I am in the same position. Within days of installation, my 30 lb. wheaten terrier has scratched the floor. We lived in a house with conventional on-site finished floors with the same dog and no problem! I think the Bellawood finish must be inferior based on my experience. I emailed LL and got an answer that consisted mostly of sections of the Hardwoodinsatller.com's webiste cut and pasted into the email - the section that mentions using Basic Coating's Tycote. But I don't want a cosmetic fix for the scratches, I really want to add another layer of urethane to the floor so its not so easily scratch by my dog. I'm a DIYer so any suggestions about how to screen and what products to use to add another layer of protection to this floor? I'm not worried about voiding the warrantee. LL response on the phone and via email has been so poor, I never really believed the 50 year warrantee anyway. I'm sure after reading all the fine-print,legalese the warantee would not amount to much. All I can say is that obviously Bob Vila does not own a dog!

Back to top

No, but I'll bet he has lots of Craftsman tools he received at no charge. Bob's ok. He started this whole DIY thing with This Old House 25 yrs. ago. I applaud him for that. Anyway, to your question. The toughest finish going today is Bona Traffic. Coverage is about 450 to 500 sq. ft. per gallon. Bona makes a product called "Prep" that you spray on the floors to be coated and buff with 3M's maroon "between coats" pad. Then you'll need Bona's cleaner to clean the finish residue. So, you'll need Prep, maroon pads, cleaner, Bona Traffic, lint free towels, Padco applicator, clean plastic tray, Bona Microfiber mop and handle. The instructions are on all the labels. Follow them to the letter.

Thanks Gary. I'm a DIYer. Will local distributers sell and instruct me on the Bona prepsystem and Traffic application? Any buffing machine will do or are there specific machine that I need?
Dom

Some distributors will sell the BONA products to the general public but don't expect them to tell you how to use them. The instructions on the labels are quite clear and comprehensive. The buffer you need is a 16" slow speed (175 rpm). Any rental yard should have it.

Bona also has a quick little dyi dvd out that hits there high points of prep and recoat sysytem. If its you re first try at refinishing start in a back room or somewhere thats a liitle less noticeable, those products are formulated for professional use so there can be a bit of a learning curve.