The whole kitchen/upstairs project was 6 weeks long. The flooring sub came in during week 2 and did the floors after the new kitchen cabinets were in. None of the baseboards or casings were in at that time which I figured would’ve been a little easier for them (no worry of scratching trim or getting stain on it). So about 3 weeks after they did the floors is when the rest of the project was done and they returned to fix those two areas. We asked the flooring sub about the blue painters tape and they said “yes sometimes it will pull up a little finish but it’s all we have”. Only a few small sections of tape pulled up finish. Most of the tape didn’t pull anything up. It’s all Duraseal stain and oil-based poly (2 coats). What would cause the tape to pull up finish?

Blue painter's tape is KNOWN to pull up fresh poly. This is always an issue. The 'delicate surfaces' tape is the ONLY stuff that should be used on flooring. And the tape should be removed every day before the painter goes home.

Oil based polyurethane has a LONG cure time...like 30 days. If it was COVERED with plastic during that cure time, it was NOT curing. It was sitting underneath the plastic sheeting waiting to cure.

And traditionally you apply 3 coats of finish to complete a full refinish. At this point, you might as well go for a light buff and recoat. You need the light buffing to get the old (3 week old) finish to grab the 'new' stuff. Without the buffing you won't get one coat to grab another. It is the way of chemicals and floor finishes.

And the applicator used to do a 'patch' will also influence how the finish (gloss level) looks. A paint roller looks different then lamb's wool. Etc. Etc. Etc.

For this reason, most flooring PROFESSIONALS (not just some guys who are willing to drop down some poly) will apply two coats during the renovation and then come in and add the FINAL coat of finish once EVERYONE is gone. And then you need to let the finish cure properly. Oil based is several weeks. Water based can be 5-10 days.

The GC is to be the one who helps you fix this.

I do agree with the GC being responsible for the fix. I also, believe that you have an adhesion issue that is causing the blue painter's tape to pull finish off. MO, you should be able to pull off duct tape without pulling off finish.

This was a split schedule, any unapproved chemicals, cleaning (wet swiffer use), washing (detergent residue), outdoor contaminants or improper abrasion will cause an adhesion issue. A deep clean is required to remove contaminants prior to screening/abrading.

Another possible cause, since, there was a long period of drying in between coats.The finish had some time to cure and harden. Insufficient abrasion can be the cause. When the finish has a long period to dry in between coats. Finishers need to put in account that the finish will be harder compared to a overnight dried finish, which is very soft to abrade. Using sharper abrasives, frequently changing out abrasives or spending more time to abrade is required at this point.

Thanks for the input. They did the 2 coats in back to back days and then the GC resumed work on the house around 3 days later. There was no plastic or anything covering the floor over those final 3 weeks while the GC was finishing the other work. In fact, I left all furniture and rugs out of the rooms until the GC was completely done.

Also do you guys think we should push for recoating the whole thing to get the sheen to match or try repairing the spots by experimenting with different mixes of matte and semi-gloss until they match? The two repaired spots are pretty small (maybe 4’ x 1’ each).

The FC was not able to match the touch ups. I would push for a full recoat. A deep cleaning maybe required if, you have already begun to mop your floors to prevent contamination.

We haven’t done any cleaning at all over the last couple weeks other than sweeping. I’m moving furniture out tonight so they can do all the floor tomorrow. I just need to verify that the flooring contractor is covering the cost before I authorize it. Another thing I noticed is that the floor seems to scratch easier now vs the factory stain and finish that was on it before. Not that it matters for the finish, but this floor had small bevels on the edges of each board which required them to sand it down a lot to get it flat.

Easy scratching can be related to the adhesion issue. What type of finish and product line was applied?

It was duraseal stain that was water popped and then duraseal oil-based poly (2 coats). I don’t know what grit they took it to before staining and finishing.

Oil based poly (the lower end stuff) isn't nearly as durable as factory finishes. DuraSeal is ranked as lower-midrange. It isn't the worst but it is now where near the best of the best. Bona Traffic HD (almost $200/gallon) or Loba 2K Supra AT ($200 - $250/gallon) are the best we have at this time.

A factory finish is MUCH closer to the performance of the Traffic HD or the Supra AT. And a sand/refinish get complicated because it is HEAVILY dependent on the cleaners you used BEFORE you did the sand/refinish. Believe it or not, the cleaners you used on the factory finish can contaminate the wood to the point where a floor may not be refinishable (ie. adhesion failures happen no matter how much the wood is sanded).

The floor must also reach the FULL cure to be the TOUGHEST it will ever be = 30+ days. That means the floor can still be soft...it all depends on how well the home has been heated/cooled and how well the air has been moving (fans/AC, etc).

do You have images of the scratches?

Oil based polyurethane is still superior in durability to any waterborne finish and neither is as durable as factory applied aluminum oxide finishes. This comes to me straight from the mouth of a real expert in the field.

Spot touchups are tricky. If they're in a conspicuous area, it's more likely than not that you'll be able to see them.

I didn’t take any. They’re definitely in the poly and not down to the wood. They’re actually there now to re-coat everything.

Oil base poly is a tried and true product. But it is a only comparable to a single component water base, not two. The two component will outperform the oil. Two component technology changes and advances, where as oil base poly has plateaued.

That‘s information from their chemist.

How did the recoat go? Any new photos?

"But it is a only comparable to a single component water base, not two." What do you think their chemist would say? According to a highly experienced expert in the finish industry, Johannes Boonstra, oil-modified polyurethane is superior in durability to all waterborne finishes. I inquired about this when he was with Synteko. I had a hair salon that was driving me nuts and I inquired about a product that would exceed Bona Traffic. I expected him to recommend a Synteko product but was surprised when he asked if I could use oil poly. We did a test sample and got complaints about the smell, so we continued to coat the floor three times a year with Traffic.

Certainly high end waterborne urethanes have improved, but only marginally. As with house paint, oil based is still the most durable.

I know this was 4 years ago, but I’m wondering about the result. Did the recoat work? this same thing has happened recently and the color and sheen don’t match. the project was done in 2 parts, 3 weeks apart to move furniture. The side that looks more matte is also less slippery. any thoughts?

The recoat was fine. Ironically we did a 2nd house remodel project that impacted the floors about 5 months ago. We expanded the living room out, removed a couple walls, etc. Ended up with maybe 220 sq ft of new oak flooring that had to lace into the existing floors in the living room and kitchen. The same company did it this time but we went with water-based with aluminum oxide finish. I don't think its any more durable than the oil-based they used 4 years ago. Part of me wishes we would've just ripped it all out and done a factory finish floor.

The recoat worked fine. We actually had them out again about 5 months ago to redo all the floors including the kitchen. This is because we had another remodel project where we bumped out the living room and moved the master closet in order to enlarge the living room by about 220 sq ft. Went with a cathedral ceiling, new stone fireplace, knocked out a wall between the kitchen and living room, etc. As a result we had a lot of new oak to lace into the existing floor in the living room and kitchen. We did a water-based finish with aluminum oxide this time. It's no more durable than the oil-based we used before. Part of me wishes we ripped all that oak out and went with factory finished planks.