We replaced 12" square vinyl tile with 3/4" hardwood flooring on the stage
at my church recently. After it was sanded and cleaned off with tack cloths
( almost 1200 sq/ft ... that was fun! ), they put down two coats of stain
over two days, and then let it dry for about three days before I put down a
sanding sealer. After a light sand, I put down what I thought was a good
coat of poly. The can says ~600 sq/ft per gallon, but I only used about 1
gallon and three quarters. Another light sand, and the second coat was just
over two gallons.
Now for the question to which no one can seem to agree on an answer ... How
many additional coats should be put down to provide sufficient protection
against wear and tear? One camp says that two is plenty, especially if we
ever have to repair the floor - they don't want to have to sand through more
then two coats of poly to be able to repair the floor. The other camp
thinks 4-5 coats total is more appropriate to keep us from having to sand
all the way down to bare wood to repair the floor.
Personally, I don't think that two coats provides enough protection, and we
should put down another two coats. On the other hand, I don't want to go
overboard, especially since my back and I are currently not on speaking
terms. So ... how many coats does it take to protect a floor, realizing
that no matter how many coats you put down, it's a stage floor that's going
to be used, and it will be scuffed up, and people will drop things on it and
drag things across it?
TIA,
Tim
On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 12:30:23 GMT, "Tim Schubach"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Now for the question to which no one can seem to agree on an answer ... How
>many additional coats should be put down to provide sufficient protection
>against wear and tear?
As many as you can be bothered with - you've already made a mess of it
by using poly. It's just not hard enough for that sort of use.
Adding extra coats won't change the hardness of the surface - you just
used the wrong stuff.
For liability reasons on a publically accessible floor, you should
also use a finish with the right level of slipperiness and shine to
it. Many polys are _much_ too slippery.
There's only one finish I use on floors, and that's an acid-catalysed
formaldehyde (Rustin's Floorcoat is my local version).
GerryG <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> IMHO, poly on a floor simply will not hold up to use. You'd do much
> better using poly instead.
>
> IOW, the "poly" name is used for many different formulations. Some
> claim to be good for floors, but aren't. Others do well, and may have
> an optional hardening catalyst available. The better poly'ies will
> typically cost about 3-4 times more than the cheaper ones.
>
> Yes, I agree there are better choices, but they're often harder to
> find, much more expensive, and may require more equipment and
> knowledge to apply properly. All factors that need to enter into his
> choice.
>
> GerryG
>
> On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 13:20:16 GMT, <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Professional flooring companies are usually required to apply at least
>>three coats of poly on residential hardwood floors.
>>If you feel the alter needs more protection than three, then add
>>another coat. By the way, poly is a good choice.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>"Andy Dingley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:[email protected]...
>>> On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 12:30:23 GMT, "Tim Schubach"
>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>> >Now for the question to which no one can seem to agree on an answer
>>> >...
>>How
>>> >many additional coats should be put down to provide sufficient
>>> >protection against wear and tear?
>>>
>>> As many as you can be bothered with - you've already made a mess of
>>> it by using poly. It's just not hard enough for that sort of use.
>>> Adding extra coats won't change the hardness of the surface - you
>>> just used the wrong stuff.
>>>
>>> For liability reasons on a publically accessible floor, you should
>>> also use a finish with the right level of slipperiness and shine to
>>> it. Many polys are _much_ too slippery.
>>>
>>> There's only one finish I use on floors, and that's an
>>> acid-catalysed formaldehyde (Rustin's Floorcoat is my local
>>> version).
>>>
>>
>
Hard to believe some of the mis-information you get on the
internet....jees.
Nobody would EVER recommend that a a do-it-yourselfer use an an acid based
finish in a school environment. Usually, it won't be sold to a DIYer
anyway. You don't need to kill brain cells to get a decent floor finish
down. Don't know what state, but that finish is not approved for school use
where I live.
OP, you are on the right track with the poly. Assuming its oil base, you
should apply another two coats. It needs more finish. You need to use the
highest quality FLOOR finish you can find in your region. You will not find
these finishes on the harware store shelves or in Home Depot. This is
considered a high-traffic situation and it needs the protection or you will
be refinishing the whole thing in a few years. The hard-to-sand-for-repair
arguement is silly. Look for Fabulon Poly-PRO.
Better yet is applying 2-3 coats of good water based,easy to apply, tougher
than oil. Look for Boan Traffic or Basic Coatings Street Shoe. Outstanding
finishes.
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Professional flooring companies are usually required to apply at least three
coats of poly on residential hardwood floors.
If you feel the alter needs more protection than three, then add another
coat. By the way, poly is a good choice.
"Andy Dingley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 12:30:23 GMT, "Tim Schubach"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Now for the question to which no one can seem to agree on an answer ...
How
> >many additional coats should be put down to provide sufficient protection
> >against wear and tear?
>
> As many as you can be bothered with - you've already made a mess of it
> by using poly. It's just not hard enough for that sort of use.
> Adding extra coats won't change the hardness of the surface - you just
> used the wrong stuff.
>
> For liability reasons on a publically accessible floor, you should
> also use a finish with the right level of slipperiness and shine to
> it. Many polys are _much_ too slippery.
>
> There's only one finish I use on floors, and that's an acid-catalysed
> formaldehyde (Rustin's Floorcoat is my local version).
>
IMHO, poly on a floor simply will not hold up to use. You'd do much better
using poly instead.
IOW, the "poly" name is used for many different formulations. Some claim to be
good for floors, but aren't. Others do well, and may have an optional
hardening catalyst available. The better poly'ies will typically cost about
3-4 times more than the cheaper ones.
Yes, I agree there are better choices, but they're often harder to find, much
more expensive, and may require more equipment and knowledge to apply
properly. All factors that need to enter into his choice.
GerryG
On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 13:20:16 GMT, <[email protected]> wrote:
>Professional flooring companies are usually required to apply at least three
>coats of poly on residential hardwood floors.
>If you feel the alter needs more protection than three, then add another
>coat. By the way, poly is a good choice.
>
>
>
>
>"Andy Dingley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> On Sat, 14 Aug 2004 12:30:23 GMT, "Tim Schubach"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> >Now for the question to which no one can seem to agree on an answer ...
>How
>> >many additional coats should be put down to provide sufficient protection
>> >against wear and tear?
>>
>> As many as you can be bothered with - you've already made a mess of it
>> by using poly. It's just not hard enough for that sort of use.
>> Adding extra coats won't change the hardness of the surface - you just
>> used the wrong stuff.
>>
>> For liability reasons on a publically accessible floor, you should
>> also use a finish with the right level of slipperiness and shine to
>> it. Many polys are _much_ too slippery.
>>
>> There's only one finish I use on floors, and that's an acid-catalysed
>> formaldehyde (Rustin's Floorcoat is my local version).
>>
>