I've read in some places that you should NEVER use more than one coat of stain on hardwood floors, while other places state that you can use multiple coats to achieve the color you want. So I'm confused - which is correct? The reason I ask is that the floor company we are using stated that they didn't think the results of using the initial coat of stain was very good (we didn't like the look of the ebony Minwax sample provided due to not being dark enough, so used another brand). Once applied, it still wasn't as dark as I'd hoped, but I still thought it was better than the Minwax. Anyway, the guy recommended using the Mixwax over the other stain, so we went with that. The color is now what we want, however, once they started putting the poly on, there were issues. We can live with some of the issues (such as some areas being slightly lighter - we're not expecting perfection, especially with dark floors), but there are other issues that appear unrelated to the stain. For example, after approx. the third coat of poly (Bona Traffic), we noticed huge scratches along the floor in one room, then noticed some in another. The company is acting as if we must have done it (yes, I wanted to screw up my new floor, so I went and scraped something across the entire room!), and still insist it goes back to the original stain before they used the Minwax. However, we've now realized that the scratch in one room corresponds to a fairly deep scratch that was there BEFORE they sanded (this room had existing wood that was being refinished), but for some reason, it wasn't noticeable until the final coat of poly. Is it possible that this is actually more related to the initial floor preparation - such as not getting the original scratches completely sanded out, but they just weren't noticeable until the end? We're extremely frustrated since it's been almost 2 weeks of dealing with this now and the company continues to act as if it's either 1) the non-Minwax stain or 2) we did something to cause the scratches. Too bad we don't have a photo of the scratch on the floor BEFORE starting all this, since then it would be very apparent that it's the SAME scratch, at least in one room - I think that's the issue in the other as well (the other room had new unfinished wood, so any scratches weren't so apparent before sanding and finishing). Thanks for any input or insight into this!

The second coat usually adds to film build, which is better in a lot of ways. Each coat will fill in more of the voids that the previous coat didn't fill until you reach a point of maximum saturation. That second coat will give you better durability and more of an even sheen across the entire surface. It will also give you better washability. But, if your primer was full and your previous coating was relatively sound, then primer plus one finish coat may be enough for you. If it looks good and the sheen is even and you have complete color coveragek, then doing a second coat at this point may not be worth the effort. It depends on how it looks now to you. Not applying that second coat doesn't really mean that the coating will peel sooner or anything bad will happen.

I would build it now, providing the cedar is dry, clean and sanded. Then seal/stain while it is still warm out, with no chance of rain for 2 days. The Canadian product, Para Timbercare recommends staining 6 sides, therefore, it would be done before the deck was built. There are varying opinions about this. Use a good quality stain/sealer such as Para or Cabot.

You should not need to poly your paint in order for it to be "protected". The proper prep job will determine if you have issues with it chipping, and water spots shouldn't occur on fully cured paint. If the prep didn't include TSP, sanding, priming with an alkyd primer, and two top coats, then you will have issues with the finish regardless of if you apply poly. In fact, applying poly could accelerate the issues. Wait a week for the paint to be fully cured, and it should withstand normal wear just fine if you used a quality paint.