Applying polyurethane (high-VOC)
Let’s talk about High-VOC poly. As I mentioned earlier, right now the only way to get it is in quarts.
Normal amount of coats- 3. Well, actually, it is 1 coat of sealer and 2 coats of polyurethane.Drying time after the the first coat could be from an hour (Lenmar Rapid Seal) to 8-10 hours(Harco sealer is a fine example.Although it says on the can that it dries in 2 hours, in real life it can take up to 12 hours).The second coat takes about 6-8 hours to cure, but it is not hard enough to light sand it and apply the final coat for another 6-8 hours.So the total time between the 2ndand the 3rd coat should be around 14-16 hours.
Now-to the products.My favourite is Lenmar. It doesn’t smell as much, very easy to apply and dries pretty much at the time frame that you would expect.It does cost a little higher than the most other brands, but believe me, it is worth it. If there is no way for you to get Lenmar, try Duraseal, which is a pretty solid poly as well. I used to love Bona before as well, but I had a couple of issues with this product, so I’m not going to say that this is an awesome stuff. It is easy to apply, but the drying time is full of surprises: it can cure overnight, or wouldn’t harden for 2 days(no idea why would that happen to it: humidity? – maybe, but this does not occur as often with the other brands), not to mention that it is a little bit on the pricey side, too.
The brands, that that I wouldn’t use? First and foremost: stay away from Pro Finisher. Their sealer sucks, poly is very hard to apply, you have to mix it with the Paint Thinner, which, at the end will hurt the lasting of the finish. And if you won’t add the Thinner, after the coating is over and everything(hopefully) looks ok, you’ll fill like you just went to the gym: you’re going to sweat, your hands are going to be tired, not to mention that this poly stinks like crazy.
Actually, I would probably stay away from Minwax also: the price doesn’t meet the quality. For the amount of money that they charge, you would expect something that will last longer. The application process is pretty smooth, but the durability is an issue here.
Good Luck with your projects!
Applying polyurethane (water-based)
“How many coats of poly should I put on my floor?” I’ve heard this question quite a few times, so let’s talk about it.
There are three types of polyurethane available if you decided to coat your floors: water-based, oil-based and introducing (unfortunately)- low VOC oil-based poly.Oh, almost forgot: there is one more type of poly available.It’s not that popular, since it’s more expensive( around $120 a gallon) and tough to get(I only know 2 places in Southern New England that sell it), but yet one of the most durable and long lasting types of poly: moisture cure. Let’s take a quick look at all of them.
Water-based poly. Regular amount of coats – 4.When we apply it, we normally put down a coat of Dual purpose Lenmar sealer to give it an amber look and apply 3 coats of poly on top of that.We do this because water-based poly is not that thick, so we need to do a little build up for it to look solid.I have to mention, thought, that you can actually get away with a coat of sealer and 2 coats of good water-based polyurethane if you’re working in the rooms that don’t get heavy amount of traffic, such as bedrooms. The brand that I personally like the most is Eukula.In my earlier post I mentioned that you can see the difference between oil- and water-based poly because of it’s look(water-based doesn’t have as rich amber look as oil-based poly has), well with this polyurethane it’s almost impossible to tell the difference. It comes in one- or two component finishes. They say, that two component finish is harder ( component1: actual poly, component 2: hardener), but one component finish is hard as hell too. I would recommend to use it in residential projects and use a two component in commercial ones. The main advantage of Eukula is that you can add up to 12 Oz. of water (believe it or not) into it without having to worry about the quality of the finish. This makes it dry a little bit slower , giving you time to come back and fix whatever you need, not to mention that you won’t have any ugly looking brush marks that normally there when you work with water-based polyurethane. Eukula is the ONLY brand that allows you to add water.
Now the price. Comparing to other brands, such as Bona, or Duraseal, one component Eukula cost the same or even less. Averge price for it is about $45 a gallon. In comparison: good type of Duraseal( which is not as good as Eukula anyway) cost about the same, and Bona(the 2nd best after Eukula in my opinion) cost even more- around $80 a gallon.Two component Eukula cost is around $90 a gallon.
Next time we’ll take a closer look at oil-based poly.
P.S. If you have any suggestions for topics to disscuss, please feel free to contact us.