Hello everyone,

Flooring guys came today to do the final buff and coat of satin urethane on my white oak flooring. I got there after work and saw a 3x3 section of floor where it looks like the stain has been buffed off the edges of the planks down to the bare wood. Instead of just adding some stain to those areas (I had the remains of a pail of it by the door), the guys just put the final coat of urethane over everything.

I called the sales guy and he assures me that some touchup will permanently fix the issue. Is this the correct way to go about fixing this? I told them not to come back tomorrow as I still have not checked the upstairs rooms (could not go up the stairs as they were done too) so I have a bit of time to try to find out the right way of addressing this issue. What I am afraid of is that the touchup will last long enough for them to get their final payment then I'll be left holding the bag down the road when it comes off. Thanks in advance.

Here is a pic of the issue:

Often when the floor has this issue the edges have raised slightly after the floor was sanded for some reason. Most likely moisture. So when they buffed the floor the screen hit harder on the peaks taking the color off. Or the stain was not fully dry (especially down in the seams) and when it was buffed it separated from the floor. Is this a new install? If the stain has been buffed off that also means they have buffed through the first two coats of poly as well so touching it up is going to be difficult to get the color and build back and have it match and blend in seamlessly without a resand. Give them an opportunity to explain why and repair the problem first. its not right and if its just in a 3 x 3 area than no big deal easy fix, but if the whole floor looks that way thats a whole different story.

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for your response. Yes, this is a new install though I believe there was only one coat of poly on the floor before they came back to do the final coat after we finished painting (I know, I should have painted first -- long story). Should there be 3 coats in total?

This 3x3 section is the only problem area I've seen on the main floor but I haven't checked upstairs as yet. I'll go by today after work to look. Are you saying that the proper way to fix this is to sand off the poly in that area, restain, then apply poly again? The sales guy told me this would cause a low spot and touchup is the only way to go but I'm not sure if I believe it. Then again, I don't know what products are out there and maybe there is a tinted poly that they can put on that will disguise this permanently.

Kevin pointed out the cause . As for touch up , it isn't easy because the burn through spots are coated with urethane.So if you try to wipe stain on the burn through spots, the stain will not stick. So some special tricks are needed.

One way to touch up the burn throughs is to very carefully scuff the poly , use a artist fine tip paint brush to apply new stain and then let it dry. Now , the stain might look pretty good but it has to be sealed and the only way to do that without lifting it back off the floor is to spray some clear enamel over it. The problem here though is that spraying clear over your touch up creates visible over spray on your floor .So now , you usually have to hand brush new urethane over the touch up area to blend everything together.So it's a 3 step process.

One other way to do this is to actually mix paint and paint the repair with a matching color .Along with this technique, you need to be able to create new grain .I can't do that but some painters can. Most faux painters are able to pull off that kind of touch up.

Just tinting poly and brushing it onto the burn through isn't a great fix. It has to be sealed with another coat of clear or you will wear it back off the floor just by walking on it.

Getting back to your issue, it may or may not be your flooring contractors fault that the floor cupped.I don't know. But he shouldn't have buffed a cupped floor . When I am faced with a cupped floor, I first tell the homeowner about the problem and ask them how they want to deal with the problem.

I recommend 3 coats. 2 coats will be ok but if your going thru all the trouble and expense its better to do it now than in 4-5 years imho. 2 coats will normally hold up on average for 4-5 years vs with three its more like 7-8 before a maintenance coat is needed. Of course if your anal and never wear your shoes in the house you may be fine but for an active family who wants to use their floor id go three.

Thanks for all the info guys. I'm printing it out to show the sales guy who I'm meeting tomorrow. There are some similar areas upstairs (random boards) so I'm going to insist on spot sanding the poly off all bare spots (maybe they didn't sand the floor fully flat the first time?), staining, and putting a third coat of poly over the entire floor.

Also noticed a bunch of poly all over our shoe molding so will need to repaint too but that's another issue *sigh*

yes it can be touched up...they just need to rough up the finish then apply the color and let sit..then repair ther poly..that is more diffcult then the stain itself..


darker color, new or newer screen...it happens to everyone at some point in time..

2 coats is sufficient and if thats what you paid for,its what you get.. a 3 rd coat is payed for...
determining usage and traffic, as well as discussion if process needs to be worked out at the estimate.

I suppose you can let us know what they propose to do .If it sounds good , we'll let you know. As for the cupping, it might not be their fault at all. A floor can be sanded perfectly and then cup afterwards . Acclimation and environment conditions can be the cause.

2 coats is job security. Dont think the extra coat should be free but more of an upsale. let the H/O know what their getting for the money let them decide if they want to pay 50cts a foot now or a dollar a foot later. Of course you need to factor in furniture removal/replacement and general hassle of construction going on in your house.

How about a little light sanding on the edges and then stain stick it, and I forgot who but I think maybe Minwax also makes some finish in a small applicator. I'd never want to make someone resand the whole floor for something a minimal as that. It could turn out worse.

The way I look at finishing wood floors is if you get a perfect job, feel lucky and give them a tip. If it is so so pay them and go on with life, your only going to scratch it up down the road anyway. But then I don't do finishing just because people can be so anal and there's not lots of it out here.

NOt sure about minwax stain sticks but tinted poly can work . The stain doesn't really adhere to the poly below it and easily comes back off. So you have to either scuff,stain and seal or tint poly and hit it with another layer of clear to protect it. Even better is to not buff a cupped floor. Big non-no