Q: I recently had new hardwood floors installed. They are pre finished flint maple pergo. The guys who installed recommended putting a poly coat down to protect them a bit better since we have a dog. We did the first coat, and it’s peeling in spots. We screened the floors. Will this help for the second coat?
A: We are talking about a real wood veneer and not laminate, correct? I would never suggest to a home owner to try to coat an engineered floor or anything factory finished. For one thing, they use finishes which are formulated to be abrasion resistant which makes it difficult in the extreme to impossible to adequately abrade the finish so as to gain adhesion. Their are chemical preparations designed to help with this, though I’ve never used them. The fact you have peeling spots proves my point. If the surface wood veneer is thick enough you are likely going to have to have these floors sanded to clean wood to fix this. I would suggest you contact Pergo and ask for their advice. I’m sorry this has happened to you. Always research first
Follow-up: Thank you for your quick response, I appreciate it. It is real hard wood yes, not laminate. I will call them today. My fingers are crossed that this is not the case. I followed what are flooring guy told us to do since he is the professional, but you’re right I should have researched.
A: I hope it works out for you. Beside the inherent risks in undertaking what you have started, even for a professional there is another issue that calls into question the advice you got. If a floor has an inferior finish to what you have then it might make sense to apply a better quality coating over an inferior one. This would be an upgrade. It is highly unlikely you would have access to a finish of this nature, so what has actually happened is you have given your new floors a down grade. Sad but true. In a certain sense, it’s like buying a beautiful new couch and leaving the shipping plastic on it to protect the fabric.
Follow-up: As suspected abrasion seems to be the culprit. I called the manufacturer and was told the exact finish they use. An aluminium oxide poly with water base. Oil was used on the floor. Trying to decide best move.
A: You can apply oil based over the water based. The problem is the aluminum oxide polyurethane is abrasion resistant. You said there is peeling in spots. How to know if the rest will fail also? Basic Coatings has a chemical prep you can use. Or you can get a roll of 120 grit and hand sand the finish thoroughly. I prefer oil based finishes. They are easier to work with and I like the look. However, typically water based can be applied consecutively without buffing between coats if applied within a specified number of hours which can be a plus.
Follow-up Q: If you were in my shoes what would you next step be? How would you handle this?
A: I would start sanding the finish with a fine abrasive. Every square inch. It will give you a good idea if you have a bond with the finish which hasn’t peeled yet. Once I’ve done this thoroughly, vacuumed up the fine dust and tack rag it clean, apply a thin coat of the finish of choice. You may have to do this twice. The main objective right now is to get a good bond between the original coatings and the finish you are applying.