I was wondering if anyone here has tried Synteko Solid or Synteko Natural high solids penetrating finish. ..

I just had my floor professionally polyurethaned, and it looks just fine, and I'm happy, but I'm sanding/finishing my stairwell myself, and would like to do more of a natural wood feel thing that is not as picky during application.

Ah, and if anyone's got a source in the bay area, that'd be good info. I'm having a hard time finding the stuff.

-'Chung

I've done a couple days of searching with no luck

Floor Service Supply in San Jose is a local distributor, but will not deal with anyone who does not have an account. The store that Floor Service Supply forwarded me to has no idea what the product is. I cannot find an internet supplier who stocks product.

Sucky. I've never had so much trouble finding something before on the internet and on the phone.

Does anyone on the forum have an account with Floor Service Supply in San Jose? If so, please contact me.

Back to searching,
'Chung

Closest supplier I've found who carries Synteko Solid is Eugene, OR. There's gotta be something closer. Good news is I've found 5 places who list the product on the internet. . . calls going out tomorrow to see if they're willing to ship. . . mabe I'll give the San Jose distributer another call tomorrow as well to see if I can explain to them my dilema.

Nobody seems to know what the stuff is locally. . . or mabe I'm not calling the right places. . .

-'Chung

I have an account with Floor Service Supply. PM me if you wish to discuss getting this product.

The Synteko supplier in Eugene OR was very friendly, and did locate in their system a 5 liter and a 1 liter in stock at their Seattle wearhouse, however, their shipping protocals are set up for things over 1000 lbs. typically, so 1 liter of Synteko solid would cost $35, and shipping would be $180.

Woo hoo! I'm actually thinking about using Waterlox. . . I'm wondering if it's durable enough for my stairwell. I've used rustic maple with knots and stuff because it doesn't show scratches and wear nearly as much as select. So, if waterlox is reasonably durable for my situation, I may be tempted to try it. . . otherwise, I guess I'd need to hire someone to come apply a Urethane, but the square footage is so small (<138 sq. ft.) that it'd almost have to be if there's another job closeby to make it economically beneficial to the contractor in terms of time.

Hope Floor Service Supply gets back to Gary someday with availability and timeframes.

-'Chung

from My experience (10 years) Acid cures are more complicated the straight polys.

Hi,

The Synteko Solid is an oil based Alkyd penetrating finish. . . My 2 months of floor experience has revealed that I'm a sucka who can't be trusted to apply a water-based urethane reliably especially on vertical stair risers where the finish will not be able to level properly via gravity.

The Synteko Solid seemed like a tough product recommended for high traffic that applies like a tung oil type finish ie. .. buffing off all excess before drying and allows for spot re-sanding and re-application of finish if an amateur like me mucks it up the first time. So my chances of achieving an optimal result are vastely improved.

But, I can't get the stuff. At any rate, stairs are done. . . just not all sanded yet. I think they turned out ok for a first attempt. Just some picky gaps I would have liked to have better.

Chung,

Looks great. Floor Service still is foot dragging. I'll call again wed. Very nice floor, especially for a first attempt. But you've done woodworking before, haven't you? It appears so by the looks of your work. One small suggestion if I may. It's an oversight a lot of folks make. Notice how your stair nosings are proud ( protrude ) of the skirt boards? It looks better to have them set back in from that edge like these where done.
http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwo ... .php?t=894
But it's not to late to remedy. I imagine you will be installing baseboards on the landing, correct? Simply buy enough base material and rip some of the tops off to add to the tops of the skirt. It looks cool, matches the base trim and solves your problem.

Hi Gary,

I've done some wood work before, but not like this. . . I made some electric bass guitars in high school through college when I had shop access, but the finishing on that is so different from floors. . . 15-20 coats of sprayed nitrocellulose laquer, sand flat, and buff out with compound. . . a lot more like car finishing.

Yeah. . . the skirt board issue is a bummer for me. I should have followed standard details when framing and used a taller skirt, but because the space will be used to record music, I did not know what my final "sheetrock assembly" thickness would be. . . all sheetrock is suspended on rubber isolators and separate metal framing which made the final sheetrock layer 2 7/8 inch from the stud face. All that for sound proofing. So now, I have to deal with funky trim.

The weird height change at the top of the stairwell exists because the rest of the floor is a whole separate frame floating inside the house on rubber pucks spaced every 16".

