You may have read my post called "soft finish?" in the "problems" forum, but I thought I'd also ask here if anyone has a favourite "tough" product with which they like to finish hardwood floors. We have just professionally refinished the 70 year old oak floors in our house (no stain, and with a "50-50" sheen), but the 3 month old finish, while pretty, seems very soft to me. I can scratch a dent into the finish with my thumbnail with very little effort.

I've read that "all polyurethane" is better than "acrylic polyurethane"?

I've also heard that "Bona Traffic" is a good "commercial grade" product:

"One coat of Bona Traffic Commercial Satin finish was applied with a Cut-In Pad (to prevent overloading open seams) at about 400 sq./ft per gallon. Product was given 3-hours to dry, then smoothed out with a Conditioning Pad. Floor was then tacked with a slightly water dampened Bona mop to remove any fine residual dust; and then a second coat of Traffic was applied at 350 sq./ft per gallon.

The low "Commercial Satin" sheen of the finish gives the floor a traditional look, while providing unprecedented protection to the floor surface. A glossier finish would look out of place on a floor like this, plus would show scuffs, scratches, dirt and floor imperfections more than a lower sheen."

I suppose that "commercial" grades are tougher than regular finishes?

Any other suggestions?

I suppose it's a trade off between something that is tough but also looks good.

IMO, there is no finish that looks better or is tougher than Bona Traffic. It is expensive. The only other finish that can look as good, or better, is a Baca Glitsa finished floor. Not quite as durable, IMO but absolutely beautiful IF done by a VERY experienced pro. Not an easy finish to apply. BTW, Traffic does recommend that 400 ft per gallon spread rate but many pros find it difficult to manage that recommendation. I use about 500 sq. ft per coat and apply (3) top coats over the stain/sealer for a great looking finish. The satin Traffic is quite dull; a very flat looking finish. Most prefer the semi-gloss. There is no difference in durability between the two.

Thanks again, Gary.

Do you think that we could have our refinisher apply the Bona Traffic over our existing finish? We have 4 coats of water based polyurethane on the floor now. The floors would need to undergo some degree of sanding, to get rid of the scratches that are in the floor now, but they wouldn't need to be sanded back down to the bare wood just to apply the Bona Traffic, would they?

Traffic should go down fine over the previous finishes. The screening of the old finish should be all you need to do to remove the suface scratches. Just out of curiosity I wonder what type of waterborne went down first.

I've left my refinisher a message but he hasn't got back to me yet as to the type of product he used on my floors...I'm getting kind of curious too.

Well my refinisher called back and says he used an oil based product called Polyplaz (sp?) on our floors. Sigh...now I'm not sure what to do about fixing these scratches. He suggested a product called BonaKemi to clean the floors and thought that might diminish the scratches.

Ok polo plaz makes a decent finish but I have had it take forever to dry in certain instances. It's been longer than 30 days so you should be able to coat the floor with waterborne like traffic with no trouble. BTW Bona's cleaner is not going to get rid of the scratches.

Thanks, Kevin and Gary...

I have been a bit sad lately about my scratched floors , and your help has made me feel better. I have been working so hard on bringing this old house back to its former glory...I've almost got those previously chipped and peeling 70 year old baseboards and window sills looking brand new...and I wanted so much for the floors to look as good as possible too. Anyway...now I feel that there is hope after reading your posts.

So now, would it would be best to have my floors lightly sanded...just enough to get rid of the worst of the deepest scratches...then have an experienced refinisher apply one (or two?) coats of the water based Bona Traffic? Would there be enough of the oil based product that was initially used on my floors, to leave it that nice golden colour? Not that it truly matters really...I'd rather have a tough and less scratched floor than a golden one if I had to choose.

Thanks again for the benefit of your experience.

4 coats and it sounds like 4 thick coats, too.

Thick coats of finish make the finish soft and scratch very easy.

If I were in your shoes, I'd hold off on recoating your floors at this time. Odds are they are still off gassing a bit and are still curing. That is why the finish is soft. Perry is correct that if one puts four heavy coats of a slow drying finish on quickly, you are left with a thick but soft film. It would be best to wait till that finish reaches it's maximum cure before recoating it. If you can wait, I'd recommend in about four to six months. My concern is that you would be putting a hard finish over a softer one and the Traffic will prevent the PoloPlaz OMU from curing further. You will get better performance from the Bona Traffic if you can wait awhile before recoating.

Thanks, Gary, and yes, we can wait to recoat the flloors......barely!

......but just to check, is that 4 to 6 months from the time that we had the floors first done (September)

......and just to be sure, is it totally OK to put the water based Bona Traffic over the oil based PolyPLaz I know that's a no no when it comes to housepaint (without a primer), but I guess flooring finishes work differently?

......and thanks, Floorguy...yes, I was thinking the same thing from my experience refinishing furniture. The floor does look great, but it's just too soft, and it may well be due to thick coats of finish, as you say.

For you to be able to put water over oil the oil needs to be completly cured, this under normal conditions will happen in about 30 days with an oil based. In your situation it sounds like it may take that 4-6 months because of the thickness of the coats applied.

Thanks, Kevin...

Our plan now is to wait until April/May and then have the floors lightly sanded ("screened and buffed"?...I'm not sure what the experts call it ), and then have the Bona Traffic applied.

Should we apply only one coat of Bona Traffic

Would it be best to apply the same sheen as what is already on the floor ("50-50 sheen")

Do you think the Bona Traffic will change the colour of the floor much

I guess now the challenge for us is to find someone who has experience applying the Bona Traffic. I've read that it can be tricky to apply properly

Don't have the floors "screened". Have your finisher use 3M's "In Between Coats" maroon buffing pads and Bona's Prep spray. One coat is typically all that is needed on a recoat. Have one done then see what it looks like. If it meets your approval, then leave it alone. Traffic only comes in two sheens, Satin and Semi-gloss. The satin is very low luster so I suggest the semi-gloss unless you want a low luster finish. Traffic will not change the color as it is a colorless waterborne finish. Traffic is actually fairly easy to apply for a waterborne but it is for professional use only. Just find a finisher experienced in using it.

Thank you, Gary...I can't wait to get started...but I will...