Floor finshed, confused....

[Shari]

We are nearing the completion of an addition of a bedroom to our house. The floor of the new room adjoins the original 18 year old floor which is predominately pink brush box finished with a gloss polyurethane. The new bedroom has an open bathroom with a spa/shower and the new timber floor is spotted gum, which we weren’t entirely happy with but we were advised that that was as close as we would get? We were told it could be stained to match better, but have now been advised if a poly finish is used, which they said is best for a wet area , a stain may not bond and may cause the poly finish to lift in time. Alternative advice says that the poly finish may lift around the spa/floor intersections in time anyway because it’s a wet area, and that tung oil is best because it can be reapplied around edges/gaps to keep it sealed. We are confused, and would appreciate some advice!! The same question of finish applies to the red gum slab vanity bench.

[ozwinner]

Tung oil is a life time comittment, it will need redoing over and over again.


Al

[Shari]

Thanks Al! I'll check out the site. Have you heard of the lifting problems with a poly finish in a wet area?

[ozwinner]

If the poly is bonded to the floor correctly I cant see a problem, but Im no finishing expert.
Im sure the experts will give their opinion.

Al

[JB]

I believe many of the 'Tung Oil' finishes sold in hardware stores actually contain polyurethane. Other products such as Floorseal (Feast Watson) are also tung oil/polyurethane mixtures.

These would be quite good compromises for your situation. You would get the protection of polyurethane (not as good as pure poly but still pretty good) and they can be reapplied as necessary. However, even once a year would be one time too many to be resealing a floor, even just sections of it, for me.

As for poly or any finishes for that matter not adhering to stained wood as well as they do to raw timber—well that's the first time I've heard of that in 20 years finishing...

Bear in mind also both timbers will change colour over time, and may well even out in colour. How does the spotted gum differ to the brush box now?

[Trav]

I've used the tung oil mix (part oil, part poly) and it seems to work ok.

Mind you, I used it on a table, not the bathroom floor.

Trav

[Shari]

Thanks JB and Trav. Its a bit hard for me to tell how the spotted gum differs at this raw stage. I think it will look alot lighter, and a test piece doesn't have any of what I would call reddy tones in it like the existing brush box does. Some have said that the brush box floor may have been stained or have some mixed red woods through it to give it the red tones. We were keen to get a professional to do a few test pieces with a stain and the finish to see how if we could get a bit of a red tone in it, but a number of the local finishers (about 4 which is just about all of them in our area) say they won't do it because of the lifting problems experienced in the past due to the poly not bonding with the stain, and also the patchiness that can occur. Their advice was to stain it ourselves! But then they won't guarantee the poly finish.....

[Dusty]

Gidday.

My suggestion is not so much staining the Spotted Gum, but 'tinting' the polyurethane.

Simply put, there is no way that staining the Spotted Gum is ever going to make it become Brush Box. At worst, it would turn out shocking, at best, it would look totally artificial.

As for tinting, all that is required is to stir in the colour as the polyurethane is mixed. This can be done with each coat until the desired look is achieved.

The only product I can recomend to be mixed into either two pack, or single pack polyurethane is Wattyl's "Craftsman" stain (red can) and the best colour(s) for your requirements would be New Maple, or if thats not quite rich enough go for a bit of Jarrah with the New Maple.

If your not sure how much stain to put in I'd suggest no more than five cap fulls per litre of polyurethane. It's always easier to build up the depth of colour over the three coats, rather than trying to get it right on the first go. (although it is possible)

Good luck. Hope it all turns out well for you.

[Shari]

Thanks Clint, we will give that a try on a view off cuts. The only trouble now is finding a floor finisher in our area that is happy to do this for us, they seem quite adverse to anything other than clear, but I'll do some ringing around again with your advice of tinting rather than staining and see how we go.

[custos]

I did a lot of research on this before finishing our floors recently. I'd recommend water-based urethanes. Solvent-based polyurethane finishes are not recommended because they are likely to cause edge-bonding and tension cupping defects in timber floors. Several good brands of floor finishes are available on the market but I used Bonatech -- a water-based urethane with good durability. Check out this web site for more info: http://www.ezifloor.com.au/ (click on Finishes). It's fantastic stuff, and I could not be happier with the durability of the finish. Also, unlike two-pack poly, if you do get a scratch you can lightly sand and recoat to restore the finish.

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

My old mentor (a real old-school floorlayer) told me to always lay a coat of pure tung oil first, using poly/tung mixes for subsequent coats. Especially in areas where damp may be a problem. I think the pure tung binds better with the timber, probably having a better chance at penetration due to its' longer drying time. Sadly, I can't ask him for clarification as he's no longer making shavings. RIP.

Keep in mind that this was quite some time ago and I've no idea what the poly/tung mixes were like then as compared to now, except that the mixes were more expensive... nowadays 'tis the other way 'round and pure tung oil is becoming harder to locate anyway. 'Tis my preference for various non-floor related items and I'm still having trouble finding a consistent source. [shrug]

[Robert34]

My old mentor (a real old-school floorlayer) told me to always lay a coat of pure tung oil first, using poly/tung mixes for subsequent coats. Especially in areas where damp may be a problem. I think the pure tung binds better with the timber, probably having a better chance at penetration due to its' longer drying time. Sadly, I can't ask him for clarification as he's no longer making shavings. RIP.

Keep in mind that this was quite some time ago and I've no idea what the poly/tung mixes were like then as compared to now, except that the mixes were more expensive... nowadays 'tis the other way 'round and pure tung oil is becoming harder to locate anyway. 'Tis my preference for various non-floor related items and I'm still having trouble finding a consistent source. [shrug]

Grunt posted a supplier on the 10/07/05 that you may care to check out.

Robert34

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Grunt posted a supplier on the 10/07/05 that you may care to check out.

Ta mate! I dunno how I missed that one...

That's worth a greenie for not making the obvious remarks along with the pointer.