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HW floor refinish questions

emaxxman | Posted in General Discussion on September 29, 2005 06:55am

Some quick questions.

1) What does the sealer do?

I know a sanding sealer is applied to wood prior to sanding to fill in pores and create a smoother and more even finish. However, the floor guy I’m dealing with says the sealer is applied after sanding…so what’s this sealer for? It also supposedly dries in 15 minutes. I know the first coat of any finish acts as a sealer but in this case, it’s not the poly for the floor.

2) What to do about knot holes in the wood?

I have a number of holes in my floor where the knots used to be. Either they were never there are pieces of the knots broke off over time.

I was thinking of spot sanding down the knot areas and then filling in with hardening wood filler. Is this a bad idea…concern is that it won’t match the rest of the wood when the oil poly is applied over it.

Will the poly and/or sealer fill in the hole and make putty pointless?

3) How many coats of poly do you recommend?

I’ve got estimates where one dealer (for 50% more in cost) will apply 3 coats of poly over a sealer coat. The guy I’m dealing with says he does one coat sealer and 2 coats oil poly.

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Replies

  1. rez | Sep 29, 2005 07:16pm | #1

    bump

    r u a feckless dastard?

     


     

  2. YesMaam27577 | Sep 29, 2005 09:07pm | #2

    1) What does the sealer do?

    It makes the wood more uniform in its absorption of the final finish. This prevents a blotchy appearance, and allows the first coat of finish to sit on, rahter than soak unevenly into, the wood.

    2) What to do about knot holes in the wood?

    If you leave them, then they will not change substantially when the finish is applied -- the sealer and the poly will not fill holes. If you want to fill them, you could use either a properly colored wood filler (I like FamoWood brand), or an epoxy product. If I use epoxy, I get the pigment that turns it black, to match the knot.

    3) How many coats of poly do you recommend?

    Two or three. Two will probably look just as good, three will last much longer, provided they are applied properly, and and allowed to cure properly.

     

     

    Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.

  3. IdahoDon | Oct 01, 2005 03:57am | #3

    If everything else is the same, 3 coats is probably better than 2, but not 50% better.  I'd save that money for the next refinishing.

  4. wrudiger | Oct 01, 2005 05:43am | #4

    The standard for the GC I'm using is 4 coats.  First is highly diluted to get penetration (similar to the sealer).  By the third coat it looks pretty good.  Then they let it dry (no traffic for 48 hours!) and cover with plastic and heavy cardboard.  All the cabinet install, paint, finish electrical, etc. happens.  Final step on the job is to uncover the floor, screed one more time and lay on a final coat.  Beautiful and - so far- has stood up to the abuse.

    Of course, if this is just a refinish the 3 coats should do it.

    1. emaxxman | Oct 02, 2005 07:11am | #5

      One more question. How long do I have to wait till I can put heavy furniture and a rug in the room. I've heard answers ranging from 3 days to 1 week to 2 weeks?

      1. emaxxman | Oct 12, 2005 09:27pm | #6

        So the floor guys were at my house last Friday to do the work. Pretty good work. One question though - The second coat has dried and hardened enough that I can touch and walk (with socks only) on it without leaving a mark. It's been about 2 days (today is Wednesday, 2nd coat was applied early Monday morning). The finish still feels slightly soft. It doesn't have that rock hard feel like a fully cured finish does.The finish feels slightly rough...like there are some dust nibs on it. You have to run your hand over it to notice...can't really tell by eye or with your feet. Will this roughness go away as it fully cures? I was planning on waiting a full 2 weeks before moving furniture back in the room. If I can't get the floor guy to come in a polish it smooth, what can I do to smooth it out so it's a glass smooth finish? When I did my handrail, I used a superfine synthetic abrasive pad (scotchbrite like)...that seemed to work well. However I'm reluctant to do that with the whole floor since it can't easily be repaired if I screw up. FYI: there were 2 coats of poly put down with a sanding in between. The 1st coat was a semigloss...the 2nd is a gloss finish.

        1. BryanSayer | Oct 13, 2005 12:15am | #7

          I have yet to meet a floor finisher that comes back and buffs after the final coat. That is what it takes to get rid of those "nubs". They will wear away over time, but if you have the place empty and want to get rid of them, rent a buffer and run over the floor with pad. This is after the floor fully cures, though you might be able to do it a bit sooner. I'd wait though.I haven't tried, but if you are planning on waxing the floor, I wouldn't be surprised if you could wax and get rid of them at the same time. I'm not certain though, and I know it is never wrong to vacuum up everything first.

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