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Woodworking Remodeling Flooring

Need help understanding hardwood floor refinishing norms

2 years ago

Is the following process ideal (or even acceptable) for a professional to use to refinish my 20 year old hardwood floors (Bruce, mixed oaks)?:

Sand/shave
Spray with DENATURED ALCOHOL
(NO pre-stain)
Wipe on oil-based Minwax Wood Finish and IMMEDIATELY wipe off -- i.e. NOT letting the stain sit/soak in for at least fime minutes per Minwax's directions
Allow TWO hours drying time -- i.e. NOT "for a minimum of 4-6 hours (dry time may be extended dut to high humidity)" per Minwax's directions
Apply first coat of water-based polyurethane (Bona Mega Extra Matte). (Yes, using more than one line of products)
Allow 3 hours drying time
Buff
Apply second coat of water-based polyurethane
Allow overnight drying time

Help. The work by the subcontractor my contractor sent in to refinish my floors resulted in white marks all over the floor. The process above is slightly different from the one he used the first time (he *immediately* applied Bona Natural Seal after the staining step last time), but is otherwise the same.

I need to decide asap whether or not to trust this contractor/subcontractor and their processes to finish my floors after a failed first attempt.

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Comments (4)

SJ McCarthy
2 years ago
With a bleached floor colour, it is hard to see the 'white lines' you are speaking of. Of course if you wanted a BROWN floor, then this is a big ol' oopsa!

My biggest issue is the TIME BETWEEN COATS. And the TIME BETWEEN stain and first coat. Adhesion issues when things are rushed.

And with Mega One, I WANT to see THREE coats. It is NOT their toughest finish. It works nicely for a family of 2-3 adults, no pets, no-shoes indoor policy. Even with a light traffic situation as I've pointed out, I still want 3 coats. BUT...sigh...the EXTRA MATTE finishes often create a HEAVY HAZE on the floor when you get to the 3-coat thickness.

By the sounds of it, you need a redo (just because everything goes against manufacturer's suggestions - including the Bona Mega One requirements to use Bona-stain products).

Please try to point out what 'white marks' you are seeing. The photo does not show that level of detail.
HU-401949761
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you for your feedback, SJ McCarthy. Also, by the time I got to the end of the post I totally forgot I had promised photos of the white marks. I’ll attach those photos now.
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We do not like criticizing other's work because sometimes we don't know the circumstances leading up to why certain things were done they way they were. However, with that being said, unfortunately this is not acceptable. We would NEVER leave a project with this outcome. 1st photo. The swirl marks are from the edger. We go a step further in our finishing process to remove these. While you may have a couple throughout an entire job(because on site sanding is prone to some human mistakes) what you have on your project is not acceptable. 2nd photo. Was the hardwood damaged thus causing discoloration? If not, the stain they applied is not blended correctly at all. 3rd photo. There seems to be some debris still in the finish. You normally see this in between the coats of polyurethane but at the last coat these are completely buffed out and the floor is smooth. If you didn't have some of the other issues mentioned above- all that would be needed is a screen and re coat. However, because of the swirl marks and blotchy stain application is that particular area photographed- you may need to have the floors sanded and refinished again. Dark stains tend to accentuate some of the discrepancies in the sanding process more so than a lighter color or natural finish.
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You might want to read this valuable advice from SJ McCarthy written earlier today. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5806177/difference-between-white-oak-and-red-oak-flooring SJ McCarthy The ORANGE you are seeing is the finish. The oil based polyurethanes are products that turn WHITE PAPER orange. It is called ambering. The red oak floors in the photo have been finished with an oil based finish. This is common practice but not currently attractive in today's 'white is best' flooring fashion. The issue I have with redoing the floors is this: The floors will loose 20 years of life if you sand/refinish them today. How do I know this? Because a site finished floor is supposed to offer 25 years of 'life'. A solid 3/4" hardwood (which I'm guessing this is) will offer 60 - 80 years of service (that's 3 sand/refinishes during it's lifetime). Each time you 'change' the colour (on a whim or due to current fashion) you cut down the life of your 'lifetime' floor. If you do this 3 times in 20 years (today, 10 years from now and then 20 years from now) you will have cut the life of your floor down to 40 years. That's half of it's natural life span. Balance deleted
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HU-401949761
Original Author
2 years ago
These are the photos showing the white marks left after the first refinishing. The photo in the OP is just there to illustrate where we are now — with floors shaved/sanded down a second time waiting to be finished. ☹️
SJ McCarthy
2 years ago
Those look to be 'lap marks'. That's what happens when the 'wet edge time' of 10 minutes is not adhered to.

I would say your pro probably has not attended the Bona Training camp (3 day training at a facility somewhere else).

And remember: the extra matte, even when done properly has a HISTORY of "looking hazy" even after 2 coats.

Technically the pro has ONE attempt to fix his/her mistakes. After that the customer has the right (please check local state/provincial laws) to find another professional to complete the job, at the original's expense (and that's where it gets SUPER tricky).

How much traffic does your floor get? Are you a "no other people live with me" type of house hold? Or do you have an energetic home life with 7 kids, three pets and plenty of entertainment?

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