Hello everyone, I just finished laying down the first coat of Bona HD satin and I changed my mind on the sheen. Now want it semi-gloss. How do you feel abut just put another coat or two of Bona HD semigloss over the satin coat or, should I save the money and time, strip the floor right away, and redcoat the whole floor with the desired sheen? I could probably do a sample test and see but I wanted your opinion as well. Thank you.

You can coat a fresh finish coat with minor prep and get a shinier gloss. I think that the reason that some water-based finishes are on the lower luster side is because even though the water-based finishes are tough, they are not quite as hard, so scuffing dulls the finish and dull finish "looks better" when it starts out with a lower luster to begin with. This is the reason that some contractors recommend coating every two years or so depending on usage.
A tough finish does not wear off as easily as a brittle finish. Studies show the water-based two component finish will wear longer than regular oil based poly-urethane.
You can have a nice coat of finish that gets dull, but still has the protection from wear and moisture that a film type finish requires.

It's the top layer that will determine the final sheen.You can read more about it here.https://theflooringgirl.com/blog/are-shinier-hardwood-floors-more-durable/


Debbie
The Flooring Girl

Thank you much, and nice article. I read a few of yours links from that. Very informative and easy to read.

I did not want to discard my first few gallons of HD Satin and personally I prefer the shinier look. However, after few test applications, it seems that at least on what I purchased it makes absolutely no difference.

I purchased from AMZ the following: 1 gal of Bona HD traffic Satin, then after the first test, few gallons of the semi-gloss. Then I tested 2 coats side by side in the following fashion: Satin over S-Gloss, S-Gloss over Satin, Satin over Satin, and S-Gloss over S-Gloss. Honestly, they look all the same. Maybe it is a bad batch or it was mislabeled. either way now I am $500 in to it so I'll use what I have.

Interesting enough I did the same test with Bona Seals and had the same results.
I purchased some Bona ClassicSeal (Formerly BonaSeal) and some Bona Intense Seal. Side by side they are exactly the same... Either way I am very happy with the test results so nothing to complain I will be sealing the floors in a week or two. However, makes me wonder about the Bona products.

Thx for your input.

The finish will be less shiny after it has cured.