How to re-coat a floor with polyurethane

[Extracare]

Good job for a DIYer and can make a huge difference to the appearance of a house or just a room.

1. Remove all furniture etc.

2. Clean floor thouroughly with a 50/50 water/metho or water/thinners mix. Use a mask if using thinners. Scrub the corners and along benches etc as grime collects here. Scrub dirt out of scratches with a scraper if necessary. The fresh ploy will fill the scratch somewhat, but won't hide dirt!!

3. Sand the existing poly using 180 grit paper. Use a buffer if you have access or spend a day on your knees with the half sheet. Wear a mask!!

4. Vaccum all benchtops, window ledges etc. This is the dust that will drop into your fresh new floor.

5. Vaccum the floor. Do it twice and use the brush around the walls. Every speck that you get now is a speck you wont have in your floor.

6. Plan how you will get out of the room. Lay out plastic for you to step onto on your exit. You will likely be sticky and flustered. Don't risk your carpet or decking with wet polyurethane!!

7. Get a good 75mm brush and a 9mm nap 230mm mohair roller on a pole. A brush pot and a bucket that fits the roller.

8. block any windows that direct sun will come through. If the coating cures in sunlight you will get an uneven satin.

9. Using Polycure's Supersatin brush a good heavy coat down the far wall and out across about 5 boards. Use a 9mm mohair roller to cover the 5 board run with approx 2 good roller dips. Once covered - run the roller down the length of the boards smoothing the coating.

10. Work your way across the room, getting down low occasionally to check you haven't missed anything.

11. Once finished - leave the house for 24 hours before going back to inspect your handiwork.


A few tips:

Check the compatibility of the Polycure Supersatin in a corner (out of sight) before you do the whole room.

Always use surgical rubber gloves and a gas filter mask.

Tape the bottom of cabinet kickers if you are worried about splattering them

Make sure there are no naked flame pilot lights etc in the house - those fumes are flammable.

Stay calm. If you spot a blob of fluff half way across the floor you have already coated, leave it. You can cut it of the floor tomorrow with a sharp stanley blade.

Expect the floor to look 90% perfect. It's a floor not a table top.



Would be good if others add their tips etc.

[MALPT]

Thanks Extracare - good instructional post. Have a greenie.

[bnpenty]

Here's your greenie Brian. The above tips are great, very well prioritised. However, I more or less stopped using Poly 5 years ago. Now I don't think it should be used on trafficable areas.

I'm about to burnish on my 3rd/4th coat of Livos Kunos, this is my first (and hopefully last) attempt to get a poly like glassy finish with a non poly type product.

If not yourself, do you know of anyone in Melbourne using Livos products? Has anyone got any tips to achieve a glassy floor finish with Kunos or similar?

Nick

[bnpenty]

Just to clarify that last post re (in particular) how to burnish. The following is from the Kunos Data Sheet on the Livos website:

"Technical qualities Transparent, high gloss, water resistant according to German Industrial Standard DIN 68 861, part 1, open-pored. Produces a protective surface film after applying 2-3 coats. KUNOS white preserves the natural wood tone on light timber. DIN 53 160 certified for color fastness when exposed to perspiration and saliva. Also DIN EN 71 part 3 certified as suitable for toys.

Application method With a brush, spreading with an applicator made of solvent-resistant synthetic or rubber, spraying, dipping, cloth, or machine applications at temperatures above 12oC (54oF). Burnish in the third coat."

I'm assuming I have to get hold of a burnisher/polisher?..?..

[Extracare]

First up - as a sander I'd prefer not to use Poly ever again - too many fumes. Unfortunately it is by far the most affordable solution, it is VERY hard-wearing and is still the most practical solution for most families.

I put up the guide for people who have old poly covered floors who want to spruce them up without sanding back to bare timber as I think this is a realistic DIY job and the difference it makes can be amazing.

Now onto the Livos. I had a look at the website and data sheets after reading your earlier post. I have spoken to other people who have been in the business a lot longer than me and they have all said that it's simply too much hassle. Buffing in wax polishes is time consuming, messy and prone to issues. The preferred solution for all of the guys I know is to use Whittlewax Treatex. It requires lots of careful prep, but application is relatively easy and the finished look is very similar.

One thing I would say is that no wax product will give you a finish like gloss poly.

If you look at the Livos gallery on their website you'll see what they consider to be the cream of the crop results. None of them have a high gloss, high build shine. It's a nice natural look, but it's not like a pool of water.

http://www.livos.com.au/component/op...1/key,7/hit,1/

The burnisher is a slow buffer. It is a lot slower than the usual buffers that sanders use - another reason very few people want to bother with Livos.

Best to ask the Livos company to recommend a sander who has the right equipment. Perhaps he/she could do the burnishing for you, but you probably want to temper your glossy expectations.

This is how a gloss job should look. (Sydney Bluegum). It requires 3 coats of atmosphere mashing 2 pac poly.

[bnpenty]

Yup, have seen the mug shots on Livos website and agree that you can't get a poly glossy finish. Also agree that's it's a lot more hassle. Still, I think it's totally worth it and I'm hiring a polisher with 'white pad' to do the burnishing today.

From the perspective of someone paying for their floor to be sanded and finished, I think the option of going non toxic should be clearly available. It's up to you guys to promote it, and yes at possibly double the price.

I spoke to a French Polisher over the w/e about burnishing (I can't seem get a sander to do it in Sydney) and he said, god bless him, that he wouldn't do it as it would be like a brain surgeon doing a dressing. I'll remember that line! Interestingly he also said that if I paid $600 for 10 litres of linseed oil based product I was shafted he mention stuff he used on furniture at $70 for 4 litres.

So hi ho hi ho it's burnishing I go. I'll post pics if it's good enough. Thanks for your reply, Nick

[Extracare]

Nick, everyone I talk to gets all the options - Poly, water based, hard wax oil, stain or no stain etc. A lot of people still choose poly because of the price.

I wish they'd all choose the oil. It's a pleasure to work with and looks great on a good timber.

Good luck with the Livos, looking forward to seeing the pics.

[bnpenty]

That's great to hear, but I think a lot of sanders assume their client is going to want the cheapest and take it from there. Glad also to hear you prefer working with oils. this is a controversial (healthily so) issue on this site

Have finished the burnishing and the result is nice but not quite like the shots on the website.

We're moving in over the w/e so that's it for the time being. I may research further and do more work on the gloss later in the year (easily done with oils!!)

Will post pics later this week, Nick

[Vernonv]

I wish they'd all choose the oil. It's a pleasure to work with and looks great on a good timber.

Extracare,
What sort of oils do you use / recommend?

Also what do you mean by "hard wax oil"? - is it a product name or is it a generic term for a particular type/group of products?

Great instructional post, by the way.

[Extracare]

Treatex (which is sold by Whittlewax in Australia) is referred to as Hard Wax Oil. It has a hardener in it to give it more strength (I think!!).

It is a great product but it is expensive.

I have recoated worn floors and they come up like new and even when it's old it still looks rusticly (is that a word?) good.

If you want a floor that has been coated with environmentally friendly coatings, looks as close to raw timber as possible and will be a conversation piece with everyone who sees it then Treatex is probably the one - IMHO.

[Vernonv]

Thanks for the info Extracare, much appreciated.
I'll see what more I can find on Treatex.

[BigCal]

Nick, where's the pics... cmon don't hold out...