I am getting ready to sand and refinish my kitchen floors. My deli ma is of course choosing the best finish for my application. I have a family of 5, with three dogs. Worst case scenario I'm sure. This is a project that I'm going to do myself. I'm concerned with the fact that nothing is forever so how long will the poly realistically last? My floors now are 10 yrs. old red oak and should of been maintained better for sure. What are some recommendations that I should consider? What do you guys think of Rubio if I'm going to be faced with periodic scratch repair and such? Thank you

The hardening oil like you mentioned will be an excellent choice with the 3 dogs. You can repair scratches very easy with out having to recoat the entire floor. Dogs can be tough on any finish, but having the ability to repair the scratches should make an oil finish top your list.

I would suggest Bona traffic finish.

I have been considering the Rubio mono coat for that exact reason of ease of repair. My only concern with that system is the long cure time of three weeks. I know I can keep everyone off for a couple of days but that is it.

How in depth is the Bona traffic to repair or do you have to screen the entire floor and re coat? Right now I have i trouble spot that I know I will have again and that is at the back door. Dogs coming and going, Especially during these winter months is a challenge keeping everything clean and dry. Thanks for the input.

Swoop,
There are other oils that do not take 3 weeks to harden. Depending up if you are considering Natural or one of the colors, the hardening time for Woca Oils are between 36 hours and 72 hours.

Repairability is a big advantage of these hardening oils over urethane. And why make the floor perfectly flat again? We are wire-brushing and oiling existing wood floors for homeowners whose dogs are dishing out the soft spring wood of oak. We like Rubio Monocoat and also Synteko Natural, a high solids synthetic alkyd. It is not VOC-free but dries faster.

Sherrie VandePutte
Frank VandePutte Wood Floors
Ortonville, MI

If your dogs do Road Runner and Wiley Coyote style burnouts across the house, you'll need to protect the wood with urethane.Repairability isn't like that of monocoat but monocoat isn't going to prevent dog nails from gouging the wood either so I would opt for protection over repairability.

If your dogs don't run across the floor, then perhaps go for a oil coating like monocoat or similar. But if you do choose to go for the most protection, I believe Bona Traffic is a great way to go . If applied with a Bona roller at their suggested spread rate, three coats will give you some serious protection.

I have done some high traffic businesses with both Bona Traffic and Waterlox .The waterlox is a tung oil based product. And both systems work well but waterlox doesn't protect against the person that has a pebble stuck in their shoe like Traffic does.And with one commercial space that I did with 4 coats of Bona traffic, there's no wear into the actual wood except for directly in front of the cash register . They have me come back every two years or so to clean, buff and re coat the floor.

If your floor is oak or ash, there isn't a finish on the market that will keep crazy dogs from tearing out the spring wood. Will a screen and recoat do much for that kind of damage? I don't think so. I'd go with Rubio Monocoat or Synteko Natural. When the dogs rip through that soft grain, lightly sand it and oil it. Presto! Looks good again.

Whether you apply a urethane or an oil if the floor gets gouge and scratched by the dogs the scratches will remain unless the floor is sanded. It may be easier to apply more or than it is too buff and coat but I believe the urethane finishes will offer more protection than an oil. The dogs will first have too scratch the finish off before reaching the wood, Just my humble opinion.