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Design Dilemma Flooring

Bona craft oil + traffic hd - the good, the bad, and the ugly?!

2 months ago

We are refinishing 800sf of white oak flooring in our house and started freaking out a bit about oil-based stains and VOCs - really want to keep harmful stuff to a minimum. Bona craft oil seemed like a really good choice as the voc level is super low. Does anyone have any experience with using this on their floors? Photos and stories would be much appreciate!

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Comments (4)

PRO
G & S Floor Service
2 months ago
The Good:

Bona craft oil will give you more design ideas as far as color combinations. You can layer colors or mix it for more custimization. Craft oil is zero VOC compared to traditonal stains which is 250 VOC. If, you want a ceruse look. This is the type of finish to use.

The Bad:

Craft oil cost much much more for material and labor. Not all products will be in-stock. Sampling can cost quite a bit of money. Craft oil is just more of a expensive way to stain your floor.

The Ugly:

Typical finish, If, the floor cannot be prepped properly this finish will not look and feel good. Water popping is a must for sufficient oil penetration.
PRO
Laura Marsh
Original Author
2 months ago
Thanks so much! I think we are going to go with Amberseal plus Traffic HD, which still seems low voc and should have some depth. (Btw thank you for all your comments on previous posts - amazingly helpful.)
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So they came this morning to fix the floors. The owner of the company told our contractor he had the Bona training but the crew he sent today were the same three people we’ve had the whole time and the head guy said he has not had the bona training. He also told my husband they used 1.5 gallons of the traffic hd. For 1462 sq ft. Good grief. I think they should have used 3.5 gallons. From what we can see so far, it’s not improved. They buffed it three times and the floor looked awful after that - I’ll attach a pic. But he assured my husband it would look ok after the poly applied. So frustrated! Guess we’ll see tomorrow how it looks. They did buy a new roller. They did not ask us to turn the a/c off but my husband did. Pic attached is after buffing.
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Bona Traffic HD - question for those who have it/use it
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For a satin, that is pretty low-gloss for a fresh coat. I'm more familiar with Loba's satin and they are much shinier then yours. I would let them be for a week and then view them once more before you move back in. If you are still SUPER UPSET by the gloss level, then pay the cost to have another coat added and you sleep elsewhere for another week. And remember: do NOT lay area rugs for at least 4 weeks. And preferably for 6 months. Wood will do a little bit of colour change after a sand/refinish. You want to ensure everything changes in the same way. Personally, I would be happy with this gloss level with any satin at any time. Considering this is fresh, I think you have a very good satin about to show up. Just give it a week and then see how you feel.
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Comments (64)
@Jonathan Margareten- I read through my old post, and am not sure if that’s what we ended up doing. I recall having 3 layers - but my old post notes 4. If you’re really interested, I’ll call the installer — Brazilian Floors— and see if he still has the info. What was really helpful to us is that the installer did lots of different samples for us — and every new layer of the top coat changed how the wood looked. The one that Bona advertizes as “clear” made our wood look a tiny bit orange. It’s really helpful to see the product on YOUR wood. We wanted to end up with a floor that looked as close to our raw wood as possible but had lots of protection.
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Bona Traffic HD too thin? Did my contractor use enough?
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Comments (9)
Bad buffing between coats (I'm assuming it didn't happen at all). The wood could certainly use another coat of Traffic HD. For $5.19/sf this is about all that is to be expected. A traditional (with oil based poly) sand/refinish job usually works out to be $5/sf. If you add in the HIGH END finishes, most refinishers will ask for another $1-$2/sf...depending on where you live. In expensive areas (like NYC, LA, Seattle, Vancouver Canada, anywhere in Canada) the $5/sf is a low estimate. In depressed areas of the USA (spitting distance to the Mexican border) the cost is much closer to $4/sf (without the upgrade). Your original quote was $4.70/sf. Which is low. What I'm seeing is what I would expect from a low(er) bid. A third coat with a BUFFING before the last coat = very nice floor. You are one coat (and a good buffing) away from a very nice floor.
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Kendrah
2 months ago
When you say SEEMS low-voc, what are you using to judge? You should be able to download a Materials Saftey Data Sheet - MDSD one websites for all of these products and see how many VOCs are actually in them. There is so much green washing these days about low VOCs. Do your research to make sure.
PRO
Laura Marsh
Original Author
2 months ago
Traffic is 150 per gallon and amberseal is 275 - both waterbased, and greenguard certified. Not zero voc like rubio monocoat but we felt rubio finish would be too flat for us and too high maintenance for our lifestyle

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