Question of Refinishing Wood Floors

We are having some oak floors refinished and I had a question for any people with experience on this front. The floors currently have a water-based finish. The flooring guy recommended an oil poly finish because that is more durable. Is that a good decision or are the floors going to look too shiny? Also, how many coats of water-based and/or oil poly finish are we likely to need? One floor is being sanded and others are just being screened. Thanks!

jty2

in Roofers 10 years and 11 months ago

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freespirit | 10 years and 11 months ago

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We just refinished out original floors with Rubio and I wouldn’t recommend it, especially if you need to use a wood filler to fill in the gaps. It reacted with Rubio and looks greenish (we used the smoked oak color). Rubio looks beautiful though on the new floors (we replace where the floors were not salvageable). I wish I used poly on the old floors.

jty2 | 10 years and 11 months ago

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We are sanding 2 of the levels, and just screening and refinishing 2 other levels. Our floor guy indicated that he would put 3-4 coats of water-based poly on the sanded levels and 2 coats on the screened levels.

slopefarm | 10 years and 11 months ago

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Are you sanding or just buffing/screening and applying a new coat? I have heard — but don’t know — that there may be issues putting oil-based poly over water-based or vice-versa. Not an issue if you are sanding fully down to the wood. And yes, VOCs from oil-based are pretty bad.

VAtoBK | 10 years and 11 months ago

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If you are looking for a matte finish, consider also a hardwax oil such as Rubio Monocoat or Pallman’s. Lower VOCs and these finishes will likely wear better over time, but note that they will require some maintenance.

daveinbedstuy | 10 years and 11 months ago

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What Cate said but I alway prefer real polyurethane, not water base and yes, satin looks best. Three coats is best for high traffic areas.

cate | 10 years and 11 months ago

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Poly can be water or oil based. It can come in satin, semi gloss, or glossy. My understanding is what makes it durable is the quality of the product and the way it is applied. There should be plenty of time for drying between coats, and enough coats. For satin water based I’d do four coats. For oil based, three is standard.