woodfloor finish first coat across grain
Anyone heard of applying the first coat on finish on a hardwood floor perpendicular to the grain? This was suggested as a way to pull less dust out of the space between boards, etc.
All later coats applied in the normal fashion, with the grain.
Sounded like hooey to me…any other opinions?
Replies
New one on me. Did whoever tell you that not pull the boards up tight on install? Or this must be for a refinish?
"A job well done is its own reward. Now would you prefer to make the final payment by cash, check or Master Card?"
refinish, but still seems silly
It sounds reasonable to me. When you grout ceramic tile, you wipe across the joints, not with them, to avoid pulling the grout out of the joints. Same principle, different materials.Bill
Guess there's only one way to find out. Can't think of what could go wrong trying it. Little extra screening prior to 2d coat if you get cross grain streaks or something.
Please let us know how it works out though so if it is somehow a disaster we all get a free lesson ;-)
"A job well done is its own reward. Now would you prefer to make the final payment by cash, check or Master Card?"
I'll let you know the outcome...what could it hurt?I just wondered if anyone had heard of such a thing.
>"I'll let you know the outcome...what could it hurt?"
Thanks!
"A job well done is its own reward. Now would you prefer to make the final payment by cash, check or Master Card?"
Never heard of that either. I would think that if you did a proper cleanup to begin with there wouldn't be a dust problem either direction.
I wonder if this would make the finish any stonger though. Maybe the molecules will line up differently? crosslinking? Maybe the guy doing the screw vs. nails test needs another project to work on.
I like to go with the grain with any wood finish.
I'm reading it that the sawdust is desired in the gaps to mix with the finish and fill the gaps.
To intentionally get the sawdust out of the gaps, I would have asked if the guy giving the original advice owned a vacuum ;-)
Crosslinking -- yes. We need a DIYer to investigate that. First send him for the board stretcher to handle any shorts. ;-)
"A job well done is its own reward. Now would you prefer to make the final payment by cash, check or Master Card?"
Don't most paint manufacturers recommend painting WITH the grain? If that's the case, wouldn't a floor finish be installed the same way?
Going with the grain for the first coat on an old floor can pull a lot more than sawdust. All the dirt and grime, especially the black asfault stuff if there was ever linoleum, will get pulled out and end up in the floor finish. Of course, a good, powerful vacuum should get all that stuff out before the finish goes down. But if the flooring guy doesn't have a monster powerful vacuum, cross graning the first coat is one way to avoid a mess. Shop-vacs generally are not strong enough to get all the old dirt and junk out.
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FT Job Wanted: Chicago, north side/North Shore burbs. http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=70809.1
Edited 3/11/2006 1:12 am by Ted W.
Why would you make the 'finish' do the job of pulling up dust instead of just breaking out a vacuum (show-vac) and sucking it out? I would think dust getting into the finish would present more of an intra-coat process problem than benefit.
The thing is you need a really powerful vac. If you use a shop-vac you'd have to use just the nozzle and work every single joint. If you use the wide attachment you won't get enough suction. Unless the flooring guy has a really powerful vacuum he will not be able to get all the debris out of the joints, at least not quickly.
By applying the first finish coat against the grain he can avoid pulling the debris out of the joints, at the same time filling the joints with the finish. That way the debris is sealed in, so the following coat(s) can safely be applied going with the grain.
On new floors that debris is just sanding dust, which is not a big deal since he's going to sand between coats. But with an old floor the debris also contains dirt and other black particles, and sanding between coats will not remove all of it.
The correct way is to use the right vacuum to start with. But that vacuum costs almost as much as a drum sander, so some (cough-low-end-cough) floor sanders won't buy one. If they rent the drum sander, they won't rent the vacuum. Applying the first coat against the grain is a short cut, and not the proper way to finish a floor.
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FT Job Wanted: Chicago, north side/North Shore burbs. http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=70809.1
Wear a funny hat too! I think that is merde as the french say. If you have gaps do the following. Particularily on darker woods.
Seriously give up on wood filler. I tried every variety of filler to match the jatobia I put down. Nothing matched up. I finally went an took the advice of a FWW book on floors (sorry for no attribution) and I mixed the fine sandings with shellac. I had that can of shellac forever prefering Poly to that alcohol soluble finish this was the perfect use. Mix it up (Shellac & fine sanding dust)like a McDonalds shake and smear it on your boo boo's. Nail holes and gaps etc. Work it in well and let it evaporate / dry (2 hours depending on humidity etc. Then sand it off and put down your finish. Over the space of a week the filling areas became indistinguishable. Wish I could redo the bedroom closets.