Hi,

I recently began the process of sanding, staining, and finishing the floors in my house.  The floors had carpeting over them, which we obviously ripped out.  The floor appears to be red oak, in pretty good condition.

I sanded with 36 grit, 60 grit, 80 grit, and 100 grit paper, then screened it with 120 grit mesh.  I then stained the floors with Bona DriFast stain.  I didn't do a perfect job but it looks pretty good.  I then put a layer of Bona Traffic (satin) on top of the stain, about 18 hours after applying the stain.  I then added a second coat of Traffic (again, satin).

My questions for you are:
1)  Was it necessary for me to buff the floors between the stain process and the first layer of Traffic?  I was under the assumption that I was not to buff the floors.  The directions didn't say to do so and the gentlemen at the local distributor (where I bought the Traffic and stain) didn't seem to think that I needed to.  However, when I talked to a technician via the Bona 800 number he said that I should have abraded the floor after having applied the stain.  He said that I should sand the floor down to bare wood again and start over.  I almost cried but I do want to do this right.

2) Before adding the second coat of Traffic I buffed the first coat really lightly with 150 grit screen.  I did this about 12 hours after putting the first coat down.  I noticed that when I did that some of the first layer pulled up a bit.  It looked like skin after you get a sun burn where some of the "skin" was peeling up a bit. 

(I now know that I probably shouldn't have abraded it at all but I was thinking that it was bit like repairing the fiberglass in a surf board and that the second layer would need something to grip.)

So when I applied the second application of Traffic most of the peeling effect disappeared but there are about 10 small zones where there is a build-up of "skin" under the second layer of Traffic. It is a raised zone.  Needless to say I am a bit disappointed.  I was thinking the best thing to do would be to really buff out the top layer when it is well cured and then throw another layer of Traffic on top.  What do you think?  I was also thinking that I could wet sand the problem spots and just spread Traffic in those zones but I think that that might look uneven.

A different local flooring contractor told me today that I should have added a sealer in between the stain and finish stages. But the directions Bona puts out specifically say that that isn't necessary. He proceeded to tell me to strip it down to bare wood and use Duraseal products to stain, seal, and finish. I was trying to avoid that due to relatively high VOCs and the fact that I have two rugrats running around my house.

I'm confused. Please help.
If I need to redo the whole floors then so be it.  I want to do it right and not have to worry about it for 10-15 years.  So I am ready for any and all suggestions.  Sorry this was such a long email, I just wanted to make sure I explained it all in a detailed manner.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time,

Kevin

How long did the drifast dry for? How did you apply it? I find that stain to be tough to work with.

Maybe traffic wasn't dry enough before you buffed and put coat #2? Used the hardener right? Mixed properly?

Did you do a good vacuum job between all coats? Damp mop the floor?


Guessing game at this point.

Never buff a stained wood floor. Always put the first coat of finishing ( varnish, oil, ) , you buff the lot before the final coating.

Sounds to me like there should have been a sealers between the stain and the finish, I do not use that brand but the finish we use will peel off stain everytime if we do not use sealers and then buuf before finish. Need a resand and finish again but I would talk to a pro about the stain and finish the guys at the paint store only know what the label and sales reps tell them.

Parquet we always buff our stain prior to coating. We just use a white pad.