We just had our floors refinished with Bona Traffic. We have hardwood throughout the whole first floor except for the family room, and it is all open space. We hired a very expensive but highly recommended company who claimed to have had lots of experience with water-based finishes in general and Bona Traffic in particular. They used de-waxed shellac for a sealer to add some color and then 3 layers of semi-gloss Bona Traffic. When we examined the floors, we found many lines, spills and even hair in the finish, let alone very pronounced wood grain. They voluntered to put another finish. After this last finish the floor has become much glossier, and now we can see all the imperfections, inlcluding indentations that cover several planks that we did not notice before. The wood grain is more noticeable as well. I wish I knew that in advance. Glossy and bumpy really do not look well together
Our floor was really nice and even, but now it looks like wavy linoleum in some areas. Yes, it does have this plastic look and feel now, and we still have lots of lines and some spills, and even more hair. They keep saying how hard it is to put water-based finish in a large open space, and that many companies would not even try. They also say that they had to sand deeply because we had oil-based poly before. They offered to do little touch-ups but we are now thinking about applying a new layer of stain Traffic to hide imperfections. I want the floors to have some luster but it has to be flat, which it is not anymore.

To summarize, I have the following questions:

1. Is it common to see bumps and indentations in the wood that much?
Does it mean they sanded too deeply? Is there any way ro repair it without redoing the whole thing?
2. Is it inevitable to see all these lines and areas with more and less shine with water-based poly?
3. Is applying too many layers (it will be 5 layer of Traffic total) a problem? What about applying one layer of satin over 4 layers of semi-gloss? Will it look just like satin ot a little shinier? Does Bona Traffic satin look like satin or more like matte?

Thanks in advance,
Becki

There is no way to "judge" without seeing pictures. Post some pics and we'll give you our best shot at an opinion.

I tried to take some pictures but they do not really show the problems.
I only see the indentations when there is certain glow from either natural or artificial light. They are much more visible with natural light. I tried to take pictures in the evenings, and they just do not come out right either with flash or without. I will try again in the morning or early afternoon.
I can barely feel the indentations when I touch the floor, but they are visible at a certain angle.

Also, how common is to see the following:

1. Hair in the finish (not too much, perhaps 10-15 overall).
2. Little bubbles
3. Very thin and barely visible scratches beneath the finish which I believe are the result of buffing that they did before the last coat.
4. "Lines" (again, only visible under certain lighting conditions), where there is a little more finish one one side of the line and a little less on the other side. We have many of these.

Well I feel bad for you, I thought I had issues! I just had my floors done, still working it out and it has been 21/2 months. I used water-base traffic satin(was suppose to be two satin and one semi-gloss, but I am not sure that is what he did). Floors do look great now except for the problems that have been inflicted upon my wood by the woodman. I have nail-down red oak, sanded and refinished! I will be glad when it is over, family of 4boys 2 cats and a dog! The whole down-stairs except kitchen and master.
Good luck to you and please remember to hang in there .