I kind of like the idea of less film build with the Waterlox product but there's no way this protects the wood as well as poly, right?

My floors will never see shoe traffic (we always remove shoes before entering) but there are other issues such as water vapor resistance.

Would anyone here consider the waterlox product?

Thanks

Waterlox is excellent for all types of floors, especially soft pine, american cherry and very hard tropical hardwoods. I think polyurethane is superior for moderately hard woods because it is more scratch and scuff resistant. The advantage Waterlox has is deep penetration that strengthens wood fibers and ease of use and reapplication (you can just redo certain areas as they need it; no buffing required). On tropical hardwoods, since the wood is harder than the finish, all you need is something to protect from moisture and stains. Tung oil ( Waterlox )is excellent for that as well. It does scuff and scratch much more easily if you build it up to a film on the surface. I like it for certain floors! What wood are you using?

Hard maple floors. I'm kind of iffy on the floors ( have to consider resale value of house etc.) but I am also about to install some solid Brazilian Cherry treads. The Waterlox product sounds really good for the treads since I really have to finish after install and there is no chance of screwing up the finish especially since I don't have a lot of experience with finishing.

If I use the Waterlox on the treads, should I put a standard poly product on the underside to seal them?

Also, I finished a sample of Brazilian Cherry with poly and it accentuated the redness as compared to the unfinished wood. Will the Waterlox have a similar effect?

One other question just so I know - can poly be put one after Waterlox w/o sanding if one were to change his mind?

Thanks

Accidental double post.

If you are nailing the treads directly to your stringers/horses and they will be exposed on the backside, sealing them on the bottom could be a good idea. If your installing them over plywood treads, then glue around the perimeter of the bottom as well as running a bead of construction adhesive every 8". You could full spread glue them with Bostick's Best. Either way, the glue will seal the wood and prevent cupping. Waterlox should look great on braz cherry. You'll need three coats at least. It will not last as long as a surface coating of OMU or other floor finish. From my understanding, you can apply OMU over Waterlox once it is dry but better to check with the manufacturer. I don't think I would choose Waterlox for maple flooring though. My preference for maple is a quality, non- ambering waterborne floor finish like Street Shoe.

Gary makes many valid points in his postings. Not to turn this into a commercial, I would like to add to the discussion, and addto a couple of Gary’s comments.

There are a couple of ways to define DURABLE. While urethanes surfaces are slightly harder; Waterlox forms an elastic, protective finish that won’t chip, peel crack or wrinkle.

Because our finishes penetrate into your wood floors, when scratches or wear areas do occur, they are far less noticeable than with a urethane finish that simply lays on the surface. If noticeable scratches occur, most can be repaired by simply reapplying a new coat where needed

Waterlox literally locks out water, with a formula that relies on a unique of combination of resins and the penetrating, sealing advantages of tung oil.

Waterlox Tung oil Finishes do add a patina to the grain, highly desirable to “character” woods like Brazilian Cherry. True many people prefer a “pure white” finish on maple, however I must warn the urethanes do not seal or waterproof the wood, either as a top coat, or on the underside.



David Zarzour
Marketing Coordinator
Waterlox Coatings Corp
800-321-0377

Just to illustrate to everyone an idea of what David can certainly brag about ...
My buisiness partner is into kyak/canoe etc. and has recently began making his own paddles with left over flooring. Yes, I laughed too at first but I'll be darned if hes pretty damn good at it. His first was maple with brazillian cherry for the shaft (I'll post a pic later if ken will help me) I couldn't tell it from some of the $100+ paddles out there is shape appearance, ballance and now usability.

ANYWAY, the point is it is completely sealed and finished in Waterlox flooring grade tung oil and is completely waterPROOF. Nothing more to say about that.

PS. I've got 25 more gal. of the stuff on the way. Keep up the good work Dave.

I am well aware of the arguments in favor of a penetrating oil type finish. Watco and DuraSeal have been making the same claims for many years. BUT, most wood flooring is finished, either in a factory or on site, with urethane finishes of some type. The industry as a whole, gave up on the oil and wax system years ago. The simple fact is penetrating oill finishes require more maintainence and floor owners just do not perform the maintainence they should. I see it every day. Many hire maid services that are not educated in proper floor care and the first thing they do is bring out a rag mop and bucket of water. This plays havoc on any wood floor and especially those that have not been maintained and recoated when needed. In my house, I have an oak floor with five coats of polyurethane. It is in a powder room as well as other rooms. On a few occasions, the toilet has overflowed onto the floors big time. I mean gallons of water. The floors have suffered no ill effects. The polyurethane floor finish on my floors made them "water proof" enough for that. How would have Waterlox done had the same situation happened on a floor finished with Waterlox? I really don't know! I know surface finishes are just that. That is why there are penetrating oil stains such as DuraSeal to help seal and stabilize the flooring. One only needs to look around and see which type of finish does the industry prefer. What do you see on sports floors? What do you see on factory finished floors? What is the systems mostly used by refinishing contractors? All some type of urethane! There is a place for oil finishes; and it takes the knowledgeble flooring finisher to know when to use what finish.

I believe everything you've posted to be correct. Especially in qualifying the customer. What a person sees in a mall or ball court looks like wood under plastic to MOST people with a 'taste' for wood. And I agree with them. As for gallons of water.... While 2nd coating a Carlisle floor with tung oil, a plumber who busted a pipe on the second floor before his helper had the water shut off had litterally rained on my day. Old Danish style timber frame home. I thought I was gonna have an anurism!!!!
Had no choice but to stop, grab every towel I had available in the truck and start soaking up. I wrang out rag after rag of water ... coulda squeegeed it out if I had one ... What I saw was water beaded up like on a ducks back and not soaking into the wood after only ONE coat. I thought WOW. No harm done, 2nd-4th coats went off without a hitch (thankfully) AND I called back some time later to follow up with no new problems (blistering etc.) to speak of.
ANYONE reading this needs to pay attention to what Gary said about maintenance. Tung Oil is NOT for everyone or every home.
Waterlox has done some things to 'modernize' thier FLOORING SPECIFIC product but it still is what it is.
As far as looking around to see what the industry prefers????? I constantly repair many of what the 'industry' has done around here. If you have and perform exactly like what your competitor has and does ... what makes you a better choice than him .... cheaper price???? Less scratches???? fewer drum marks??? Hows about a floor that flat looks far richer and brilliant than what your competitor could ever dream of offering. And maybe a few more finishes in your arsenal for them to choose from?? AND help them (pros AND cons) in making an educated decision. What I see in Tiger Woods house and John Elways home and several other finer homes in the places around here where they fly guys in from San Diego and even Europe to do thier work (that do floors outside the box) IS tung oil.....It takes me two seconds to print out product specific maintenance info to whichever finish they have in a thank you letter to my customer that is stored on the computer and give it to the home owner as they cut me my final check. Education and Service have been replaced by Surface finishes in this industry. I have yet to meet a customer spending $15,000 + for a floor that didn't take notes when I spent 5 minutes TEACHING them how to care for it. Most guys (and I'm not talking about anyone that I've met here on these boards) run thier finishing like a "slap dash" car wash and tell thier deserving customers to read the can for info.
As I've said before, just like any other job in this country ... wood floors is a PEOPLE business. You need to be knowledgable in the right finishes for the right people and be able to communicate at thier level....other wise your not a business owner you are simply just self 'employed'
(in case your wondering what that means ... a man who takes ownership of his business verses a man who is still a mental employee looking for a paycheck)