Hi:

I have a 35 year old cedar log cottage (www.panabode.com). The ceiling and walls never had a finish applied. The floor has a gloss finish that, being 35 years old, was likely oil-based. The walls and ceiling became quite dark over the 35 years, when compared to the original cedar. We'd like to restore and preserve the original light colour on all surfaces. We've recently sanded all surfaces, and are struggling with what is the right finish(es). A local paint store recommended a water-based polyurethane. Does that seem reasonable? We'd use flat to low-lustre on the ceiling and walls, and a semi-gloss to gloss on the floor. On this page http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwo ... -water.htm) of this site it recommends a "special alcohol based sealer" which it says is a de-waxed shellac, to prevent the grain from getting raised. Does anyone have a product name for the sealer? The same page also recommends a using a "poly with a hardener additive" on the floors for increased durability. Is this hardener additive a standard product that should be available at my local paint store?

Thanks.

Richard

A good water based poly will keep the wood lighter colored than a oil based poly. For wood flooring, Basic Coatings and Bonakemi are the two most common , at least here in Connecticut and most of New England

As far as catalyzed (hardener additive) poly goes, it is typically going to be more wear resistant compared to most non catalyzed urethanes but you certainly wont need it for walls and parts of the home that wont be walked on. So for instance, within the Bonakemi line, you could use Mega which is non catalyzed or their traffic which is catalyzed. The Mega is certainly good but the traffic is at least 50% harder and is also more lustrous . If you want the most bullet proof floor, then lean towards a good catalyzed / 2 part water based poly like Bonakemi's "Traffic" or Basic Coatings "Street Shoe" For your walls, lean towards a good non catalyzed poly.

As far as sealing with shellac, you can but I have found it risky. I have re sanded floors where someone tried to seal with shellac, buff and then poly over it. AND it always seems to de-laminate . I've seen the shellac system work on things like pine doors with no problems but it doesn't seem to be a great idea for floors

It's safer to use a given manufacturer's water based sealer and then level sand and re coat using their water based top coat poly. I've only found a few water based sealers that are easy to work with and they are Bonakemi's "DTS" Basic Coating's "Hydroline Sealer" and I can't remember the other.

Other companies like Benjamin Moore ,Sherwin Williams , etc certainly offer water based coatings but I am not very familiar with them

Paul, perhaps you are unaware of the dewaxed shellac available from Zinsser and Parks. These are all the very SAME product just packaged different. This dewaxed shellac is warranteed NOT to delaminate and warranteed that ALL finishes will adhere to it without sanding. The shellac of the past has some wax in it and isn't recommended for floors as urethanes do not adhere to wax. But this dewaxed shellac is especially useful as a sealer coat over floors that may contain contaminents or are a troublesome, oily wood, like IPE or pine. Then it can be top coated with the floor finish of your choice.

I haven't researched the shellacs for flooring applications. But what you are saying makes sense. Wax and urethane don't mix for sure.

When I have free time, I will make some sample panels of pine and maple. I'd like to experiment with staining these 2 difficult woods with shellac as a base to prevent the stain from appearing blotchy due to the characteristics of those two woods.