The trim work on that link in your post is exquisite. I wish I had found this forum sooner. I regret not putting waterlox on the purple heart. The floor guy I hired put Bona Mega on which I guess will be ok for some years, but had I known, I would have asked for Traffic if it was going to be poly. . . or applied waterlox myself.

Thanks for the encouragement. . . I'll have to deal with those nosings after I get a finish on the treads.

Hello,

Wanted to update people on progress. . . Gary was unable to get product in the Bay Area through San Jose supplier. Either the supplier is unwilling to order it up, or Synteko is reluctant to ship product to their supplier. Either way, the Bay Area is no-go.

I contacted some friendly folks at Gehl Flooring in Wisconsin, and they have product in stock and ship UPS, so if anyone's interested in experimenting with the stuff like I am, that's the simpliest way I've found to get product in hand within 3 days.

~$77 per gallon. . . the stuff is not cheap but supposedly covers 800-1000 square feet per gallon.

Gehl Flooring Supply, Inc.
4547 N. 128th Street.
Butler, WI 53007

(877) 235-4087
or (262) 781-6416
Fax: 262.781.5766

-'Chung

Sorry I was unable to get it for you. That distributor (like many) doesn't want to deal with very small special orders. If the product had been in stock, there would have been no problem. But since they didn't stock it, they would have needed to order a bunch of it that they probably would not sell. Either way, it was more hassle for them than they wanted to deal with. Consequently, they failed to return my many calls regarding getting it. In my book, that says we're not interested in helping you. Typical of FSS. BTW, you should tell the folks here I did offer to walk you through using another finish on your stairs. And at no charge.

Yup yup,

Gary has a busy schedule, and due to my compressed timeframe now, was unable at this time to finish my stairs for me. . . but, he offered to walk me through choosing and applying a suitable finish. He PM'd me and went out of his way to try and track down an obscure product for me. Plus, he gave valuable advise on installing that medallion on the landing.

And that ain't bad. . . next time I have a floor to redo or sand which is going to come up eventually, I'm going to give Gary a call first. By contributing so heavily to this forum, he's giving away free info/consultation without getting paid for it. I learned an aweful lot by searching through is postings, and will be much better off on my next install because of it.

-'Chung

I always suggest a gift certificate for the helpful advise!


I have received a couple out of the blue. Puts a smile on your face and makes you want to keep answering the same questions over and over.

Hello,

Sorry about the delay. I was busy acid staining and finishing a concrete floor downstairs. . .



OK, back on topic, I've finished the stairwell with Synteko Solid, and it's sitting right next to the rest of the house which is done in Polyurethane. . . you can see the side-by-side sheen difference.

The application was pretty idiot proof. I wiped my floor with a wet rag 1st to pop the grain. .. then, hit the pop-ups with light sanding. Since the area I was doing was small, I applied the goop (it's kindof thick and really really really sticky) with a small brush in the corners, pouring directly on the wood and distributing with red buffing pad for the majority. After 20 minutes, I went back over and re-applied or re-distributed the finish with a red buffing pad. After about 2 hours, the wood had finished absorbing and was bleeding oil back out, so I knew it was saturated. . . I watched a movie, came back and cleaned off surface excess/puddles with red buffing pad and paper towels. Left it sit for 8 hours, and took pictures. Here's a picture in the light so you can see the sheen and compared to dusty polyurethane.




Here's a shot of how the medallion turned out.





Here's a shot contrasting urethane with Synteko Solid. The blue tape separates the 2 finishes. Stairs are Synteko Solid. Landing is urethane.





I wished that I had used this for the rest of my house. I like the natural feel of wood under-foot. It probably would have adhered better to the oily exotic used in the rest of the house, and gives that deep tung-oil look, but it's supposed to also stand up to heavy traffic, I can spot sand and re-finish if necessary, and as long as I don't let the stuff pool up and dry, I can get a perfect finish without little bumps, dust spots, bubbles, etc. Well, depending on my sanding job. Very amateur friendly I'd say.

I have extra if any contractors in the area would like to have some to make a sample or play with.

Here are some more shots for kicks.

It looks very nice! Good job! But I have one little observation. The face nailed holes stand out quite a bit. Couldn't you find a filler that matches better? Woodwise makes a natural maple filler that would look a whole lot better. Just a thought.