chocoholic

I tried to pick at one of the bumps with my nail and it just lifted right off, like a scab. And its bare underneath.

WashDad

Finishing wood with poly is a picky process. Some people who use it on furniture heat the furniture before applying the poly and then let it cool as they apply the finish. This (supposedly) helps keeps down bubbles coming out of the wood into the finish. I remain slightly skeptical of this theory, but I do know from painful personal experience that this is a tricky finish to get perfect. There can't be any dust AT ALL on the surface. Every grain will show on the surface. Overbrushing causes bubbles. Shaking or stirring too vigorously will introduce bubbles into the poly, which will show in the finish. Oak is a very porous wood, and if the poly is too thick air can bubble out of the pores after application. Most poly -- especially water-based -- doesn't lend itself well to thinning. What were the temps? Most finishes have a pretty narrow range where they are happy. Was your air conditioning on? This can pump dust into an otherwise clean room. How about windows -- were the windows open with a breeze blowing? Dust again.

There are lots of reasons I don't use polyurethane-based finishes. They are a big fat pain in the neck. Hiring pros was a good idea. Make sure the finish is right before you write the check!

Good luck.

WashDad

Oh, yeah, if the surface still contained any trace of the old finish, the new one might not stick. Was it sanded all the way down to bare wood everywhere? Is there old finish stuck in the pores? They should have sanded down deeply enough to make sure there was no old finish that could touch the new.

chocoholic

Oh, they sanded way down. Today was blazing hot, and the air was on, as well as all windows opened 1/4". Just the sanding process put a thick layer of dust in all other rooms that had doors shut!!!! So I think that they did not get the dust out off the floors. I asked if they were going to do some kind of mopping, as vacuuming does not get everything.

He is coming tomorrow to lay down the third coat, but I have a note for him on my front door saying "unacceptable poly. Call me before you enter my house".

violadad

In and off itself, that is not unusual. While a newly applied finish is "dry" to the touch, and may be "traffic ready" 12-24 hours after final application, it is not yet fully cured. Water or solvent based, the curing process and final bonding may take a number of days contingent upon temperature and humidity.

3bm103

I was just going to revisit the thread on kitchen floors when I saw this one. I had been reconsiderig my decision for ceramic floors instead of wood. Now I'm convinced ceramic is the way to go. I do NOT want to have to refinish floors every once in a while.

chocoholic

Good news!!
They came in yesterday morning, buffed the entire surface and put down layer#3 of polyurethane. It is starting to look really pretty now. He wants to let it cure all weekend, and the final coat goes in Monday.

3bm103, we are refinishing these floors after 12 years. Most of the floor was still in perfect condition, except in the kitchen area. But because the original was an oil-base, we had to re-do the entire 1000 sq. ft. This time around, we went for the water-base, which allows us to re-do a tiny area as needed, 12 years from now.

Wood floors are gorgeous, warm, soft, comfy and I'm not sure I could live with ceramic, other than in bathrooms.