my first time working with poly so bear with me. i've added a second coat of oil based poly (gloss) to a job left unfinished by a contractor. i'm using parks brand from home depot and applying with their best 3/8" foam roller. lightly sanded between coats with pole sander (as in drywall ceilings) 180 grit. coming back to the house after the second coat, i had a lot of orange peel effect. some here call it alligatoring.

after reading here, my mistake probably was knocking the house temp down to 60 degrees to save money as the house is empty. the label on the poly said to work with poly between 60-80 degrees but i now realize my floors could get colder than that. so is the temp the definite problem here or could the brand of poly or roller be the culprit? i think the roller is designed for paint but was recommended by the home depot guy who claimed to have done a lot of floors.

how to fix? will the pole sanded work or do i need to rent a machine? how much poly do i need to take down? any help appreciated.

one more thing. significant bubbles in my finished poly.

Sounds like you overworked the poly. DId you get back into places where it had already set up? I would get the house a little warmer really not that much though, i dont think it was too much due to the temp though. Although if the house is on a crawl space with no insulation that couldcasue the floor to be way cooler and cause a problem. I would highly suggest a semi-gloss or satin finish. Gloss being so shiney will show every minute detail.

what do you mean by "Sounds like you overworked the poly. Did you get back into places where it had already set up?"

do i need a screening machine to fix?

You can fix it with the sanding pole but a buffer will be faster and easier. I use a disc buffer with 220 grit screens or my square buffer with 220 grit screens.

As for rollers, use a Purdy white dove 1/4" nap and if possible , use Lenmar poly or Bona Woodline poly. Cold floors can make the best poly orange peel or settle out ugly. Your spread rate should be close to 500 square feet per gallon

i'll try the pole sander today. the problem with renting a home depot buffer is i can't get it upstairs by myself. thanks for the tips.

Polyurethane is designed to level and flow on its own. You need to put down thin coats running from wall to wall with the direction of the wood. DOnt roll over places you have already rolled, doing this will introduce air bubbles and texture. Let the poly do its work, dont try to put a real thick coat, thin to win.

oh, i see. i've been rolling it like paint, over and over. great tip, thanx!

the pole sander didn't work, getting out the orange peel. i don't know how i'm going to get that heavy home depot buffer out of the suv and up the stairs. wife is 8 months pregnant so no help there.