I dont sell jobs like that, I'm very straight forward. It was actually the flooring retailer that recommended the topcoat. I told the guy the dogs are going to scratch the finish no matter what. I told him with his dogs he's prolly going to be on the every 5 year refinish plan. The dogs are why he's going brazilian walnut. He wanted american walnut which stinks because I get this waaay cheaper but oh well. Also the flooring retailer told me a topcoat would NOT void the factory warranty. I would make him put it in writing and sign it before I purchased the product however. It just seems like the finish on this floor isnt very hard. I can scratch it w/ my finger nail so I could just imagine what those muts are going to do to it!
Questions about brazilian walnut and finish
I (hope, if he accepts my bid) am about to do a 5" wide plank brazilian walnut floor w/ a 10 year finish. All I have for a nailer is the bostich stapler and I was told not to use this but to use the cleat nailer because the brazilian walnut is so hard. Is this necessary? I could definately see the staples braking off the tongue like it does to hickory but have never worked w/ this type of wood and w/ hickory I have used my stapler. If so, has anyone ever used the grizzly cleat nailer (looks just like the bostich but 1/2 the price and it's green instead of yellow) and does it work well and does it use bostich cleat nails? I would hate to have to order grizzly nails every time I had to use it!
Also w/ the 10 year finish, the guy has 3 black labs and I'm affraid the finish isnt going to hold up so I'm concidering doing a light sand and topcoat w/ a polyurethane over the factory finish. I've never done this over factory finish and was curious if it was as easy as a light sand and put down more finish? I know that's alot of questions for one post but thanks for any help...
Also w/ the 10 year finish, the guy has 3 black labs and I'm affraid the finish isnt going to hold up so I'm concidering doing a light sand and topcoat w/ a polyurethane over the factory finish. I've never done this over factory finish and was curious if it was as easy as a light sand and put down more finish? I know that's alot of questions for one post but thanks for any help...
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That's what I was going to do w/ the american walnut (It's unfinished) but it's only 2 1/4" planks and he prefers wide plank and I dont have a good source for the unfinished brazilian walnut. The 5" wide plank brazilian I can get for 3.70/ sq ft! That's why I was trying to make that work. If I just had to sand and top coat it would only take me a couple hours so save me labor here as well. Also, his wife's pregnant and their worried about the fumes for 2 or 3 days of finishing. The HO is fairly cheap. I got to know him cuz he had me do a bunch of work on alot of his rental properties (cheap cabinets, a floor refinish, paint, blah blah blah). I know he'll shop around and he's a cheap bid kind of guy. I HATE bidding jobs for guys like this but right now I'll take what I can get...How about selling him unfinished brazilian walnut, and finishing the floor with something more durable, like a moisture cure product?
Thanks. I found a distributor near me. I'll call tomorrow and get the price/ details for the method of application.There is a way to topcoat aluminum oxide, but it's probably going to be a deal breaker for a penny pinchin client. http://www.basiccoatings.com/TyKote/Pages/TyKote.aspx Tykote is a bonding agent that will allow waterborne finish to adhear to the aluminum oxide. Last floor I recoated using this method, cost about $1.75/sq ft. That was my labor included.
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