I've been told by my hardwood floor installer subcontractor that with new VOC compliant formulas, "poly beading" may occur- small beads of finish that percolate up between the boards and sit on the top of the newly-finished floor. Apparently the beads show up in the first week and are most prone in areas next to a window that gets lots of sun.
The "solution" is to not step on these beads until they have hardened in a couple of weeks, then vacuum them up. If stepped on, they will smear and not only mess up the finish but may then get their stickiness tracked into other portions of the house. Yipes!
While I trust my floor installer, I can not find any more information on this phenomena to expalin to clients. Has anyone else heard about this or have any better advice for a solution?

Yes, it is common, especially with a wood that shrinks and swells with just a little change in humidity.

I believe Gary might have a recent experience to share on the subjuct. wink:

Hey, thanks for reminding me.
In all seriousness, yep, it's a wood floor phenomina when doing site finishing. In essence, the finish seeps down between the boards and then is pushed back up again if the boards expand. At first, the finish is tacky and still semi-wet but quickly dries into "BB's" or poly beads. No ones fault really, stuff happens. Just try to maintain interior temperature and humidity at a constant. If they do appear, yes, let them dry and scraping off with a VISA card or a plastic putty knife should minimize them. They will eventually walk off as well.