, it’s like an entry level. And he also tells me Loba 2K Invisible is like the top of the range - it’s about $30 cheaper than Supra. Anyway I’ll give the Bona Certified company a call first and see what they say.

I've sold the Easy Finish, WS 2K Supra and the 2K Supra AT...and NOTHING comes CLOSE to the AT. The EasyFinish makes some claims in English but is missing in German....hmmmmmm....weird right?

The EasyFinish did NOT perform HALF as well as the WS 2K. And it fell abysmally short when compared to the Loba 2K Supra AT. The 'guy' who likes EasyFinish is the same guy who ONLY wants to work with an EASY FINISH. It's in the name...sigh...I'm sorry you have heard this from a pro.

As a cork flooring expert, I have to 'toughen up' the SOFTEST hardwood in the WORLD. When I tested the EasyFinish on a cork plank (it had 2 coats = cured x1 month), I scrubbed the plank with a green scrubby pad (the one's you would use in your kitchen for pots and pans). Some arm power and a few good scrubs (30 seconds of vigorous scrubbing) and I had blown through the EasyFinish. I was down to raw cork in no time!

The 2K Supra AT plank was my 'teaching plank' for more than 3 years. I could scrub that thing until the COWS came home! It is still being used as teaching tool. I stopped showing the EasyPrime plank because it was TOO EMBARASSING to show...The WS 2K Supra (used to be their top of the line...but the AT topped) was removed from our line up...because NO ONE wanted to save $40 per gallon just to get a finish that was only 1/2 as tough as the 2K Supra AT. No one saves $80 just to have an ugly floor 10 years later.

I no longer have an affiliation to flooring. I'm no longer in contact with Loba reps. I am still a HUGE fan of the 2K Supra AT. The satin is HEAVENLY if you want low gloss. It is a low gloss satin. It starts out very 'fresh' looking (almost semigloss) but it calms down. It takes about a month...but it will drop to the low gloss satin.

Thanks for that SJ McCarthy, that really sums it up. I mean I had read up on different Loba products but to hear that it comes off by a bit of scrubbing is really surprising. Supra AT didn’t come up on my Google search in Australia so 2K Supra may be the top of the range here. I’ve enquired with a Bona Certified flooring company today and I’m getting a site inspection done this Friday - for Bona White as a sealer and then two coats of Bona Traffic (HD) xtra matte.

Thanks to your information on how hard it is to work with Bona products (2 minutes) in your other post - that made me reconsider offers from those garden variety sole traders in the business. I was also told by the Bona Certified flooring company today that Bona Traffic HD Satin is quite shiny and it can last a while so that got me thinking again what sheen level I should go with. I saw another post where someone complained about the scratches from chair legs or dog’s claws on his matte floor and that it is actually like polishing effect on the matte surface. So I was going to go with satin but I didn’t want to go too shiny. Would liming make the light colour in the floor a bit more consistent? I’m told it’s quite expensive to get it done. The attached are Bona White and Bona Traffic Matte applied floors on Tasmanian Oak and while I like the light colour I was wondering if it’d be possible to make it a bit more consistently similar in colour. I understand each plank would react differently and it’s their natural colour but would proper liming be any different to just using Bona White?

Sorry, I just re-read what G&W Floor Service wrote above. That’s a very good concise advice. I’ll have a chat to the Bona Certified guy when he comes out this Friday. With the natural white oil method, what does MFG stand for? Thanks.

mfg = manufacturer

Bona or Loba does not make a stain or finish called natural white, only Ciranova does. You can make a mix, start with 1/1 natural or neutral and white, adjust from there. Most client ends up with a mixture around 3:1 - neutral:white. The white is pretty potent. It makes sense to increase the ratio on the natural/neutral.

Ciranova makes a oil called natural white. It's a perfect mixture, where it is mostly natural with a suttle white for the Scandinavian or Japanese minimalist interior design. . You can top coat it with their invisible finish Ecofix plus or wood look. For a more durable finish, top coat with their two component Fortico 2C. My preference is a matte finish. In my opinion, satin is too shiny for a neutral tone or the Japandi design.

Thanks again for the detailed advice. I’m in touch with two Bona Certified companies and they are recommending slightly different products. I just wondered what are the differences between those two:

• Bona White (1 coat) and Bona Traffic HD Xtra Matt (2 coats). I guess another coat of Bona White could be used to make it a bit whiter?

• Bona Dri-fast stain (white), Prime Intense (1 coat), Bona Traffic Matt or Bona Traffic HD Xtra Matt. I found online that there is only A$16 between the two products. This guy also tells me that it is possible for top coating to be tinted for additional white effect.

No one is mentioning NordicSeal and I can’t seem to find NordicSeal or Dri-fast products online in Australia. Or only professionals have access to those in Australia?..

