I hope I'm not being a pest but I want to put the best and easiest finish on the the 3/4 yellow pine planks I'm installing. I've looked at Waterlox which sounds good. Now I've come across Trip Trap oil finishes which sounds even better but I haven't found any testimonials. Have you used it? What do think of it? Also how do you apply Trip Trap? I'll appreciate any comments you have regarding Trip Trap.s

I have never used it nor I have ever heard of any other pros use it. But I have heard of it. I don't know much about it. Why not post a link to their website and I'll see what they say about it?

Trip Trap is a European product and their web site is not in English. Googling Trip Trap pulls up a number of suppliers and application references. Those below seem to cover the product quite well. Trip Trap wood finish is used on 30% of European wood floor. According to what I've read, it seals the wood, then hardens to provide surface protection. The second site, below, covers a variety of oil sealers, including Trip Trap. I'll be interested in your perspective.

http://www.sasco.ns.ca/triptrap.htm
http://www.specialhardwood.com/pdf/trip ... risons.pdf

I thought the discussion on the various types of floor finishes typically used was very good. For the most part, it was correct. In the USA, there are penetrating oil finishes that contain phenolic resins that harden. Whether they are as good, better or not as good as Trip Trap I do not know. I don't think anyone does. Typically, people use what they can get. But the Trip Trap appears to have many good things going for it. I agree that an occasionally used home with pine flooring would be a good candidate for a penetrating oiled finish.

Thanks, Gary. . .

Well, the search goes on. Now I'm looking at Fabulon products. There are so many finishes and promoted good features of each. It would convenient to have a comparative analysis of the various products and their benefits, longevity, maintenance/care, relative cost, etc. I guess it's one of those things on which everybody has an opinion. I wonder if any of the wood floor producers have researched the subject.

Jerry

No independent double blind tests have ever been done on these finishes to my knowledge. It is not in the finish manufacturers best interest to perform such tests, unless they were 100% confident that they would come out on top. Consumers Union typically deals with paints and deck stains and consumer products. One poster here did do a small floor with the Synteko Natural Oil finish and liked it a lot. These types of finishes will normally be very low luster, unless one uses Original Waterlox, which has a semi-gloss finish. Good luck in your hunt for that perfect finish.

We're looking for a natural, low luster finish (vs. high gloss). I don't expect to fine the perfect finish and I would know it if I saw it. Since we have to live in the room we're finishing along with two small dogs, I think we'll go with a fast drying finish. That's one reason the Trip Trap attracted my attention because it's looks like a fast drying, low odor finish.

We have used Tripp Trap Master Oil on three pine jobs. We used a 10” Padco cut-in pad to apply the oil and buffed it in with a red cleaning pad followed by a white cleaning pad.
It’s a little messy while applying the oil but you need no floor finishing experience to apply this finish and it looks great. You never have to worry about lap marks or puddles or any other finishing problems associated with many other finishing methods.

The best thing about this finish is apply one coat and you are done, unlike Waterlox that requires four coats, one each day.

The first job we used this finish on is only one year old and I have not seen any of these jobs since we completed them but the homebuilder says the homeowners are very happy with this finish.

I would like to use this finish more but most of our customers still want the traditional poly finishes.

That's what I'm looking for so I'm going to head in that direction. Thanks for the info.