any wood finishing gurus here?

[Dobick]

here is the situation:

the whole house that I am living in has wood floors underneath carpet. Built in the 1920's, so it is all very nice hardwood.
(three bedrooms all in a row on one side of the house - Front, middle, and back)

a few years ago, I removed the carpet from the middle bedroom, and the floor was in great shape, except for paint and texture residue from having the walls redone many years ago. sanded all of the crap off, got them good and smooth, and did nothing to them except lay down 4 or five coats of johnson's wax. I like them fine.

Fast forward to a month ago. I pulled up the corner of the carpet in the front bedroom and saw that the floor was in perfect shape. No paint, and the finish was nice and even. After getting all of the carpet up, the center of the floor had something wet spill and sit for a long long time. Turned the wood a dark color and slightly warped a few of the edges of the boards.

I sanded them down by hand back to being smooth, and generally got most of the black coloring off of there.

Tried one go around with a light stain over the entire floor, at which time, the affected area soaked up way too much stain and the unaffected area took in very little. Resanded the whole floor and got most of the entire floor back to a bit rustic look but generally smooth.

Restained the whole floor with a mid tone (minwax red oak) stain, and through selective wiping, was able to get the entire floor to generally be one consistent color.

I have since applied 2 coats of minwax polyurethane gloss and the floor is nice and even in color and mostly even in appearance.


MY QUESTION IS THIS:

Does anyone know if the polyurethane finish from miniwax is compatible with the minwax polyurethane for floors? The reason that I ask is that the one for floors has a quicker drying time, and says that no sanding required between coats. It also states that it has a leveling agent that causes it to spread more evenly and be more forgiving of streaks in the drying process.

I am going to need at least one or two more coats on this floor, so a gallon would be the best purchase at this point anyway.

All in all, I am pleased with how it looks as it progresses, just wondering if anyone wants to weigh in on advice?

[janikphoto]

Sounds like you are doing everything just fine. The process is pretty straightforward for standard floors, plus a few bleaching and sealing tricks for stained areas. Old floors are great to work with, because they usually accept stains much more evenly when prepped. New oak can have a lot of green spots, which inconsistently soak up the stain.

[revjvegas]

Sorry, cannot give answer to minwax question, but if you're not stuck on that product you may want to have a look at DuraSeal Polyurethane. That is what the installers put on our wood floors after staining and after a year they're still looking great. Stuff was uber easy to apply too.
Amazon.com: Dura Seal 1000 Satin Waterbased Wood Finish - Gallon: Home Improvement

edit: It was put down in the AM, and by end of day we were walking on it. By next day we were able to move back in the furniture.

[SpeedRacerSlots]

I would go troll some woof re-finishing forums.
Also go to the MinWax site and post a question to their customer service team.

[David_3]

Originally Posted by Dobick

MY QUESTION IS THIS:

Does anyone know if the polyurethane finish from miniwax is compatible with the minwax polyurethane for floors?

Polyurethane is, technically speaking, a type of varnish, and it is a reactive type of finish. It cures by reacting with oxygen. As the thinner evaporates, a chemical reaction takes place. The molecules link together in a "lattice like" structure that can't be broken by reapplying the thinner. This is referred to as a "cross linking" type of finish. So when an additional coat of finish is applied, the thinner does not soften the existing cured coat. Therefore, there is no chemical bonding between coats, and a new coat of varnish (polyurethane) will not fuse to the existing coat. It relies strictly on mechanical bonding....that is, from the rough surface caused by sanding between coats.




So, if both coats of finish (the original, and the new one) are truly polyurethane (and this is the real question...is the polyurethane for floors a true cross linking finish?), you should not have any trouble laying one coat on top of another. Just be sure to sand lightly between coats.


Edit: Forgot to add, you can always try it in a small, inconspicuous spot, just to get a "warm and fuzzy feeling" about it, first.

[KdLaneJr]

You know..., it's not that hard to contact Minwax and ask about product compatibility. I'm sure they be happy to steer you in the right direction.

on a side note; I've refinished old hardwood floors in several homes over the years and can tell you that finishes are constantly evolving. The first floor I refinished turned out a beautiful light oak color. It was finished with Carver Tripp water-based poly. At the time, Carver Tripp had a separate hardener that could be added to their poly to increase it's durability for floors. I haven't seen the hardener for sale is over 10 years.

I put a wood sealer down on the second floor I refinished before I put the water-based poly down. Interestly enough, that caused the final floor color to be significantly darker (compared to the previous floor I had done). Not detrimentally darker, but not the light oak color I had seen previously.

Enjoy your floors!