This question is about half home repair and half construction materials,
so I've x-posted where I think appropriate.

http://tinypic.com/r/dzxdgg/4

I'm trying to integrate visual media into what I do as a handyman. I
find the advice I get on usenet invaluable, as many of the things I do
here in abq are with building systems I haven't seen before, like a
residential roof with a zero slope or quarter inch compression water
supply to the evaporitive coolers that sit on these roofs, just waiting
to fail and compromise everything beneath it.

Polyurethaning is something I do pretty often, and I experiment with
which techniques work best. I had the brilliant idea of rolling it on,
and I used polyurethane that had become viscous. Long story short, by
the time I got rid of all bubbles, I had a very thick coat that now has
a gloss that doesn't match the rest of the room. So I'm fishing for
tips on how I'm gonna make this look nice.

Let me state a few things that seem to work well.

1) This foam thing works really well. It's cheap and there are no
bristles to end up on the floor.

2) Thinning the poly with paint thinner to make a thin coat seems to
work best. You can just pour it on then. Thinning seems to be the way
to make it not bubble.

3) Keeping a rag and detergent water around for a final cleaning of any
hair, sawdust or other loose contaminant works well. I notice nothing
averse by applying poly to wood that has recently been slightly wet.

4) Using a scraper blade for removal of any paint speckles or gooey
thing that appears when you have your nose right up to it works well.

q1) My first question is fairly general: how do I use poly best to
finish a parquet maple floor?

q2) How do I fix the non-matching sheens here?

q3) Is there a way to make poly harder or more scuff resistant?

Thanks for your comment, and cheers,
--
Uno

Malcolm Hoar wrote:
In article , Uno wrote:
1) This foam thing works really well. It's cheap and there are no
bristles to end up on the floor.

For smaller areas the Wooster's foam brushes (available at
Lowes) work really, really well.

ok

2) Thinning the poly with paint thinner to make a thin coat seems to
work best. You can just pour it on then. Thinning seems to be the way
to make it not bubble.

That's my experience too.

q3) Is there a way to make poly harder or more scuff resistant?

Not after the fact, as far as I'm aware.

You can buy some specialist poly with aluminum oxide additives
that are very tough. These are commonly used in factory
finished hardwood flooring as well as other wood products.
They're fairly expensive and you probably won't find them
on the shelf at your local big box store, but they are
available.

ok, thx malcolm, I used your response as a serach criterion and go this:

While there really is such a thing as an aluminum oxide finish on
pre-finished flooring, it's a proprietary finish applied at the factory. It
is exceptionally tough and durable, much more so than polyurethane. But it
won't last forever, and it is possible to scratch/mar/damage it. Note
however, IT CAN NEVER BE REFINISHED, because it is virtually impossible to
remove the old finish. Once the finish is damaged or worn to the point it
is no longer acceptable, either pull it up and make firewood or buy area
rugs or wall-to-wall.

--
Uno

Uno wrote:
Malcolm Hoar wrote:
In article , Uno
wrote:
1) This foam thing works really well. It's cheap and there are no
bristles to end up on the floor.

For smaller areas the Wooster's foam brushes (available at
Lowes) work really, really well.

ok

2) Thinning the poly with paint thinner to make a thin coat seems to
work best. You can just pour it on then. Thinning seems to be the
way to make it not bubble.

That's my experience too.

q3) Is there a way to make poly harder or more scuff resistant?

Not after the fact, as far as I'm aware.

You can buy some specialist poly with aluminum oxide additives
that are very tough. These are commonly used in factory
finished hardwood flooring as well as other wood products.
They're fairly expensive and you probably won't find them
on the shelf at your local big box store, but they are
available.

ok, thx malcolm, I used your response as a serach criterion and go this:

While there really is such a thing as an aluminum oxide finish on
pre-finished flooring, it's a proprietary finish applied at the factory. It
is exceptionally tough and durable, much more so than polyurethane. But it
won't last forever, and it is possible to scratch/mar/damage it. Note
however, IT CAN NEVER BE REFINISHED, because it is virtually impossible to
remove the old finish. Once the finish is damaged or worn to the point it
is no longer acceptable, either pull it up and make firewood or buy area
rugs or wall-to-wall.


Or lightly sand it and urethane over it. Works well.

--
Art

"dadiOH" wrote in message
news:Q2Sao.127094$9R.37928@hurricane...
Uno wrote:

I always kept foam brushes in the shop and used them to smooth out virtually
any finish I was applying. I preferred using a bristle varnish brush to
apply the finish, but then would give it a once-over with the foam brush.
It did miracles in removing brush marks and leveling the finish. OTOH, the
bristles in the varnish brush were superior in getting into corners, around
spindles etc. where the foam brush wouldn't fit easily without creating a
puddle or run. I also kept an old towel handy to squeeze out any excess
finish that the foam brush acquired while going over the finish left by the
brush.

Nonny

On 8/17/2010 7:53 PM, Malcolm Hoar wrote:

This *may* be true on engineered wood floors with a thin layer
of veneer. It's certainly not true on solid wood floors (even
if it does require a sh*tload of sanding).

Having said that, there are lots of engineered wood flooring
materials that include aluminum oxide finishes. I'll wager
some of those have been succesfully refinished at least once.
But, yeah, refinishing a veneer requires a lot of care.

I got run off a job recently because of something like this. I've been
canned before and quit people a million times, and it's had nothing to
do with my craftsmanship, but this time it did.

I wasn't really ready when I laid the first part of it. I should have
had more clamps, but since that was going to come out of my pocket up
front, I didn't do it. Strap wrenches would have saved me.

There must have been something very unstraight with the concrete that I
didn't pick up on during prep, which I did with a laser. Furthermore,
the milling on the edge pieces had a female dado with a different reveal
than that of the male members of the engineered flooring material.

I fought it for hours, only 16 inches by 25 feet on the edge of a
concrete landing. The result was fixable, and I sure wish I had done so
before the client saw it. I would have fired me too.

What are the best methods in laying down engineered flooring?
--
Uno