Archive for the 'Satin, Semi-gloss or Gloss' Category

High gloss or not?

Wednesday, March 21st, 2007

I just purchased a condo apartment that’s 1000 sq. ft. There are many windows with lots of light and sun all day. I am having the (common red oak) parquet floor refinished. I have selected a rich dark maple/brown stain. The contractor uses minwax products. I love the look of a shiny wood floor, and so I am leaning towards a high gloss oil-based finish. The contractor; however, strongly argued against going with high gloss, recommending instead we use semigloss. He says hardly anyone chooses high gloss. And that because there is so much light coming in, that it wouldn’t look right. PS. I have one cat. Please any comments on my going with high gloss.

Satin vs. glossy

Friday, March 9th, 2007

My question is about hardwood flooring finish, satin vs. glossy: which of these floor finishes show more scratches, smudges, dirt, etc.?

Can I put a satin polyurethane over a semi gloss finish, on a hardwood floor?

Friday, March 9th, 2007

Can I put a satin polyurethane over a smi gloss finish, on a hardwood floor?

Every coat of poly makes floor shine more?

Friday, February 9th, 2007

I asked if it would be possible to put a coat of the satin on top. I think he is willing to do this, but he says that every coat added makes a floor shinier, by it’s nature. Is that true?

Finish for ebony

Wednesday, December 6th, 2006

We have just refinished our floors in an “ebony” stain. We did one coat, so it is more like a dark brown. We now have to put the final touch on. Semi-gloss finish or satin finish. Any advice on how to decide, or which one looks better?

Satin over Semi-gloss

Sunday, April 16th, 2006

I sanded a pre-finished birch floor. The previous finish did not come off entirely where the ends of the boards joined as they were ever so slightly offset. To remove the remaining finish in those areas, I used a random orbital palm sander. It looked fine until I applied 2 coats of clear water-based semi-gloss polyurethane. Now that the floor shines, the spots at the ends of boards now look like little dents when light is reflected. I was so disappointed when I noticed this. I very much doubt there is anything I can do to fix this except to sand the entire floor again. I was thinking about using a satin finish over the semi-gloss for the remaining coats to reduce the sheen. Is it alright to apply satin poly over the semi-gloss?

Gloss, semi or satin

Monday, February 20th, 2006

Polyurethane will be the final step for the hardwood floors in the house. We would like to have the satin finish like we have in the condo presently. So, is the polyurethane semi gloss the same thing as the satin finish? If not what would you recommend for the polyurethane that would get us our satin finish?

Sheens

Friday, November 18th, 2005

What polyurethane sheen should I use on recently sanded and stained stair treads? High gloss, satin, or semi?

Coat over pre-finished floor

Friday, October 28th, 2005

I just put hardwood floors, pre-finished, into my new condo. I love the color and grain of the wood I chose, but it is not shiny enough. my floor installer told me that adding polyurethane will only make it shine for around a month. Is this true?

Matte top coat

Saturday, July 30th, 2005

What type of top coat do you recommend on hard maple flooring? We already have two coats of gloss; however, our contractor stated that he will apply a finishing top coat when all other work has been completed in our new construction home. The contractor recommended matte finish. What are the differences between the finishes?

Glossy wood floors scuffed

Saturday, July 30th, 2005

We have dark mahogany high gloss floors. Beautiful. We’ve been careful with them for two years, but now a worker has dragged a piece of furniture and scuffed the gloss. About 1/2 inch wide and 10 ft. long. Light scratch. It looks like it only got the polyurethane. Can I go over just that scuff with a small brush and more poly? If not what can I use?