"Out there" on the interwebs I've read that for the poly coating, the bottom layers should be gloss with the finish of choice (we've decided on satin) used on the top coat only. Is this true?

Also, I've also read some people who have said that their satin finish got dull/bad looking and had to be redone after only a few years. Would a semi-gloss be a better choice? We've got three chihuahuas and two humans in the house using the floor. Hubby likes a shiny finish but will be unhappy with visible scratches.

We're doing oil-based finish and this particular floor is in the kitchen, although eventually we'll be doing the whole house.

Thanks!

It does seem to be a common practice to build with gloss and topcoat with what ever you wish.

If you build coats with satin or matte, the dulling agents in the mix build up, making the finish look cloudy as you look down into the wood graining.

Cloudy might not be the right descriptive word. Clarity my be a better description.

There's no real advantage to bottom coating with gloss.But yes, some people are in the habit of using gloss for everything minus the occasional top coat of satin.

ON the other side, I almost always bottom coat with satin urethanes because I've always found satin urethanes to buff out noticeably better and dry more reliably than gloss finishes. Some might argue that gloss is preferable on multi directional floors like herringbone or parquet.

Satin definitely does not go dull any faster than a gloss would. Actually, under identical usage , a gloss floor will show more wear and dulling than a Satin will. Think about it, does a glossy , shiny new car not show scratches easily ?

For high traffic, satin or matte is the way to go to avoid wear patterns but basically , go with what you like. If you think a semi gloss looks great, then go with it and simply be careful inside the house. Wear slippers in the house or stockings.

I should mention one other thing . I do like oil base poly myself but have been working with Bonakemi water based products for some years now. I have not seen a polyurethane stand up to traffic ,dogs or humans better than Bonakemi's water based "traffic" urethane . It's expensive, $90.00 per gallon versus $25.00 per gallon for oil but it's easily twice as hard and durable. On the plus side, it's one of the few water based urethanes that comes close to the richness of oil based urethane. Not 100% the same but maybe 90% as rich looking.

The reason most finishers use to go with gloss first then a satin on top is that to get the different sheens the manufacturer added a matting agent. This agent weakens the finish strength (by how much I've never been able to find out). So 2 coats of gloss and a final of satin was a more durable finish system.

Most water base finishes today don't use matting agents for the different sheen levels, it's the chemical make up of the finish that does it now so a semi-gloss or satin has the same durability. Going with 3 coats of satin or 3 coats of gloss will both be just as durable. Just in gloss you'll notice the scratches much sooner.

Mr. Hance,

What you have heard is an old wive's tale in regards to the durability of satin vs. gloss POLYURETHANES. It is true that flattening agents are added to satins to deflect light. And it holds true to this day with OMU's and water-based urethanes. But adding flattening agents do not reduce a finishes ability withstand wear. This was true on older solvent based varnishes but not on urethanes. Satins, semi-glosses and glosses are fairly equal in properties today, including water-based urethanes. The only reason to use gloss as the first coats would be to retain clarity in the final product, as multi-coats of a satin finish may result in a "cloudy" finish. This is the school of thought but by no means does it mean that a floor coated multiple times with a satin finish will be "inferior" or less durable than a floor coated with gloss first. But it is also true that a floor coated with a gloss finish will show wear quicker than a satin finished floor will.