We had brazilian cherry floors installed and site finished with poly (oil based high gloss). About 3 months in, the finish began to peel. The floor guys say they have never seen this before and they did everything correct. They tried to light sand and re-coat the foyer as a test, still peeling and floors look uneven and bad. They have now agreed to refinish the floors. Is there anything special that needs to be done to brazilian cherry wood before finishing? After doing a little research it appears that this type of wood has a higher oil content than say oak. We are at a loss and very frustrated and just want our floors right. Any advice is appreciated.

What I was told by flooring contractor- they installed, sanded, applied sanding sealer and 3 coats of poly. The floors looked wonderful when first done, now peeling.

p.s. from a contractors perspective, they are also now asking us to sign a covenant not to sue prior to refinish. Is this normal? What if we have further issues? I want to be reasonable but also get what I paid for- good quality floors.

It could be many things. I'm not there to see it in person.

I do know oil finish is problematic on oily exotic wood. Not always, but it happens more than not.

Thanks Floorguy-

Do you have a suggestion for a good finish option? Would water based poly be better for exotic woods?

The process we use when site finishing these exotics is as follows:

1: sand the floor as per usual methods used for prepping for stain
2: immediately before applying first coat of urethane, wash entire floor down with methyl hydrate. This removes the excess oils from the surface (temporarily)
3: apply first coat of poly (dont use any sealers). If the sanding process has created a VERY smooth surface; thin the first coat of urethane with a 10% mix of mineral spirits.
4: allow this coat to dry two days then buff with 180 grit screen to remove most of the coating.
5: Apply two further coats of poly, buffing in between, and only one coat per day.

We found that this process works well for us, but still try to convince our clients to go to a penetrating oil finish where-ever possible since this does not cause any reaction with the natural resins in the wood.

Dennis,
I've finished this type of wood before with 4 coats of woodline polyurethane with no problem..When he says sealer,what kind of sealer? Lacquer? VOC compliant lacquer sealer has more of the thinner taken out which leaves more on the surface..OMU doesn't stick to it,so he may be having a bonding issue between the sealer and poly