Does anyone know of a place one can purchase Bona Kemi Traffic if not an offical flooring contractor. I am a licensed commercial building contractor in the Boston area but not a hardwood flooring contractor. Also I want to use it over floors that had been previously finished in 3 coats of oil based poly. Can I do this with just a screening on the poly? thanks for any info.

I recommend a pro for recoating. Some older floors have had their existing finishes contaminated by various household cleaning products which may make the bonding of new finish difficult. Hire a pro for your recoat.

Scott,

Gary is right; there is a lot to deal with when screening and recoating floors. I do not know your experience level with floors but sanding and finishing is probably considered to be the top of the art behind marquetry. If you are not experienced it is very easy to create artifacts in the finish such as chatter marks from the sander and impurities on the wood that cause delaminating. There are a lot of variables that can be major gotchas. In saying that, I will answer your questions if you are determined to do it yourself.

1. Most flooring shops can order it from their supplier for you, you just have to call some and ask.

2. Yes you can most likely get away with a screen and recoat. If any oil soaps or wax have been used on the floor at any point it will cause the new coat to delaminate. You must use a cleaner to insure that all wax residue is off of the floor. It is safe to assume that a wax / oil has been used on the floor at some point in time.

Thank you both for your responses . I am very experienced in woodworking and have done lots of fancy marquetry work including floors. I however do not have any floor sanding or finishing experience. I have done lots of hardwood install. I will definately take your advice to heart as it comes from experience. I would like to know a few thing however, if you dont mind just for my own knowledge.

The floor was definately cleaned regularly with Murphys oil soap. I assume this is one of the oils you were talking about. It has never been waxed.

Could I resolve this by cleaning the floor (what kind of cleaner?) screening it and then one coat of poly to seal in the oils if any are present, prior to the Bona Kemi. I know shellac is a universal between coat sealer in the woodworking industry but I would want to use it on a wood floor.

Also could I use a paint thinner to clean all the oil residue prior to screening. This is what they use in the autobody industry prior to a paint over. It seems to remove all the residues?

the problem with haveing the work professionally done is we are not in a position to afford it financially at this time. The good companys run about 3 to 3.50 a square foot around here. We have over 2000 sq feet to coat. I have had quotes as low as .75 cents a sqft. but they were chinese and didnt even speak english. I am smart enough to know what it would look like when they are done. I feel a motivated and skilled Do it yourselfer could do a better job than those hackers. I have just had a bad experince with a so called professional who messed up my expensive marble job in the bath to the point I had to tear it all out but thats another story. Thanks for your help. I sure appreciate it. Scott

Murphy's "claims" their product is safe for wood floors. However, most floor finish manufacturer's state that oil soaps (Murphy's) is not compatible with their products. Whom to believe? To be on the safe side, assume it is NOT compatible.

Clean the floor using the manufacturer's systym. Bona has theirs and Basic has their own. Bona makes a product called "prep" for use in recoats. I recommend that and follow the instructions to the letter. Failure to follow the instructions will result in fisheye or bonding failure.

I do not recommend paint thinner. If you need a strong cleaner, use TSP.

Final word. Bona Traffic is a great finish but it is expensive. One needs to work quickly and accurately to produce a good looking floor. As in most products, it has it's quirks. If you do it yourself, I'll bet you'll be asking us how to fix your finish flaws.