I put 4 coats of waterlox on the first room, with beautiful results.

In the second room, the 3rd coat beaded up in an odd way, and dried bumpy and patchy. For lack of anything else to do, I put on the last coat, with the same results. I did nothing different from any other coats, and the weather wasn't particularly cold or wet.

I used the same 4" brush. I will say that the last two coats were from a new pair of gallons.

a) anyone have an explanation?
b) Anything to be done beside a total refinish? Would a light hand sanding to even it out work, or make a worse mess?
c) I will contact Waterlox on Monday, but wondered if anyone had experience with this.

I am not all that fussy, and may even decide to live with the thing (we can't stand another week of fumes). But for all the work I have put in to this floor, I hate feeling so iffy about the results.

thanks as usual

sarah

Don't panic Sarah. You should simply screen what you have to make it smoothe and reapply a coat of finish. I use Waterlox quite a bit. Unfortunately I have had a bad gallon or two recently. I called them on it and discoverred they reformulated their Satin finish in order to keep the ecapsulated beeswax tint from settling too quickly and staying stuck in chunky bits in the bottom of their cans. The new formula is milkier and smooth where as the old stuff practically called for a paint shaker to mix it well enough.

I would work Kelly or dave (at Waterlox) for a couple of new cans.

I hope this works out for you.
Will

I'm using Original, not Satin, so I don't think that's the problem, but I'll screen it and reapply, and call them on Monday.

thanks!

sarah

didn't happen to notice if the trouble came from a can missing the troublesome little metal insert inside the cap? I've had a can or two over the years missing that little cap and there was a funny type of crystalizing in the can. Also, your mop may have developed a hurd of "cling-ons" in the fur if it wasn't cleaned thouroghly with min. spirits between coats. They grow overnight on a dirty mop head. Either leave mop completely submerged or wash reeeeeaaaly well befor next coat..

The caps were there on the cans. I didn't wipe down the floor between applications, and maybe there was a thin layer of dust or something (I did vacuum). Either way, the patches of WL from the last two coats not only didn';t cover evenly, turns out they didn't properly adhere where they are present. So I have a series of patchy blisters, and if I can't screen them off entirely, I'll have to do a refinish. Ugghh.

I will still call WL on Monday, but I am afraid the moral of the story is to wipe down the floors between applications. I think I have made every mistake in the book. I'm awfully glad I'm not doing this for someone else - I'd be out on my ear!

thanks for your thoughts and help on this.

sarah

Any chance at all that a contaminant got on the floor. Pledge, Simple Green, someone spill a soda pop????

I've never been too worried about between coat tacking (wipeing) between coats with solvent based material. Are you using min. spirits, water, turpentine? Are you letting it dry thoroughly in that particular area?

Just brain strorming. Not sure if I'm being helpful at this point...

Nothing was spilled, and I wasn't wiping down with anything, so there would be no turpentine,etc. As I say, I did one room successfully (and really love the way it looks) and was doing nothing different here. The entire floor is affected (about 500 sf). It feels as though there must have been moisture on the floor - they way it beaded up, and the way it never actually adhered. And yet it wasn't rainy or anything.

At this point I am resigned to doing an entire refinish, since I can;t see sanding off just those last two coats. As I say, it turns out they are really just blisters, and as I was sanding away at them, dust was getting under each one. What a mess!

Thanks again for your interest/help. I'll let you know what the folks at WL say.

I suddenly can't face the expense and headache of a total refinish, and thought maybe I could just get rid of the top two layers of blistered Waterlox.

Is it possible to just sand off the top layer or two of waterlox? I will be renting a "U-sandit" sander.

Using quite a bit of elbow grease I was able to get rid of about a square foot of the blistered surface. That leaves 499 sf to go. The wood is stained, so I obviously don't want to go that deep. I might just try the sander with some 120 first, and then revert to the coarser grit if it doesnt; work. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

What was the last grit of sand paper to hit that floor, before the finish application.

The last grit I used was 120 before any coats, and didn't use anything after that. The first two layers adhered fine.

I talked to WL today - they thought maybe the cure time wasn';t long enough, but when they heard it was actually 48 hours between 2 and 3, they didn't know what to say.

Perhaps you should test apply a coat to the spot you hand "buffed" before undertaking a step you cant reverse? See what that area does not that you've re-prepped it.

I'll give that a try. I have to wait til Saturday to rent the sander (I can';t see well enough after work to do a decent job during the week), so that will give the test patch plenty of time to dry.

One last question, which will really reveal my ignorance. What is the difference between sanding and screening? Is it the screening material, or simply any light sanding?

If I am using a U-sandit machine, they only have a limited number of grits (I think 36, 60, 80, 120) to go with that machine, at least where I rent it. And it's all paper, not screen. Can I "screen" with the 120 to knock down the surface (but not eat all the way through it)?

thank you all for your patience!

Have you ever used a buffer? I'm not too familiar with the usandit. On a buffer (can be rented ... may be called a Maintainer) screens can be used. Like drywall sanding screens only round

Most rental places will have 120 screens. Make sure they give you a drive pad (white felt pad) to use with the screen. Also want to ask the rentan store if they have abrasive maroon pad to use again after the screening for a yet smother surface and less scratches, althoug 120screen should do.

Be sure to buy more screens than you think you'll need. I'm afraid Waterlox (mostly the satin) can load it up more than polyurethane would. 1 extra should do.

just had a thought ... many Home Depos and Lowe's carry buffer pads in thier janitorial sections. Rather than a screen you can use the red abrasive pad for the prep work. It should be enough without too much. These will load up with finish as well so get at least a couple if you go this rout.

Most buffers up here rent for about $30. just walk back-forthe along the grain overlapping about 1/3 of a pad diameter. If youve never used one practice in the garage on smothe concrete ...

hope things eventually work out ...

William and others:

just wanted to thank you for your help. I rented the floor buffer and screened - and the new coats of waterlox are going on beautifully. The final thought from the folks at Waterlox is that, despite 48 hrs to cure, the first coat was still "outgassing" and that caused the blistering. Who knows!

They did give me 2 new gallons.

thanks again for all the help. This whole project started back in May, and I can finally see the finish line. I've learned a lot, and I hope never to install a floor again!

Ken/Gary: This is the best site by far that I have found for wood flooring questions. Thanks so much.

Sarah

Congrats on completion!!

I've been having to wait some extra time lately on a couple of jobs. People are very reluctant to keep thier heat at about 68degrees for me. I've also learned over the years that a home with lower ceilings can cause finish to dry slower. If the area is closed up tight with little air circulation and a 9 foot ceiling things can slow dramatically. I call it the Tupperware effect. Perhaps this could've been the case.

Now you have me scared .... I put down some WL last night on a tiny little kitchen job and the previous coat had a soft spot or two ... I'd better go check it this morning