Q: We applied a water based polyurethane to our freshly stained floors. We have only done one coat with a roller. We have places where there was not enough polyurethane on the roller and places where you can tell it was stopped to reload the roller.
Should we apply the second coat and see how it looks or buff the floor then reapply?
A: This really is a job best left to professionals. Most water borne coatings can be recoated without buffing between coats “provided” this is done within the number of hours after the previous coating specified by the finish manufacturer. Also, not all finishes apply well with a roller, and there are a list of specifications that need to be met to have any hope of really good results. Since you say the floor has been stained a particular colour, it will be difficult to buff this finish without also removing the stain, since water borne coatings generally are lower solids and therefore leave a thinner film on the floor. If you have to buff, it is going to have to be with a very fine abrasive. Please do not use steel wool. You may have better success in applying with a “water wiz” which is basically a foam pad.
Related Questions
Polyurethane looks blotchyMy third coat of polyurethane on my hardwood floors came out blotchy, high sheen to low sheen. How do we fix this?
White cloudiness to polyurethane finishQ: After refinishing a hardwood floor hallway with coats of polyurethane, there is a white cloudiness on some parts of the floor that will not wipe away or go away. What can I use on it or how can I repair it? A: Was this a waterborne polyurethane? It sounds…
Polyurethane peeling offI have 2000 square feet of hardwood floors, and in some areas the poly looks like it is peeling off. So far I have made one huge mistake: I cleaned all the floors with ammonia, and that took the water, dirt, and wax off of them. Then I used an…
Polyurethane coating is flakingQ: We have a guest house with pine floors. I have sanded them, applied and oil base stain, then went over them with a polyurethane. I applied about 4 coats of poly in 7 days time. The floors looked great for about a month (they weren't even walked on) and…
Flaking polyurethane finishQ: We recently refinished the 1700 sq ft of red oak wood floors in our home. It had been a prefinished floor when initially installed, so it was a bear to sand down, but we got it done. We sanded them well, vacuumed and wiped them before applying stain. We…
Blotchy stair treads and blotchy banisterWe moved into our new home 4 years ago. We recently noticed our oak stair treads are turning dark in some places, and they look very bad all over the finish look, dull and dirty. What would cause this? what can we do?