Q: I just installed Brazilian cherry floors, which were sealed with Duraseal semi-gloss ployurethane by the floor guy. The painter then sealed the Brazilian cherry handrails and stair treads with Magnalac satin lacquer. I wanted the stairs to match the floor in terms of sheen.
The painter said not to worry because the products are different, he’ll simply put a coat of semi-gloss over the satin, which should match things up. Is that true?
The satin staircase is duller than the floor!
A: It’s true. If another coat is applied to the stairs in the same sheen as the floors it will match.
Similar Q: We just put down Bona polyurethane finish and it was gloss. We want high gloss. Can we go over the top?
A: Of course you can apply another coat over top of the last coat. You will have to make sure you have thoroughly prepared that last coat of finish to accept another, so you get good adhesion. This is achieved by carefully and thoroughly abrading the existing coating with a fine abrasive. If it is water based urethane, do NOT use steel wool. And don’t skip the step of buffing the edges of the room, around the perimeter. Norton Abrasives has come out with these abrasive pads, designed to use with water based coatings and a floor polisher that do a good job of this without leaving visible scratches or swirls.