# Hardwood Floor - Water based Polyurethane



## Thrifty Tool Guy (Aug 23, 2007)

Hello,

We've done a bit of remodeling (removed a wall and modified a hallway) and it's time to clear coat the stripped and sanded oak floor. Nothing atypical, just early 1950's sub-flooring that would cost an arm and a leg today. In any event, we want to have as clear a finish as possible, so we're looking at water-base polyurethanes. The issue that arises is which brand to choose and what's available in my area. Basically, the choices are;

1) Minwax
2) Varathane
3) Zinnser and
4) Pro from Home Depot.

In the case of the Minwax, Varathane and Zinnser, a sanding sealer/base coat is, possibly, not available in my local stores. While I have no experience in finishing a floor, I do prefer using a sanding sealer whenever finishing a project with polyurethane or polycrylic clear coats. The Pro product from HD appears to be a store brand and, therefore, is cheapest, but there is an available sealer. So, I'm interested in input from the forum. What would you folks use?

TTG


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## CanuckGal (Nov 26, 2008)

In my last house I refinished some of the oak floors with Varathane the first time and then did some other rooms with the Minwax. The Minwax was much easier to apply and dried in 4 hours as opposed to 12-18 for the Varathane. Both poducts got 3 coats and I think the Minwax finish was much nicer. I did sand between coats and I didn't use any kind of sanding sealer but did wipe the floors well with mineral spirits before applying the finish. A good quality applicator makes all the difference.


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## jerrymayfield (Sep 25, 2004)

You will be able to find much better water borne products at a commercial finish supplier. If you don't have one close check with some places that sell wood flooring for suggestions. This is the sort of job you don't want to redo very often.

Regards

Jerry


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## Thrifty Tool Guy (Aug 23, 2007)

Jerry,

What constitutes a commercial finish supplier? Sherwin Williams?

Thanks,

TTG


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## dwayne423 (Dec 8, 2009)

Which poly did you finally choose? I just finished applying my 3rd coat of Varathane water base poly. First 2 came out very well thats after I got past a lot of learning problems / attempts. Would be a lot easier if I could find a GOOD applicator unlike the cheap ones the big box stores sale. Learned a lot, next room should go easier. Wife prefers I launch the boat a go fishing for a while AFTER I get her a new mattress (collateral damage start of this project). 
V / R
Dwayne


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## Thrifty Tool Guy (Aug 23, 2007)

Still waiting to hear from my flooring installer friend on a recommended product. I'll drop you a line went I get the info. BTW, thanks for the input on the applicator. I'll ask about that.


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## RMilgie (Feb 23, 2009)

Hi there we have had wood floors in our home for over 17 years now Kid's dogs you name it we have had two reseals in that time. the floor was sanded then sealed with Bona high build sealer then several coats of Bona Mega Floor finish it is easy to apply (this is a relative statement after you know how) you can re- coat in several hours full cure apx 24 hours it holds up well to UV. I'm not sure where you can purchase it from. I got mine from a wood floor supply house. It is great product and you would be pleased with the results.


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## Thrifty Tool Guy (Aug 23, 2007)

dwayne423 said:


> Which poly did you finally choose? I just finished applying my 3rd coat of Varathane water base poly. First 2 came out very well thats after I got past a lot of learning problems / attempts. Would be a lot easier if I could find a GOOD applicator unlike the cheap ones the big box stores sale. Learned a lot, next room should go easier. Wife prefers I launch the boat a go fishing for a while AFTER I get her a new mattress (collateral damage start of this project).
> V / R
> Dwayne


Dwayne,

A friend of mine in the flooring business directed me to a finishing contractor who quoted a price of $1/sq. ft. to finish my floors. That sounded like a good alternative to my DIY plan, so I contracted his services. He used the following products

1) Basic Coatings - Hydroline(TM) Sealer (1-coat),
2) Basic Coatings - Emulsion(TM) water based poly (1-coat) and
3) Basic Coatings - Streetshoe(TM) finish (1-coat)

The Basic Coatings website is Wood Floor Coatings, Wood Floor Sealers and Refinishing Equipment - Basic Coatings Home.

Relative to process, it was a two-man operation (the contractor and his son) that lasted three business days. The first coat was applied the day after I contacted him and took 75-minutes (300 sq. ft. of area). That included a light sanding/screening and then buffing of the floor prior to application of the sealer. That process (excluding the sanding) was repeated twice over the next two business days using the different finish products. Each day, the buffing took about 20-minutes using a vacuum assisted system which produced minimal free dust. A general vacuuming followed the buffing, prior to application of the coating. Relative to the coating applicator, it was a 2-ft long 1-inch diameter pipe mounted via a swivel to a pole/handle, similar in concept to a finishing trowel for concrete floors. The 1-inch diameter pipe was wrapped with a material similar to a paint applicator pad (1/8 ~ 1/4" nap with foam backing). The finish was poured on the floor and squeegeed about with the applicator. Dry time to light traffic was 3 hours and full cure in 24-hrs.

So far, things are good.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Shoot.. getting the floor finished for $300 sounds like a deal to me!

By the time you would have researched all the options, purchased the products and applicator, made a false-start or two, cleaned up from the false-starts... and now have the info on how to do it to be able to wisely decide if you want to tackle it yourself next time... that sounds like good value to me...


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## Thrifty Tool Guy (Aug 23, 2007)

BigJimAK said:


> Shoot.. getting the floor finished for $300 sounds like a deal to me!
> 
> ... that sounds like good value to me...


Plus, one happy spouse!!

Yep, it seemed like a good price, plus the finish contractor was a tinker/inventor so we had a really good conversation about his efforts to design a cyclone dust separator.


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

Did you tell him you *might* be willing to review one for him.. after extensive testing, of course? :haha::haha:


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## Thrifty Tool Guy (Aug 23, 2007)

The floor finisher did make a really good point about his dust collector. He said the efficiency was better if he put the cyclone downstream of the blower and mounted a filter to the top of the cyclone. I thought about this for a few days and I think the guy is correct. When the cyclone is mounted upstream of the blower, the air is at a very low pressure when entering the blower. Unfortunately, air is a gas, so the density drops with pressure and the actual mass of air that is moved is lowered. Mounting the blower forward of the cyclone avoids this issue. 

TTG


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