I am looking for opinions on the best waterbased sealer/polyurethanes considering ease of use,cost and quality. I have been using snap dry but I would like some options. Thanks, hotrodhall

When using Basic finishes, I like Emulsion. Sometimes I'll use Zinsser's Seal Coat to achieve that solvent look under a waterborne. When using Bona finishes, I use their Bona Seal. I try to keep it to one brand.

What I am trying to ask is what sealers and finishes are being used by the professional finisher. I know of a guy who is highly regarded and he uses a alcohol based product. I would also like some opinions on alcohol versus water based versus oil based fiinishes. We have been fiinishing for about a year now and we have been trying different methods but I would like an experienced opinion. We now are using snap dry, screening (120) then two coats of stay clear poly which is also waterbased. I would appreciate any opinions. Thanks, hotrodhalll

Hotrodhall, In the last few weeks we have used 4-different sealers. Some jobs require different sealers and finishes. Here are a few of the jobs.

1. Lady wanted antique heart pine color to stay as close to the color of the freshly sanded bare wood. We used 1-coat Glitsa Color Control Sealer and 2-coats Glitsa H.P. 2-component waterborne finish. She loved it.

2. Sand and finish old Burce 3/4 x3 1/4 red oak with wax finish and beveled edges. We were concerned about adhesion so we used 1-coat Zinsser's Sealcoat(alcohol based). The floor felt slick even after sanding and the beveled edges still had wax in them and there were urine stains, Sealcoat is great for this. Then 2-coats DuraSeal oil-poly for a rich color.

3. Sand and finish natural antique h.p. We had done some repairs so were concerned about matching the color of the old and new wood. We sealed the entire floor with Bona DriFast sealer(oil-based). This allows us to use waterborne finish if the colors match after sealing or oil if there are color problems. There was a color difference so we used oil poly and tinted the finish to blend the colors. Looks great. We also could have used Sealcoat on this one but had none.

4. We installed 3/4 x 5 1/4 white oak and owner wanted dark stain and wax finish. We used DuraSeal stain and 2-coats DuraSeal #500 sealer then waxed the floor.

You will learn to use many products if you stay in the sand and finish business. I think all the top brands are great when used correctly.

Screening Snap Dry with 120 screen? We use a maroon pad and 180 sanding strips. The instructions call for 220 strips but I like the 180.

Buddy

Great response Buddy! In the Hardwood Floor mag recently, there was an article regarding "tailgate chemistry" where some finishers come up with some "unique" approaches to problems and finishing. The author recommended staying in the same brand of finishes ( ie: Bona stain, sealer, finish or Dura-Seal Stain and finish). The reason being that the manufactureres design the products to be compatable and if the finisher has a problem, if he used three different brands of product, who's he going top call to determine what went wrong. BTW, I haven't followed this protocal. I'll use Olympic stain, Zinsser Seal Coat, and Woodline's Commercial OMU. I figure if the products are DRY, one has very little adhesion problems unless contaminents are involved. I have had this bite me before using Behr stains under Woodline OMU. Seems that Behr stains contain some WAX; so now I know that if I use Behr stain, I need to seal it with Zinsser's Seal Coat.

Yes Gary, It would be great to use a manufactureres system all the time. I have tried to do just that but it's hard to do. When we do a job say over 2000 s.f. or a gym, I make sure we stick with one brand for all the finish just in case there is a problem.

Buddy

thanks a lot for the great advice. I was hoping for something cut and dry but I see its not that easy. I have lots to learn. We have had no experiece with wax fiinishes so their is another grey area. Thanks again, hotrod

Hey all, new member and wanted to chime in. 20 years experience here with shops, running shops and self-employed. I am experienced in oil, water, and Swedish.
Like Gary said above, every floor is different and you need to adjust as necessary.
I do have a standard though that has been productive and profitable. Product selection depends on what is readily available in your region at your favorite distributor. I see brand names on this board I have never heard of for example.
Typical Natural refinish, oak, I use an quick-dry oil sealer . My preference is Dura-Seal quick dry because it can be screened without gumming-up. At the time I switched back to oil sealer from years of water, the other option was another brand that was attractive except that it gummed up the screen. It is now sold only in quarts wich is a drawback.

For years I used a water sealer trying to attain the lightest natural possible, but I noticed and disliked the way red oak appeared washed-out and white oak turned green over time. Some customers who I have recently refinished after a 10-12 year period have declined the oil choice however. I suppose they just got used to the washed-out look. The oil makes the grain raise problem easier to deal with and most people are familiar with the ambered look. For maple and some other varieties its still water, but even then its customer dependant and I recently had a string of customers who chose the oil look on maple.

On my typical floor, I then apply 3 or 4 coats of Basic Coatings Street Shoe, generally using gloss on the first coats with a satin or satin/super-matte mix(they recently changed their sheens). This finish has proven its durability in my eyes, I have seen floors I finished 10-12 years ago in high traffic kitchens and halls and it has held up very, very well. I think the Bona Traffic is a fine finish as well but I have loyalties to the Iowa company. I also strongly feel that the water is better for the customer than oil topcoats.

I don't do too many stains working alone, but dura-seal stains have always been reliable. Unfortunately they had to change their formulas for voc laws and they are not drying soon anough to use water over them. The Bona stains look very attractive. Finally, a water stain that doesn't lap.

For an oil base floor, I just use the finish as a sealer. For finish I use only Fabulon Poly-Pro. Nothing sold in my area competes.

Hope that gives you some ideas!

Marco, The new DuraSeal Quick Coat Stain works great with waterborne and oil finishes. I have used it with Xterra,Traffic and Glitsa's High Performance waterborne finishes and oil finishes with no problems. We also use Bona's DriFast stain, the two brands are very similar.
BTW, the Bona DriFast stain we use is oil-modified. I don't see any waterborne stain on their website. Is the waterborne stain somthing new?
Buddy