Your best off, letting the contractor use the products he is familiar with and has confidence in.

floorguy,

I haven't talked to him yet, but the sample stain colors he gave my builder came in a "bona" empty box.

I'm assuming he may know how to use bona, but the Lenmar is just the standard used for the new home builder.

Is 2 coats of Lenmar poly going to be good enough on my redoak ?
Would 3 coats be better, especially in the kitchen ?

Is there a reflectance standard for a matt or satin finish ?

I'm still interested in what questions I should ask the contractor to give me a better feeling about his bona experience.

I defer somewhat to floorguy's response, b/c that's going to be the best bet.

We went with Bona Traffic. The other water-based finish that received a lot of mention is Basic Coatings Street Shoe. Our finish is 3 coats. The big advantage is the cure time is short- 6 hours or so. I've seen it recommended to avoid walking on an oil-based finish for several days to make sure it's fully cured.

FWIW, I don't believe either of those finishes is considered low VOC. Bona has a product called Eon75 that meets the 75 mg/l low-VOC requirement, but I haven't seen anyone here comment on using it.

I'd just ask about the contractor's experience with those particular water-based finishes.

EON70 is in the same category as Traffic, however Traffic still is the best choice of the two. Traffic now has a VOC content lower than 180 grams per litre, which is considered to be a low VOC formulation.

Something like EON70 or Traffic will be totallly cured in seven days. The oilbased finishes can remain uncured and subject to marring for weeks.

You, the original poster, need to ask for samples to give you a general idea of how your wood will look when finished with the different systems.

There is a measure that manufacturers use to categorize gloss levels, but one manufacturer's idea of what constitutes a particular gloss level will not necessarilly match another's.

Good luck with the floor.

glenn,

Good advice to get samples from the floor finisher! I will talk to him first and then try to set-up a visit or get him to deliver some samples of bona Traffic and or Street Shoe to my builder for me to review.

Thanks from OP!

Traffic is more expensive than Street Shoe.

I suggested samples, as oilbase and waterborne finishes look different...and, oilbase will continue to change color over the years...whereas waterborne seldom does.

However, waterbornes that are simply sealed with a waterborne sealer and then given finish coats of waterborne polyurethane can look too light to some people and can look washed out in a few years. I've never seen that happen with the waterborne products I use.

If you are going to have the floor stained, ask if your flooring person uses stain that is part of the system of products from the finish manufacturer. In the case of BonaKemi, the stain/finish system would be Bona DriFast Stain and then a BonaKemi finish of your choice.

Floorguy's advice about going with products that a contractor is familiar and experienced with is good advice. I refuse oilbase jobs, as I have little experience with the material and chose not to work with that type years ago.

I'm not familiar with either of the products you mention. But you should put down high gloss coats as a base as they provide much more protection then matte or satin. I would put three coats in the kitchen. Two high gloss and the last coat, the finish of your choice. If your disignated floor guy is not familiar with the coating you want, get a different floor guy or use the product he's familiar with. Unless you want to be part of his learning curve.
Ron

Bona needs at least three coats. If your floor guy is not familiar with Bona, get another floor guy... Do your own research. Also, some water based finishes can have a milky appearance, so be careful.

Jeff,

When you say three coats, do you mean 1 coat of bona intense Primer and 2 coats of Traffic ?

My installer got back to me and said he does bona. He said he does both oil-based poly, and water based bona poly. He also said he would do up a sample for me to review.

So the question is, with a 3 inch red oak, what do I have him put on the sample ?
bona stain
1 coat bona intense primer
2 coats Traffic matt (substitute what for 1st coat of Traffic?)

My understanding is that the sealer coat (oil type usually recommended) does not count as a coat. You still need 3 after the sealer for a total of four.

glenn,

If you were describing the products used to build the finish for 3 coats, after using a DriFast stain, what would they be ?

1 coat intense primer ?
1 coat of ?? gloss ?
1 coat of Traffic (commercial satin ?)

I'm trying to decide how to evaluate what my
wood specialist will give me as a sample. I asked him to describe what bona coats he uses on the 3 inch red oak sample.

What the heck is "intense primer"? Never heard of it.

My prescription would be Bona DriFast stain in the color desired...two coats of semigloss and then one coat of satin. The final coat of satin needs to be applied very carefully, as missed spots will show up as glossy areas. It is almost better, in some cases, to make the first coat semigloss and then the last two coats satin. However, I always do two semi and one satin, but then I am very precise about most of what I do.

Glenn,

Thanks for the description of your excellent finish technique!

The "Prime Intense" is what bona lists on their website along with their "Prime Classic" and "Prime Tempo", I have no idea what is really appropriate, so anytime an experienced professional shares their knowledge, I'm gratefull.

I still have never heard of these Bona products for sale here in the US. Are you sure you are viewing the US site? I'm going to have to check this out.

Yep...you have been viewing the 'global' site. To my knowledge, the products you mention are not available in the US, unless they are new introductions to this market. What is for sale here in the US is listed on the BonaKemi US website.

Here is a link that might be useful: BonaKemi, US

I don't know what site you went to but I'll give you the BonaKemi phone # off the label of my gallon of Bonaseal. I live in so. california and I buy my products at Rohm co. in Oranage county. The back of the container also says that Bonaseal is a three coat system with one coat Boanseal and two coats Bona waterborn finish (Mega or Strong finishes). They will not sell to people without a license for installing floors. These are not finishes you can buy at hardware or paint stores although Bonna does sell other floorcare products at hardware stores. Most companies that make two part finishes don't sell to DIYers.

Forgot to give you the BonaKemi phone number. It is 800-872-5515. I don't know if it's the best finish in the world but it goes on easy, looks good, most of the time you can walk on it the same day, low VOC (smell), and I've had no problems with durability. I don't do floors exclusively, but whatever work I do, It's a good feeling when a customer says, "That's beautiful". Also, about half of the time I get a nice big tip.