Need Advice On Poly-Urethane Issue

realpurty2

We are finishing up the punch list on an interior paint project and one item has me second guessing myself. The H.O. noticed that there was a small stripe on the stair treads where the painter's tape was placed to secure the contractor's paper while painting.

At first, I thought it might just be adhesive residue, but it wasn't. The poly-urethane on the stairs is so thin that removing the tape actually took strips of poly off the oak treads. It was normal tape, on only briefly and used under normal conditions so I don't think it was anything caused by our crew, but of course we are going to fix it, we were responsible for putting the tape down which ultimately caused the peel, but I have questions I need advice on because now I'm second guessing myself.

Tomorrow is the final work day at that project, the H.O. is scheduled to move in Friday. My first thought is to re-coat every tread with a thinned layer of poly. Right or wrong way to cover a 1" wide 3" long strip to guarantee it matches? What type would you recommend that will dry/cure enough for walking in less than 24hrs? Any better suggestions to correct the strip other than re-coating each tread?

And just to confirm my thoughts... even though we did not have any responsibility in the lousy original poly, it is ours to correct since it was our tape that made the stripe.. would I be in breech of contract if it required one additional day to complete the repair which would prevent her from moving on Friday as planned?

Any advice is appreciated.

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Big Dave

This is not going to be easy. Is it water base poly or oil poly? I would not recommend putting anything over it without scuffing it and then putting on a sealcoat product like Zinnser sealcoat then use topcoat of choice. If you know that it is oil then scuff and apply oil but it will take about 24 to 36 hours before light foot traffic. If it is water then scuff and coat then your good for light foot traffic in about 6 hours.

Dave.

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Big Dave

edit: somehow I posted the same thing twice.

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maj

Just a thought.... I'm not a pro finisher like BigDave, but here goes.....

When I do alot of trimwork, I keep a can of fast drying poly spray, and a can of lacquer spray in my tool box. I just spray an area that needs touching up. I usually go for the lacquer, since that dries in about 20 minutes.

Dave, is lacquer compatible as on overcoat to poly?

I usually use Valspar or Deft.

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Big Dave

The laquer just won't hold up to wear and tear and frequent cleaning.

I was hoping that some of our other flooring guru's would comment just to make sure what I said is correct.

I'm getting better at flooring issues but still not the king.

Dave.

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Brushslingers

Oak flooring peeling from tape? You need to shoot the contractor that did the floor, 99% positive its an oil poly coating. Might as well just use a spray can and let the sub know when the HO calls, and she will... if it came up that easy one rug will ruin a huge area at once... that he will be fixing it free. If you didn't actually sub the floor, I wouldn't worry about it, you can't be held responsible for hidden problems NOT in your contract to keep you "on time". So ya, you can ask for a day and not worry, unless you don't write in "outs" like that. Real problem is, to fix it correctly you need to ask for two days, not one...

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