Q: We just had our red oak floors refinished and added add’l red oak so now the entire 1st floor is hardwood. Our installer put three coats of satin finish (we had semi-gloss before). The floor doesn’t appear to be as wear and tear friendly as the semi-gloss finish.
We haven’t yet moved any furniture back on it, because we are considering asking for another coat to be applied. We do have 4 small dogs (under 15 lbs) and we keep their nails trimmed. The pets haven’t been on the floors yet either and we are going to try and keep them off it for 30 days. And we are not moving furniture back in until 1 week has gone by since the final coat. Would we be wasting our money on that 4th coat or is this just the nature/look of the satin finish?
A: Satin has more of an oiled or hand rubbed appearance but generally is a bit less hard than gloss. However, it is nicer to look at and tends not to show marks as readily as a shiny finish. I don’t think it is a good idea to pile on coats of polyurethane. 3 Is a good place to start. I would wait a month before applying a 4th. This will give the 3 coats already applied time to fully cure.
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