Thanks to advice on the forum, I have decided to have a coat of matte Street Shoe applied to prefinished Eterna maple hardwood. The Eterna finish is satin, but is still too reflective (large windows) and every smudge (cat paws) and small scratch on the floor is highly visible. I thought a more matte finish would cut down on the reflectivity; plus Street SHoe will supposedly fill in the small scratches. My problem is this: I have never seen matte Street Shoe, and I have no idea as to whether it is going to make a significant difference on my floor. I am doing this through a hardwood floor store, and they are subcontracting the refinishing job out. The store guy has no samples of Street Shoe refinishing. He insisits it will be much more matte than the Eterna satin, but I sure would like to see what it will look like before I invest in this project. He has no suggestions as to how I can see a sample. Should I take his word that it is going to accomplish a significant reduction in reflectivity? Thanks for your help.

It is pretty matte but has a little shine. I would insist they do a couple sample boards beforehand that you can look at for a few days in the different light and make sure it is what you want. We usually apply two coats of street shoe when we are recoating, just seems to produce a better result.

Thanks for your response. The store owner says that the reason they cannot do a sample is that they would have to purchase a large amount (gallon?) of Street Shoe, which is apparently very expensive, and that they would be stuck with the expense if I didn't like it. I'm wondering if I should find out what it costs to buy a minimal amount and offer to pay for it myself.

usually runs 80-95 a gallon

Iforbes, what your saying would make me a little leary...

1) If I was the store owner or the sub...I would sure want to show you a sample, (regardless of you requesting it or not), to protect myself, and have a happy customer.
2) If these guys are experienced in applying Street Shoe...They should have product, if even a partial container, to show you samples.

This scenario doesn't add up. Who's idea was Street Shoe Matte?

Street Shoe satin will likely be about 15 or 20% duller than your prefinished floor. But it will still have a sheen. If you want a completely matte sheen , then I highly recommend using Bona Naturalle.It is almost completely flat and if applied at the manufacturer's spread rate or there-abouts , will be more durable than a coat of Street Shoe

As mentioned, any reputable contractor would be able to make a small sample for you .The finish is expensive but I always have at least a gallon in stock. My other suggestion is to forget about the flooring store as they have no expertise and simply tack money onto the sub who does the actual work.

I think you would be doing yourself a favor by calling a professional and dealing directly with them .Any real pro can handle your situation and provide samples.

x2 for calling a wood floor guy out of the phonebook direct and cut out the rugman's markup and lack of knowledge.

Thanks for your replies. What I really want is the most matte finish possible. I am so sick of how shabby the floor looks and having to continuously mop it with hardwood flooring stuff. The thought had occurred to me that I should find out what the most matte product is and then figure out how to get it on the floor. I will look into Bona Naturalle. This is a prefinished hardwood floor, so I'm assuming they can sand it down and refinish.

The challenge is going to be finding a good refinisher. I live in the very south of NJ (Millville), and I'm having a problem finding someone. There don't seem to be very many hardwood floor guys here. I had a couple of outfits from Pennsauken look at the floor, but was not impressed with them. The local floor guy says he is going to use floor guys from Cherry Hill. There are only a few listings in our local phone book. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Right now, if Bona Naturalle is super matte, I'm ready to go for it instead of Street Shoe.

If you want matte go with the bona naturale suggestion.
Finish makers post sheen levels online and naturale is far more flat then any on the market.
And super durable to boot!

You might find a floor guy on contractor talk forum. Not sure if you can view who's on there but if you can you will at least have a floor guy that does some research on tips and techniques.

I should mention that Bona Naturalle is the most matte water borne finish. If you want something in oil base, the most matte I have worked with is Lenmar dull rubbed.It's 955 as matte as Bona naturalle . I suggested the Bona because you mentioned Street Shoe which is also a waterborne finish.

Thank you, thank you again. I've posted a request for a floor finisher in South Jersey who can do Bona Naturalle on the contractor's forum. Hopefully I'll get some leads.
Linda

Street shoe super matte is exactly that..Super matte......used it many times, stages etc..where as little light reflection was needed.

naturalle???? garbage..and not more durable then Street shoe..that is all hype..and uses a wacky application method..thinner than water and spreads like it too..

i love Bona prodcuts...use Mega and traffic all the time...
naturalle is garbage..floor will be redone in 2 years