Hello
what is the hardest finish you can put on a floor? I've been told Bona traffic, but I saw a floor that was finished with it and it had scuff marks all over it. I don't know if they put it on to thin or what.
Another question is, can you put oilbase poly over waterbase poly?

Beth

Traffic is arguablely the hardest waterbased finish, there is harder finishes like acid cure/ moisture cure, but they make it next to impossible to live in your home durring application and for a few days after.

It is possible to coat a waterbase finished floor with an OMU, a few months later, but isnt recomended.

nanoshield by parks is an aluminum oxide waterbased finish i have found to be extremely hard you can check it out on the parks pro finisher website.

It is not recommended to apply an oil base poly over a water based product because it will bleed between the boards and any scratches will show up amber color

Traffic is the Mercedes of floor finishes, although the closest distributor to me doesn't carry Bonax products.....so I usually use Street Shoe or another Basic coatings product.

Lenmar has a new product called Evolution.

http://www.lenmar-coatings.com/viewProd.asp?prodID=498

I've used it a couple of times. If you thought Traffic went down thick....this stuff is like putting down pure honey! You have to work quick with it though because it sets up much faster than Street Shoe. I know I could have "thinned" it out with a few ounces of water to give me more time to work with, but I wanted to put it down full strength and I'm pretty quick with a T-bar anyways so I didn't have any problems. It claims to be just as hard as Street Shoe and Traffic without even using its hardener, but adding the second component is supposed to give it superior chemical and stain resistance. It costs about the same as Traffic. It has only been a couple months so I can't speak of its durablity yet, but looks promising.

I myself am allergic to all isocyanate-cured finishes (Street Shoe, Traffic, and the Evolution). If I breathe in the vapors might chest gets tight and it gets really hard to breathe.......and when it gets on my skin I immediately break out in itchy hives. Now of course, whenever I apply those finishes I wear latex gloves and a mask with a organic/carbon filter.....and I take Claritan-D in the morning.

Street Shoe uses a polyfunctional aziridine catalyst, similar to Bona Pacific Strong. Traffic uses an aliphatic polyisocyanate hardener. These two catalyst/hardeners are quite different. You maybe sensitive to another common compound used in both products. As with all floor finish application, the finisher needs to take proper precautions to protect themselves. An organic respirator and gloves, along with introducing fresh air asap, are practical steps in protecting oneself from these products.