i have been looking at bona's traffic and synteko's best for a upgrade/quality finishes. they want $119.00 for traffic where i want to get it at. i don't know as of yet how much synteko best is or even if they are a apple/apple comparison. what is your guys take on these 2 finishes? on synteko site they say one can extend the open time if need be , i have not seen anything like that on bona's products.

thanks karl

Two different products. The Synteko is an aziridine crosslinked two component finish, comparable with Basic's Street Shoe and BONA Pacific Strong. Traffic is a different animal with an isocyanate crosslinker. The aziridine crosslinked finishes have been around over 20 years now and are old technology. Isocyanate crosslinked finishes are newer and reportedly, better. Synteko is good, but no better or worse than Street Shoe or Strong. They are all very similar with slightly different working properties and mixtures of solvents and acrylic and urethane molecules.

n synteko site they say one can extend the open time if need be , i have not seen anything like that on bona's products.


thanks for the quick reply gary

with traffic's price & short open time, what is the best way to extend the open time additive??? lower temp.???? 50-60' higher humidity??? via opening windows in am prior to finish?????


thanks karl

The crosslinkers involved are what determines the open time of a floor finish. The aziridine crosslinked finishes can all have their open times extended. Basic even sells a product that does just that for their finishes. Basic also says one can add a little water. Neither BONA nor Syteko suggest that. Most say their leftover finish can be re-used within three days by adding more crosslinker. This is for aziridine crosslinked finishes only. TRAFFIC is a different animal and the isocyanate crosslinker causes the finish to gel within four to six hours, regardless of temp, humidity or jobsite conditions. The only way to assist the application from drying too fast is to:

1) do not allow any cross flow of air or air movement during application.
2) apply at moderate temps, say 65 degrees F. Too cold will cause the finish to be too thick and difficult to apply properly. Too hot will cause it to dry too fast. 65 Degrees is ideal.
3) Keep finish at 65 degrees. Don't bring it in from a hot van into a cool home unless you can let it sit for hours prior to mixing.
4) Keep a wet edge at all times. Or learn to do "clean breaks" during applications. Doorways are usually good areas to do this.
5) After application, crack windows to allow air transfer and moisture build up to exit the building.

another tech question for Gary.......

we sealed our floor with bonaseal but ......... there is debre/small drywall flakes in the sealer. is this sealer a penetrating type so that i can either 180 screen or maroon buff the hardplated clear maple? there was a fair amount of grain raise after sealing. do the starts / stops of sealer sheen disappear in the finish if i do not abrade before finish? sealer was done 4 days ago.


thanks karl

Yeah, you should probably buff it. I would get some 3M™ Scotch-Brite™ Between Coats Disc 8447, 16 in, BCP 16 10 cs, Maroon Very Fine or Scotch-Brite™ Surface Preparation Pad 17 inch. Try these alone. If they do not smooth the surface, then use these 3M™ Scotch-Brite™ Between Coats Disc 8447, 16 in, BCP 16 10 cs, Maroon Very Fine...Keep in mind not to buff too much. You are not trying to make it baby butt smooth. Just smoother than it is now. Lightly scrape or sand out any bigger pieces of debri by hand. Vacuum and tac as normal. Then apply your first coat of TRAFFIC.