I am the property manager at a university fraternity house. We have a very old oak livingroom floor (approx 850 square feet) that needs to be refinished. I have gotten two bids to refinish the floors. Both bids are to sand, stain, and apply 3 coats of finish. One contractor says the swedish is the best for durability. The other contractor says that water based is better and recommends BonaX Traffic. The price for the bids is very similar

Which finish would you recommend and why?

Thanks for your help!

Both are excellent and are top of the line. Both should perform very well. The "swedish" finish is an acid cured urethane and 60 year old technology. It can look very good when done by an experienced floor finisher. Downside to it? Longer cure time, extremely flammable and extremely smelly (toxic stuff it is). Bona Traffic is much newer technology but has been around for nearly a decade now has has performed very well in most all situations. 90% cured in 72 hrs., low odor, very durable. Keep in mind, both can be scratched and damaged. If possible, have both contractors show you jobs where they used the finish they are recommending. Perhaps that will help you decide.

Not to step on this post, but I have contracted for an install next week. The finish they will use is 2 coats of swedish Synteko, and a top coat of Traffic.They feel the traffic gives it a nice blend of durabilty and rich look of Swedish finishes. Do you think the Traffic would lessen the ambering of the swedish finish. Thank you

Personally, I think it is a bad idea to mix up the finishes like that. The synteko won't be fully cured before they top coat with Traffic. So the solvents off-gassing from the synteko will be going into the coat of Traffic. What will that do for the performance of Traffic? I'd bet if you called Bona and asked this question, they'd say, "What are you, nuts?" Some floor finishers like to play tail gate chemists and mix and match all kinds of products, not really knowing what they are doing and the chemistry behind the choices they're making. Now once the synteko has fully cured, you could top coat safely with Traffic. IMO, best to stick with the manufacturer's recommended usage guidelines.

I use the bona mega and it is not as durbable as the traffic but for 85% of residintial it does an excellent job and as far as screening goes I only buff before the final coat and it is extremely smooth. IMO the idea of mixing finishes is a bad deal instead of using BonaSeal, you can use the Bona Dri-Fast sealer and it gives the rich amber look of poly and then topcoat with Bona Mega or Bona Traffic.