Our newly installed maple flooring was finished by the installer with 3 water-based coats and is very rough to the touch, very unlike some smooth older maple flooring in our home. Reading the article on Water Based Finishes, by Charles Benghaumer, it appears the installer did not use an alcohol based sealer for the first coat to avoid the grain rising -- I will confirm that with the installer. If indeed no sealer was used, what can be done now to fix the problem and provide a smooth finish?

Thanks,
Kevin

It's common for people to not use a alcohol based sealer when using waterbased poly so dont shoot you finisher for not using one, most all waterborne finish companies make a compatable waterborne sealer. It probally can be smothed out with a good buffing and one more coat of finish. Once the first coat of finish or sealer is put down grain raise should only be minimal in the next coats if the floor is not sanded right then you amy have a diffrent problem..

Thanks for the information. I spoke with our installer and his proposed solution is to buff, then apply semi-gloss oil. Then try again if that is not smooth enough. We would prefer the amber look that we might eventually get, but wonder if putting oil finsih on top of water finish is a possible solution, or is it better to stick with water once started?

Thanks,
Kevin

All manufacturers of quality waterborne finishes make sealers. While you can apply waterborne finishes over alcohol based sealers i.e. shellac, I prefer to use sealers and finishes made by the same company, unless there is a specific reason for using shellac. A sealer should be used when applying waterborne finishes.

Grain raise is normal when using waterborne finishes. It is removed (buffed out) either before, or after the first coat of finish goes on - either way works.

I would not let the contractor put on a coat of oil as a fix. I'm sure you paid more for a waterborne finish, and you will loose the benefits of water by applying oil over it. The contractor should buff the finish with a maroon pad & 180 grit strips to remove the raise (corners need to be done by hand) and recoat with the same waterborne finish you paid for.
Pete

I agree with Pete. At this point, there is no advantage to switching to an oil based finish. I'd stay with the waterbased as well. I will say that I've been called in to fix some pretty rough finish jobs and sometimes, just using one grit abrasive isn't adequate and I'll need to start with something coarser to really smooth the floor and basically, sand out the crap left in the finish. So I'll start with a well worn 100 grit, the move to the 220 grit and finish up with just the maroon pad to abrade all the areas and buff out any swirl from the screens.