oil vs water based poly for refinishing wood floors?

Gee Dem

2 years ago

What kind would you recommend? We like the look of clear water based but worried it would be harder to clean.

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Comments (5)

millworkman
2 years ago
What type of floors? Are they being sanded and the existing finish removed completely? What brand, series and type of finish is your flooring pro proposing to use?
Gee Dem
Original Author
2 years ago
Redwood oak and yes sanded and refinished completely.
No wood in the kitchen and breakfast area. No pets.
Wanted to know if the water based is durable enough.
Thanks so much
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Depending on the weather, it can take a lot longer than water-based. Both times we did our oil poly on wood flooring, Nature turned cold and wet on us. It was taking about 5-7 days between coats. I always make the assumption that it's like paint, for complete curing I try to give it 2-4 weeks. Once dry, it lasts so much longer than water-base, we've never regretted the time it takes (although I've never tried the Bona Kemi stuff that has a great rep). Good luck!
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we have a very busy household, 4 teenagers, dog, etc and our floor guy very highly recommended oil over water - we have three coats in the kitchen and two thoughout the rest of the house - it looks and is holding up beautifully....a friend has three coats of water base that is showing wear and tear after two years (less busy household...only two teens!) - yes you have to be out of your home for several days - but there was very little if any odor when we returned...
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Well, first, thanks to all for not abusing me for failing to realize there is a GW Flooring forum. Duh. I have hung out for years on the kitchen and appliance forums and just assumed this would be the place to post. Appreciate all of you helping despite the mistake. At any rate, I did search Bona Traffic and clearly it's the only water-based poly that gets props. Otherwise, oil based is regarded as more durable than other water based polys. Not sure if we'll like the yellowing with the oil, but the floor guy is willing to do some samples so we can see. Would you reject water based if they can't do Bona Traffic (which I gather requires some expertise, and not all vendors will use it) and go with oil based? The location is second floor hallways and master bedroom, not super high traffic areas, but also the stairways, which do get a lot of traffic. Finally, can Bona Traffic be used over existing water based poly? It's time to rescreen our kitchen floors, which were done with generic water based (before I got smart and posted on GW).
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This is an old post so I imagine this has long since been resolved for the OP, but since I just saw it, figured I'd throw our experience in anyway for future searchers on this topic: We have an interesting case study in that the floors in our house and our neighbors' identical house were both redone about five years ago (before we were on the scene, so don't know specific products used). The floors are identical hundred-year-old white oak installed at the same time (same family built both). Both were sanded down, neither was stained, and ours was finished with a water-based finish, theirs with oil-based. Both still look fine five years out (if you ignore the scratches from our dog!) but the looks are different. As someone noted above, the oil finish is a bit warmer and much shinier. I think it's fair to say it looks newer as a result, though how much of that is the wear-and-tear we put on our house (significantly more than our neighbors!) is hard to say. Our water-based finish is more matte-looking and pulls out more browns and beiges than yellows and reds (if that makes sense). There are apparently some differences in how you can clean and touch up the two finishes as well. (We use Bona hardwood cleaner on ours, which seems to work fine.) Anyway, just food for thought on this!
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SJ McCarthy
2 years ago
The 2part water based products in the middle to high-end range (more than $130/gallon) will out perform your every-day oil based finish. To get the toughest finish for your budget, I like to see 3 coats of whatever you are working with. The two-coat system often requires a 'buff and recoat' by year 15 (some people need it done by year 11 or 12).

If you go with the three coat system RIGHT AWAY then you can skip this step in the future.

The benefits to water based: They are clear and colourless and do NOT turn yellow.

They have a very fast 'cure time' of 7-10 days. They are (normally) low odour which is a great benefit to those of us who have chemical sensitivities, asthma, COPD, migraines, history of nose bleeds, etc.

The down side to OIL based: They turn orange rather quickly (within a few months) and they get darker and darker as they age. They take a LONG time to cure (full hardness = full toughness) like 30+ days. The ODOUR is one of the greatest drawbacks to oil based. For some, they can 'handle' living on the same level of the floors within 2 weeks. Whereas others (I'm included) cannot live in any part of the house until 4 weeks has passed.
Kappa Salernitana
2 years ago
@SJ McCarthy, thank you very much for the information. Out of curiosity, what is the name of the water-based sealant product that costs over $130.00 a gallon? Thank you again!
PRO
G & S Floor Service
2 years ago
Oil base polyurethanes is old technology that has plateaued and will not be improving in performance. In fact it will only get worst with new lower VOC's being implemented in the states. They have to use lesser quality ingredients. Therefore drying, curing, flashing, workability and leveling will be a pain to deal with. Bubbles and brush marks will be more difficult to work out. Labor to apply oil base will soon cost more than applying a water base finishing system.

Water base is more up to date. The product is only getting better. More durable, easier to work with, levels better, greener, VOC's as low as 0. Good and safe for both homeowners and contractors.

Within a few years oil base products will be phased out due to lower VOC's. You will not be able to find the product on store shelves. If, you do, you will be overpaying for a lesser quality product. Stay ahead and use water base finishes.

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oil vs water based poly for refinishing wood floors?

Comments (5)

millworkman

Gee Dem
Original Author

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Kappa Salernitana

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oil vs water based poly for refinishing wood floors?

Comments (5)

millworkman

Gee DemOriginal Author

Related Discussions

SJ McCarthy

Kappa Salernitana

G & S Floor Service

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Gee Dem
Original Author