I have wood floors, and trim my dog's nails once a week or so - as soon as I can hear his nails clickity-clack on the floor, it's time to trim them up.

Apply 1 coat Loba Easy Prime, then two coats of Supra AT.

Depending on what brand of stain you used, you may need to abrade it with a maroon pad before applying your finish.

Bona Traffic Naturale' may also be a good option. It does have a slip resistance factor but the amount escapes me at the moment.

I would not consider it DIY either :-)

I have never coated a Loba system over Zar stains. Not sure how compatible the two products are. Easy Prime is designed to adhere to most finishes, if, not all. Since there is a 72 hours of drying. I would lightly abrade the stain with a maroon pad using a sanding pole, before applying the primer. Bona Intense or Amberseal will have no trouble bonding to Zar stains, still abrade the stain first.

The Loba products are pretty easy to use - even the two part products that have to be mixed. They have a 10 minute working edge which makes this a very good DIY product. Bona's wet edge is 2 minutes and can be a BEAR to figure out. The Easy Prime is just that - easy. And the Loba 2K Supra AT comes in 1 Litre containers (1 quart) which means you do not have to purchase 1 gallon of the product.

1 Litre Loba 2K Supra AT = 130-160sf of coverage (depending on the porosity of the wood and which "coat" you are applying). A set of stairs may only need 1 or 2 litres.

www.icorkfloor.com sells the 1 litre Loba 2K Supra AT and will ship anywhere in the USA.

I'm afraid iCork does not sell the primer. You can always check Amazon. Be careful with "two coats" of stain. A second coat of stain can complicate matters. It has been known to cause adhesion failures because it does not soak into the wood but rather sits on top. That means the primer/polyurethane has nothing to "stain" to grab onto. The primer/finish normally like to grab onto wood. That's what keeps them in place.

I would use a test plank (two coats of stain) with the primer/finish combination and then wait for a full cure (5 days) and then see if there is any form of adhesion failure (can start to turn white in some areas or look like there is an air bubble underneath.

NOoooooooooooo! Stop!!!!! None of the ABOVE!

A Low-nap roller is NOT 3" (that is SUPER FLUFFY)! I have always recommended a microfibre roller with 6mm (1/4") nap OR LESS.

Do NOT use foam brushes!!!!! You will get this horrible "swiss cheese" appearance in your finish. It isn't pretty. If you MUST use a brush, you need to use a BEAUTIFUL (aka soft and expensive) brush designed for water based products.

You can buy two of everything. What you use with the primer you can use with the finish. Therefore you can buy two of everything. I normally suggest purchasing 3 of everything. The reason: you will apply the primer with one set...and then a few hours later (too little time to clean and DRY the first set of rollers/brushes) you will apply the FIRST coat of the finish. You can then recoat the finish the SAME DAY. That means 3 sets of rollers/brushes will let you do the 3 coats in one day without having to wait for a set of brushes to dry (after being cleaned with water and soap).

Low nap is your friend. small angular brushes for getting into those weird spots will be your friend...remember you CANNOT "cut in" edges. These products have a 10 minute "wet edge" which means you cannot "cut in" the stair and then go back and apply more product 30 minutes later. You will complete each stair before moving on to the next.

You should use a brush specified for latex only. I like the 3 1/2" Wooster synthetic sash brush for water base finishes. 3/8 nap microfiber by arrow is good from paint stores. If, you can get the 120 micron microfiber roller by Loba. That works best for water base finishes.

For stairs, I would coat every three tread with a brush, then roll over it with a roller for a heavier build. Allow the easy prime to dry overnight, before coating it with Supra AT.

The rollers are still a bit too fluffy. They clearly state 10mm. I prefer to see 6mm (1/4" nap). I also prefer to see the slightly more expensive products that have a coloured thread running through the roller. This indicates the microfibre is double stitched and less likely to shed fibres. As G&S suggests, the brush you should work with will need to be specific for latex. When the manufacturer mentions "clear", they mean oil based polyurethane. Those are different beasts.

Contact Loba if you would like to purchase their rollers that are perfect for their finishes. Yes they are triple the price at Lowe's....because they are German engineering at work.

What you do is mix ONLY WHAT YOU NEED. So long as the two components are kept separate, you are fine.

The mixed product will 'look' like a liquid (after 2 hours has passed) but do NOT be fooled. Do NOT be tempted to use it. Small filaments of "plastic" will be forming in the jar of mixed product (imagine hundreds of cobwebs floating in the container.... that's what it will be like). Leave the lid off the container and allow the left over product to harden.

Go ahead and mix as much as you need. I've seen people split a litre 4 times. It isn't a problem. But be aware that the first coat will have LESS coverage than the average. The second coat will get better coverage and the third coat will have the best coverage.

You are only allowed 2 coats of finish per day. For three coats you will need two days.

1 litre = 1 quart (roughly) = 130sf - 160sf of coverage. Your first coat = 125-135sf of coverage (very little) per litre. The third coat will be MUCH closer to 160sf/litre.

How many treads/risers to you have? What is the TOTAL square footage (tread and riser added together)? That will tell you how many coats you can expect out of a litre.

You ned a pint of finish which will cover 75 sq.ft. There are measuring cups available for mixing at the paint store. It will cost you about $2.00 for one.

Apply one coat early morning at 8:00 a.m. Finalize at 3:00 at p.m. That is a good 7 hours of drying. Do not go by the manufacturing suggested recommended dry time. Actual dry time depends on your conditions.

As G&S suggests. A proper mixing quotient (10:1 for the Loba finish:hardener) is a plus. Do NOT add the Loba to the risers. Just the treads. You will have a little left over...if you are PERFECT at measuring (most people are not). I would assume you will use the entire 1 litre....because the first coat is going to be a MASSIVE learning curve for you.

I have no doubt you will do just fine. My DIY clients found the Loba easy to work with once they understood some of the 'rules'. Some of my best applications came from homeowners willing to learn the rules and READ the instructions.

The Loba is a "shaken not stirred" type of product. It has ANTI-FROTHING products added to it...that's why it has such a hefty price tag! You will shake BOTH containers for 60 seconds. Then you will mix the two products (into a third container...like a measuring cup - l like one's with milliters listed because it makes the 10:1 measurements STUPID easy ;-). Once the two are mixed, you can shake them for another 60 seconds (or a VERY good stir for 1-2 minutes). You are ready to go.

You will see bubbles but you will IGNORE the bubbles. Yep. I said ignore. The Loba is "self correcting and self leveling". That is to say, the BUBBLES will disappear BEFORE the finish cures (you won't see them later on) and the areas with a little bit MORE finish (like a little wake line from time to time) will level itself out. Again it will not be seen once it drys.

That's why Loba is relatively easy to use. Once it is mixed you simply apply it and walk away. It gives a lovely flawless finish regardless of your level of skill (it can hide a lot).

Good luck and I’m looking forward to hearing an update on how it goes and how it turns out!

They look AWESOME! So glad this worked for you! How much Loba did you have left? Just curious.

Susie, are you still around to respond? how is the Loba holding up? what color stain did you use? Thanks

@shajan, the Loba is holding up as expected. I have a 40lb dog and his nails have scratched the up poly, but I believe if I had used another brand of poly they would look much worse.

I have laminate throughout the house and brought in a sample to Sherwin Williams who color matched the stain for me; I used a Minwax oil-based stain from them.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the quick response Susie. The stairs look great, and it looks like the wood dented rather than the poly scratching. Did you apply Loba poly over the oil based stain or did you use a primer? what was yout application process? I was deciding between Bona Mega and Traffic HD then I heard about Loba