Hello everyone, this is my first posting to this forum. Forgive the length but this is one of those “you can’t believe this happened” stories.

We recently had a hardwood floor installed in our kitchen and, as part of the same project, had our existing hardwood floors in the living room, dining room and hallway sanded & refinished.

We used a local flooring company that has been in business for 44 years and is known for their quality work. We checked references and looked at samples of their work - everything that you are supposed to do.

The flooring company recommended that we use Glitsa finish (the acid curing urethane not the water based). After some homework, my wife & I decided that we were not comfortable with the Glitsa from a health standpoint and decided on a waterborne alternative (Traffic by Bonakemi). The contractor explained the differences, pro & cons, we signed the contract, specifying Traffic, and off we went.

During the finishing process my wife happened by the house to pick up mail and noticed that instead of Traffic, the contractor used Infinity II by Glitsa. My wife contacted the owner of the flooring company and questioned him on the unauthorized substitution of materials. He explained that he was unable to obtain Traffic because of a problem that Bonakemi has been having with the product “clumping” and causing issues during application. He apologized for not contacting us and admitted that he made a judgement call concerning the substitution of finishes.

This morning, we met the owner at the house to look at the floors and I must admit that they look great with the Infinity. The workmanship was excellent and they even repaired damage to the floor caused by carpet staples, and 50 years of abuse. The owner apologized profusely and offered the following options:

1) We can get another contractor to re-sand the floors and apply the Traffic at his expense. He says there is a problem with the Traffic and will not use it. He insists that we will not be happy with it.
2) He will inspect, and re-sand / refinish the floors within a two year period at no cost to us. Obviously this would require moving furniture, leaving the house, etc.

My question is as follows: Is the Infinity II comparable to Traffic in terms of durability and cost?

If the answer is yes, then I am leaning toward leaving the Infinity on the floor and moving on with my life. If the Infinity is an inferior product, compared to Traffic, then I am prepared to take whatever steps necessary to rectify this situation. I would like to believe the contractor is being truthful, but I am starting to get a very bad feeling about this. We left it that we needed a few days to gather some info and would contact him next week with our decision / counter proposal.

Thanks in advance for any input you may have on this situation and again I apologize for the length of this post.

IMHO Traffic is the most durable finish available. Also the most expensive.

It is also compatible with other finishes. Once the Glitsa has cured Traffic could be applied as a protective top coat. If your concern is the lessdurable finish on the floor, and the appearance is acceptable. Add a protective topcoat.

It sounds to me like this contractor is not familiar with waterborne finishes. If you are not familiar with the differences in application methods you might end up with unsatisfactory results.

For which a great excuse is that there is a problem with the product.

From Glitsa's website description, Infinity 11 is a single component, oil-modified waterborne polyurethane, similar to BONA Mega.
http://www.glitsa.com/documents/INFINIT ... cSheet.pdf

Typically, single component waterborne finishes are not as durable as the best 2 component waterbased floor finishes, such as Traffic. I have used Traffic for years and have never had a problem with it but have had problems with other waterbased finishes. I agree that IMO, it is the best currently available. Traffic could easily be applied directly over your existing finish. There is no reason to re-sand the floors if you are satisfied with their appearance. Just simple buff, clean and re-coat with one coat of Traffic would suffice. IMO, you may consider asking the flooring contractor to have another company/craftsman do just that.

Barquios and Gary are both right. Traffic is a much more durable product than the Infinity II.

It does sound like your floor guy is unfamiliar with water-based finishes and has had a bad experience with the Traffic (which incidentally takes skill to apply without flaws).

I am somewhat of a connoisseur of finishes and have experience with both products in question. The Infinity II does leave a pleasant looking appearance but wil not wear as well as the Traffic.

If he needs/wants to use a Glitsa product GlitsaMax is a very good two component water-based finish similar to Traffic. Basic Coatings' Street Shoe is a commercial finish, not as good as Traffic, but much easier to apply.

BTW Lenmar has a new two-component water based finish that claims to be tougher than Traffic (according to my local distributor).

I'd have him (or someone else if he's not comfortable doing it himself) buff and coat with one of the above finishes. You don't want to move all your stuff out of the house in two years to refinish it, which you may have to if your floor has high traffic areas (sounds like it does). Have it fixed now.