don't have pictures handy, but I just looked at a job we did on an oak floor where about 30 select boards outright rejected our oil based finish ( poloplaz ). This is an oak floor, but one I question as it looks like the wood is a mixture of red and white oak, yet it is in a house that wouldn't necessarily have opted for a lesser floor when it was built. Seems more to me like an oak I haven't run across. Usually we get red and white oak with the vast majority of red oak in MN. This should have been a normal oil based oak sand job on an existing floor for a client that hadn't had the floors refinished prior to this. The wrinkling is specific to certain boards, on the steps and on the floor, randomly and not affecting the boards around them. It appears to have consistency of pattern with the grain of the wood, so I ruled out contamination.

My guess is that there are oils in the wood that are seeping out and rejecting the finish along the grain, yet the finish is dry unlike woods like teak that won't let oilbase dry in a normal time frame.

I've been recoating hardwood floors for 15 years and this is the first time I've seen anything to this extent. I did scrape off the bad finish and threw a layer of Bona Mega water base on a couple of boards to see how it would react and am waiting to hear from the customers in the morning as to the appearance of the two boards. Beyond that, the shop is suggesting trying shellac on the boards. We use oil based sealers for our first coat and then follow up with 2 coats of poloplaz supreme on our floors normally. The recoater on the job mentioned that he noticed a couple of boards before he prepped the floor and he applied the final coat of finish.

Anyone have an idea as to what happened? In regards to weather conditions, we've been wet lately and have been alternating running heat and air conditioning depending on the situation at each home since the weather has been so unstable.

the finish wasn't dry...period

it dried to the touch but was still "wet un the "skin"

I know because I have had it happen..twice..under same circumstances..heavy humidity/rain..

everything buffs and seems fine and you coat..then crawling begins..whether right away or as the finish dries over night.


you will need to allow it to dry thoroughly...then go over it with waterbase..or as mentioned..a shellac..then topcoat water..


otherwise sand the effected areas..build coats..then topcoat entire area.