First thanks Gary for the reply on my first question regarding Fabulon vs Last-n-Last!. Now that I've settled on Fabulon OMU, I'm wondering about the best application method. The two times I've applied floor urethane previously, I've used a lambswool applicator, and the results have been OK, but there were some streaks and fibers in the finish. I'm wondering if a T-bar or Roller might be a better option. I've searched the site and there is some info that a roller should work well with Fabulon - do I just pour the Fabulon into a paint tray and use the roller like I'm applying paint? My first few coats will be gloss, then I will finish with satin - is a roller good for both gloss and satin?
I'm also curious about the T-bar - it seems like it would be a very fast way to apply the Fabulon, but I'm not sure what is meant by "snowplowing" the urethane. Do I pour a line along the short wall and draw it down with the grain with the applicator at a slight angle toward the unfinished area? I read where someone said to pour it our along the long wall - do I then draw it with the grain as well? Any help will be greatly appreciated. I'll be living in this home a long time, so I want to do the best job possible.

All those application techniques require experience and practice to perfect. IMO, if the area is not large, you would be better off snowplowing with a 10" Padco paint pad, sometimes refered to as a cut-in pad. It will afford you being able to apply the finish with only one tool. Another option is a 6" brush. Most finishes were brushed on until newer applicators came along. On smaller areas, brushing still works well. Some finishes roll well and others not so well. Since I either T-bar or use a cut in pad, I cannot say if Fabulon would roll well. You could do a test first on a sample board. The roller the works best, I hear, is a Purdy "white dove" 3/8" nap.

fabulon will roll fine and a person with a knack for painting should have no trouble with it. It's the application method of choice hear and me thinks it has a lot to do with how easy someone can catch on to it. You can work str8 out a 5gal bucket just dip and roll with the direction of the floor. much easier on the back as well. Becarefull not to ovework trying to get perfect, thin even coverage in each coat is going to preform the best.

The job is pretty large for me, 1400 sq ft, divided into LR, DR, Hallway, and 4 bedrooms. I'm thinking the roller sounds a lot easier than what I've done before. I'll have the wife do the cut-ins with a brush, making sure not to get too far ahead, then I'll do the rolling (or vice-versa). Thanks for the help!

i use a roller for all my jobs.

i find thining the laquer out with a little water helps to get a nice orange peel free finish.
it is the easier aswell, as you can go in all directions without any lines from the pad.

Hi Hugh, thanks for chimming in. And for the comments on applying floor finishes. The finish this poster is going to use is an OMU (oil-modified urethane) and adding water will not work. And adding thinners to finishes and paints is illegal here in the USA, although I'm sure some do it. The trick to keeping a wet edge with an OMU is to plan your application well, do not allow any air movement across the floors, turn off the heat temporarily, and have the floors and finish at moderate temps, say 65 to 70 degrees. Too cold and it will not flow properly and too warm and it will set to fast. Sometimes, one needs to stop in a doorway and leave a nice straight edge of finish along a board. Then cut into it later without brushing over that line. And Max, yes, a roller will be your best bet for that much flooring. I thought perhaps your job was small, like a little kitchen or bedroom.

sorry i miss understood the question.

Gary wrote [quote]"Sometimes, one needs to stop in a doorway and leave a nice straight edge of finish along a board. "[/quote]

Gary, I need to redo (add another coat) to one room that flows through a doorway into a hallway, but only want to do the extra coat of OMU in the room and not the hallway, since the hallway is fine and not in need of an additional "repair" coat. The boards in the room I want to add another coat to run parallel to the door joining the room and the hallway, and thus would provide an ideal "break' if I were to leave a straight edge of finish between adjacent boards like your reference in this thread. To do this, however, I think is risky given my lack of experiece in finishing.

My plan was to use painter's tape between the boards where my "break" will be, add the coat to the room and when I end up close to the door where the break will be, switch to a quality paint brush and try to brush in the OMU as close to the edge as possible without getting the tape (tape is safety measure, not a "OMU dam." Is there any advice on what I am attempting to do that your extensive experiece can help me with? This is for my own home, and I can live with some imperfections. I am hedging that if I screw up the edge between the room and the hallway, it will be less of a nuissance than the few streaks I created in the room itself which has caused me to add an additional coat to the room in the first place.

I also plan to practice getting the OMU applied to a line and see if the OMU remains at the line, or over time flows accross the line.

Thanks again for your guidance as well as all the other helpful conntributors out there.

Kirk

Place your masking tape right on the line between two boards in that doorway. As you finish out the door switch to your brush for the last board. It's fine to brush the finish over the tape as you will remove the tape immediately after applying the finish. Carefully peel up the tape. Presto! Clean, straight line on a board's edge! Don't apply the finish real heavy on that last board. It will blend as well as possible.

I just finished the 1400 sq ft mentioned above, using a Purdy White Dove 3/8" nap roller. I can honestly say that it is much easier for me to get a streak-free finish this way than with a Lamb's Wool applicator. I used Fabulon OMU, which flows very nicely after rolling. Just my DIY 2 cents...