I found the products information:

BONA PRIME INTENSE
Bona Prime Intense is a single component, 100% polyurethane primer for use on wooden floors prior to overcoating with Bona waterborne finishes. Bona Prime Intense produces a rich colouration whilst providing increased ‘build’ on the timber surface improving wear resistance. Bona Prime Intense should be used for the initial coat on floors which have been stained.

BONA PRIMER WHITE
Bona White is a water-based primer for untreated wooden floors designed to give an enhanced whitewashed appearance on lighter timber species. The intensity and depth of colour can be controlled by the number of applications. Applied in a single layer it typically gives a light whitewashed appearance and on some timber species can preserve an impression of raw, untreated wood. For a more solid white feel two, or more, applications may be made. The highly forgiving formulation is designed for easy roller application. For the best appearance combine Bona White with Traffic HD Extra Matt, Traffic Matt or Traffic Natural.

So I guess with the Dri-fast stain prepared floor, it makes sense to use Prime Intense and it would give a better whitening effect and better built-up layer for resistance than using Bona White alone as a primer and minimal colouring although it can be applied a couple of coats? More labour involved in using Dri-fast stain l?

If, you're applying Bona Drifast White, apply one coat of Bona Naturaseal over it, then two Coats of Traffic HD matte. This combo will prevet tannin bleed and yellowing. Do not apply Bona Intenseal over Drifast White, it will yellow.

You can apply HD directly over Drifast white, if, you can guarantee coverage to prevent tannin bleed.

Here are the recommended options to achieve a white look without the yellowing using Bona products:

Bona Nordicseal and Mega One, Traffic or HD

Bona Naturalseal and Mega One, Traffic or HD

Bona Drifast white, Bona Naturaseal and Mega One, Traffic or HD

Bona craft oil frost and Traffic or HD

The products maybe different for Australia. These are products available in the U.S. Contact a Bona rep in Australia for full product line. Laws in Australia is different in the U.S. which leads to the use of different products.

Thanks very much for that G&S Floor Service, I’ve had a look at the product range on the official website and we don’t seem to have Nordicseal/Naturaseal as well as Bona Craft oil. I’ve attached a screenshot of the product range and Prim Intense for reference.

I had the site inspection done this morning and he tells me that regardless of methods dark water damage marks can’t be removed or toned down much - he tells me bleaching causes problems down the track. 3 options were given to me:

1. Bona White (1-2 coats) and then 1-2 coats of Bona Traffic (HD) - he seems more comfortable working with non-HD product as HD dries too fast he says. If 2 coats of Bona White are applied then only 1 coat of BT (HD). He tells me there is not much difference between HD and non-HD in terms of durability.

2. Staining with non-Bona products as Bona staining products are not very good and then finished with BT (HD). He also doesn’t recommend going with this method as it takes much longer (1 full day working solo) - his boss tells me that for intensity of white effect Drifast stain and Prime Intense are not as good as 2 coats of Bona White. The guy who came out tells me Bona White can be applied by a roller and would be easier.

3. Natural wood colour - by sanding and finish with 3 coats of BT or BT HD.

I get the impression that they would want to do the job in an easier way since these guys work solo. They tell me that they’d take 1-1.5 weeks for 145sqm floor size.

But they seem very experienced and reputable and have done a big project for the state’s national gallery etc. that’s where they used BT non-HD (probably wasn’t available at the time) but still going well now.

Screenshots of Bona website

Thanks for that detailed advice again. As per your advice I’m thinking of either going with 2 x Bona White and 2 x Traffic HD or limewashing with non-Bona product and then Prime Intense (probably a different one in Australia to the one you mentioned?) or another sealer and then 2 x Traffic HD. Although there is only $16 difference between 1 gallon/3.79L of Traffic and Traffic HD, the quote is in $290 difference - ?maybe due to difficulty of working with it.

No. HD and Traffic are the same difficulty. The price is due to the EXTRA material (and research and development) of the ceramic nanoparticles.

$290 for how many square feet? I would not allow $290 be a deciding factor to upgrade to HD. Benefits out weighs the cost. You are gettinga super low VOC polurethane finish, Low odor, fast curing ceramic finish and exceptional good wear resistant finish. I always encourage homeowners to go with HD if, it is within their budget. $1-2K will make me stop and think about it. Hate to tell you, but HD is very easy to apply. The sealers are difficult to apply.

Thanks for that G&S Floor Service and SJ McCarthy. I see, I’ll definitely go with HD. It works out to be only $2 extra per square metre - $290 for 145sqm. It just makes more sense to go with HD like you suggested.

Just one more thing that I’m wondering about is if 2 coats of Bona White and 2 coats of Traffic HD would give as intense whitewashed effect as staining with Dri-Fast White and a sealer, and 2 coats of Traffic HD.

I am basing off my skill level, when i say the product is easy to apply. I am pretty sure, others, struggle with the product (HD).