Hardwood Floor Issue-Poly Isnt Doing Right

alexmlane

I recently had some 5" oak unfinished, glue-down, wood floors installed on a house that I am remodeling to flip. Let me start and say that I have used this hardwood sub on at least 20+ houses including new installs and refinishing and have never had an issue.

I just had my 7th coat put on this floor this morning and it still doesnt look right! What you can see are several lap marks/applicator marks and lots of bubbles. The applicator marks are the main thing. He will make it right and come back free of charge but he isnt figuring out the problem.

He has blamed it on it drying too quick, drying too slow, the mineral spirits he was using so he changed that, then he blamed it on his applicator so he bought a new one, he has tried a couple of different finish sheens, and tried a different grit for the buffer.

Would it make a difference if he used oil or water based stain and/or poly then put the opposite poly on it? I know the rule for paint but not poly.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have seen a couple of puddles too but I think that was his error as well as a few places where it looks like the poly didnt take. I am getting frustrated with him. Thanks in advance for your time!

Cdat

Poly and water don't mix. Sounds like he may have recently switched meds. I found that out one time.

jamestrd

it sounds to me as if one of his coats were not thoroughly dry before the next application and adding to the coatings is just compounding the issue..

If the finish looks like it is cloudy in areas , along with the issues you describe, it is defnitely the case.

7 coats of poly is way too much anyway.. the floors need to be stripped and started over.

the release of solvents into the the topcoating will cause rapid set time, dragging(finish difficult to apply), laps and bubbles...look along floor and see if it appears"hazy" in any areas..
the finish may also appear "hi and lo" where the sheens gop from shiny to almost dead in appearance.

bubbles can also be from a new applicator and too much or little poly used..the finish is not leveling off and this may be an application error

oil and water based finishes can be used over eachother as long as ample dry and cure time has been allowed.

alexmlane

Thanks a lot for your time! I think I might let this last coat cure out a couple of days then have him strip it ALL the way back down and redo it.

I almost think that it might be something too with the cold temp. and his poly being freezing cold then being stirred for a couple of mins, then applied to a house that was warm (I set the HVAC @ 65).

Thanks again for your time and help.

OCRS

It could be the type of applicator used as well. Many manufactures claim their urethane can be applied with apllicator pad or short nap roller when it fact the roller will leave too many bubbles. Usually this is the case with a faster setting/ thin consistency urethane.

jamestrd

Temp chnages in application can effect the finsih appearance...He can try leaving the poly in thehome overnight..

sounds like one of those jobs that went bad and just kept getting worse no matter what.

I have had a couple of those over the years..can be very frustratiing.

alexmlane

I just got off the phone with him and he told me that he has recently done some hiring/firing and he almost things that one of the guys that was fired could have possibly came in after the 1st coat of poly and spayed something like ArmorAll on those floors just to cause problems. Could be another excuse but the guy has always done good work for me in the past.

I have had a random number call my cell (which is on the sign in the front yard) and randomly ask me if I had any hardwood floor work for him and that he specializes in refinishing floors. Kinda fishy.

He said he will screen it down a good bit then use Permabond to help out with bonding with the next coat and if that doesnt work he will take it back down to raw wood and start over. Does that sound right? Thanks!

the big 12 inch

Your floor guy should get over there himself and resand this job!!whatever the reason the job went bad doesn't matter,just fix it and stop making excuses!!...

alexmlane

He has been over there "himself" every coat and personally screened the floors and recoated them. He is going to try the permabond and if it isnt right he said he will take it back down to raw wood.

sparehair

On that shine difference isssue. On an oil floor how long do you wait to be sure that there won't be a difference. I did a floor a while back. Waited 24 hours after the first coat, recoated and one room looked glossy (it had better ventilation) and the other looked satin. Is this insufficient time between coats?

jamestrd

24 hours should be sufficient in most cases, but there are environments that will efffect that..
usually over night is ample time.

did you work from one gallon cans? chnage cans from room to room?


This result could have been from undermixing one of the cans..

when working with individual 1 gal cans, you need to open your next m, mix it thoroughly, then mix it together with the other can you started with to ensure a uniform sheen.

Or, take a sepearte bucket and mix both gallons or however many you have , and make one consistent mix of all.

when adding to this mix, do it before it runs low and add it to the original mix, stir thoroughly.