Soft ceramic finish

Q: We just had our Brazilian cherry floors redone in several rooms, and new flooring in 2 others. We used the Arboritec elite ceramic finish. The day after it was complete, we noticed some flaking and the finish was soft enough to put a fingernail in it. What options do we have at this point, or does the entire job need to be redone? There are also milky patches and it’s an uneven looking finish.

A: I have no experience with this “ceramic coating”, which in my later years were restricted to application in a factory finished floor. These types of coatings are designed to be extremely abrasion resistant an hard. If you are already experiencing flaking, you have a problem with adhesion. These foreign woods can have a very high oily resin content which can interact in unfavorable ways with some coatings. I don’t know if the product applied had a special sealer they recommend and whether it was used. There is also the problem of ‘abrasion resistant’ which is designed into ceramic coatings. This become a real problem when trying to prepare an already applied coat so the next one will adhere.

I think the milky areas are an interaction between the finish and the environment. It could be the oils in the wood. But if it is a water based finish it may have been too humid.

Leave a Comment