Onsite finished floors- rough surface, Help!

8 years ago

We’re done with stain, seal and 1 poly coating.
We’ll do another coating after doing kitchen.

The surface is very rough.

I got particle of wood in my finger, after trying to sweep with hand. Is this normal?

Will it get better after another poly?

I’m very worried.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

sofaspud
8 years ago
hopefully you'll get a couple of flooring pros to chime in, but what kind of sanding prep was done prior to the poly coat? Did they sand the poly coat after it dried? i would be worried, too, if I was getting splinters. hopefully you haven't paid them yet.
newproject858
Original Author
8 years ago
I don’t know exactly what kind of process was done, except we only have 1 coating left. Can anyone explain what needs to be done to do this right? We’re meeting the flooring guy tomorrow.
Related Professionals
Lake City Flooring Contractors · Port Saint Lucie Flooring Contractors · Meridian Flooring Contractors · Orangeburg Flooring Contractors · Rock Hill Flooring Contractors · Portland Flooring Contractors · Las Cruces Flooring Contractors · San Angelo Flooring Contractors · Eureka Flooring Contractors · Greenville Tile and Stone Contractors · Sheridan Tile and Stone Contractors · Pine Bluff Kitchen Remodelers · Dalton Kitchen Remodelers · Enfield Kitchen Remodelers · New Bedford Kitchen Remodelers
SJ McCarthy
8 years ago
The flooring professional should have done a light sanding after the sealant...especially if the floors were water popped. And then another light sanding/buffing prior to the last coat of finish.

So the order of things that normally occur is this:

1. Multiple passes with the sanding machine to remove the original finish and then to prepare the wood to accept stain/finish

2. Water popping (if this occurred) and stain application

3. Sealant

4. Sanding with very high grit (this "knocks down" the grain)

5. First coat of polyurethane

6. Final sanding if needed (if surface remains rough after sealing-sanding-1st poly)

7. Second coat of finish

It is POSSIBLE to use 3 coats of finish over top of a sealant...this is especially true if the surface remains rough after the second coat. If the wood is still too rough to walk on in socks, then another sanding (very high grit...like 220 or whatever the finish manufacturer requires) and then a final coat of poly.

I wonder if your "guy" didn't knock down the grain after the sealant was applied. Staining (especially with water popping) will RAISE the grain (make it rougher...just as you show here). Because of this, a light sand (high grit level) is often done before the first coat of poly is applied.. And then a FINAL sanding is done BEFORE the LAST coat of poly is put down. This could be after the first coat or after the second coat....it depends on how many coats are needed/planned.

And just for fun, what is the material used to finish your floor? Did you purchase the product yourself (is that why you say you only have "one coating left")?
newproject858
Original Author
8 years ago
@sj I didn’t buy the material. I’ve been told he’ll use oil-based poly. It looks like he is going to do something more than just ‘final coating of poly’, because he did the final coating of poly on upstairs, and the surfaces are fine.
SJ McCarthy
8 years ago
I assume that's the finished look of the floors upstairs. They look VERY nice. Because this is a work in progress, I would allow him to finish before getting concerned. Knocking down the grain is part of the process and the process isn't finished.

So long as the main floor looks like the upstairs floor, you will be just fine. And just as a reminder, the oil based poly will amber as it ages. The colour you see know is as "pale" as it gets. This will slowly turn more and more orange as time goes by. It is the nature of oil based finishes.
newproject858 thanked SJ McCarthy