Duller finish in touch-up area

Q: I recently applied 3 coats of oil-based poly from *****, clear satin, to my new red oak floors. The poly looked good, but there were a few isolated areas that needed to be refinished, where poly had pooled a little and formed a small line/berm. These areas appear duller.

I applied the poly initially from a 5 gallon drum. I sanded and used poly from a 1 gallon container, same clear satin as the 5-gallon container. The touch-up areas came out a little duller than the surrounding areas.

I have sanded and tried to touch-up 3 times now, but consistently getting duller finish in touch-up area. I have tried different sanding grits between 100 and 220 with same duller results. Wondering if 1 gallon container will result in a duller finish than 5-gallon container, even though they both say fast drying clear satin?

A: All finishes except gloss contain a paste to dull the finish which has to generally be mixed in and tends to settle on the bottom of the pail. It is likely you had the product mixed more thoroughly in the gallon an than the five gallon and this is why you are getting a duller shine when using it.

The best finish I’ve used to avoid this problem is Poloplaz Primero. While you can’t get it in gallon cans anymore but only in 1 quart pouches, they came up with a way in manufacturing to keep that flattening paste suspended in the product so very little mixing is needed to achieve a consistent shine level. If you are doing areas larger than a gallon for example (spread rate is 500 feet per gallon) it’s always a good idea to mix what is needed into one container. Primero goes on great with a brush to cut in the edges and a roller for the main area of the floor.