Hi,

We just bought an old house in Los Angeles and want to sand and refinish the white oak floors. I have 2 young children and am looking for the healthiest least toxic finishes out there.

In particular, we've been trying to decide between Osmo Polyx-Oil and AFM Safecoat's Polyureseal BP. Osmo looks like the healthier choice but I'm wondering if it will protect the floors enough and we haven't been able to find a refinisher who has worked with it before.

Polyureseal seems very durable but I'm wondering if it looks good for a house. I heard it was used a lot on gym floors and hospitals and I'm afraid it will look unnatural and take away the beauty of the hard wood floors.

Does anyone have pictures of floors refinished with Polyureseal? Has anyone used Osmo Polyx-Oil or Polyureseal BP to refinish floors and can share the durability, look and safety/toxicity of either? I appreciate any help.

We want to paint right after doing the floors, so we're also wondering how long it will take before we can walk on the floors after they've been finishes.

Thank you!

Alex

Safecoat is pretty decent for having no voc's. We use it for a green based remodeling company that we do quite a few jobs for.

Alex,

We left our old (vintage) home in West LA and moved to the East where I used AFM Safecoat's Polyureseal BP because of my husband's health. Covered an entire 4,000 SF home in this stuff. Beautiful. Looks exactly like polyurethane. I used the matte finish. Perfect. No outgasing or environmental problems for my husband.

Cleaning has been interesting. We put it in our kitchen (not a good idea) where I had 3 coats put down. We put clear over oak and cleaning has been an issue for us. You have to use water and then go over it immediately with a rag. A few stains never came up so I'm lightly sanding it and reapplying this summer.

Love this product.

Ann

Hardwax finishes like Osmo employ a different philosophy than urethtane/acrylic finishes. They seal the wood deep on the inside. This means you will not get the appearance of a layer of finish on the floor. Instead it will look more closely like the unfinished wood. I have very limited experience with it. But it is a good product for what it is. It will scratch more easily than traditional acid/oil or water based urethanes, but on the other hand those scratches can be fixed more easily. It is very resistant to moisture. More of a maintainable floor. Plus some of the hardwax finishes are almost 0 VOC.
It is going to be difficult to find a finisher who has a lot of experience with it. But the basics are the same: You need an excellent sanding job, as you do with any finish IMHO. Osmo is then rubbed in by hand, not sure about using a buffer with a white pad, but should work fine. Best to check with importer/manufacturer. You can also check out Pallmann or Rubio Monocoat. Very important to follow their instructions.

Nice looking photo gallery there Matthias. I see lot's of custom work.

http://www.matthiashardwoodfloors.com/g ... index.html

"HEALTHIER" . . . .what does this imply in it's proper prospective.

(a) When does a floor finish pose the greatest danger to your health? . . . .during application or . . .
the period of time it takes to reach full cure.

(b) Does a lower (voc) mean there is less of a hazard?

(c) Do any "hazards" exist, after the proper cure, of compliant & non-compliant floor finishes


dan @pro

Yes, beautiful work and gallery Matthias. LA's my ole stompin grounds!

Ditto that...beautiful website dude and nice work to go with it. That site must cost a fortune, who did it for you?

I hope it didn't cost too much. Yea, it looks beautiful but there's no text for search engines to find...

Could be a classic case of a website designer doing the work. They create the eye candy but few people actually find the site.

Yes it is a Flash site, so search engines don't pick up on it. The site is almost 3 years old now. My guy, who is also a very good friend, is switching to HTML or whatever, away from Flash since Apple is boycotting it anyways. Anybody wants his info I can send it to. He's very reasonable. Thanks on the compliments. Now if I could get some work, that would be coooool beans...

I also want to know about Refinish Floor. This page gives me very useful information about it. Thanks!