Poly Review: Glitsa Oil-based Hi-VOC Polyurethane
Seems like there are plenty of new (at least to us) products, which are becoming more and more popular among the floor guys. One of them is Glitsa.
Apparently it is widely known on the West Coast and pretty new to the East Coast where we’re from. I remember when our suppliers just started to sell this poly it was gone in the matter of days. I had (and actually still don’t have) any idea why, so we figured we’ll try it out: the hype around Glitsa was huge!
We purchased a few gallons of this stuff when it became available and gave it a shot.
First impression when we just opened the cans: boy, does it stink! We’re already working with the sealer which literary makes us cry(I’m talking about Zinsser), and now this!
Anyway, we couldn’t give up, so we started to work with it. Here is what we’ve noticed:
1. The coat seems to be thicker than of any other product. However, it’s more than likely just an impression because the coverage area is the same as any other poly: around 500-600 sq. feet per gallon.
2. The best way to apply Glitsa is by rolling it. Otherwise, if it is applied by the brush, it is pretty easy to leave puddles.
3. If the weather is humid this product more then likely will take longer than usual to dry: we had quite a few jobs where we had to come back later (sometimes a day later) due to not completely dry poly. Apparently it’s not that humid on the West Coast but in New England rainy/foggy days are quite usual.
4. Once the job is done it takes quite some time for the smell of Glitsa to go away even if you’ll open the windows etc.
Overall, I think it’s not a bad stuff. Pricing is pretty reasonable and the result is decent. I do have to say, however, that Glitsa is not one of my favorite products, but it is much better/cheaper than some of the other products that I know of.
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.
Polyurethane
As we all know, there are two types of polyurethane: water-based and oil-based.Both have their own pro’s and con’s.Let’s take a little closer look at both of them.
1.Oil-based polyurethane.The most popular so far( of course, with the new law that makes it more expensive and harder to get, things are going to change quickly).Durable, two coats of it on top of a coat of sealer, is normally more than enough.Gives an impression of thick buildup(it’s just an impression, though.In reality it’s much thinner than you think, which doesn’t make it bad in any way), and that deep amber look that everybody love.Most of the floor companies and the homeowners prefer to use this type of poly, because it is also very easy to apply.
Now here is something every homeowner should know.There are two types of oil-based poly: high VOC(Volatile Organic Compounds), which is affected by the new law and the low VOC, which is not affected.All the information above is about high VOC poly, which you, dear homeowner, cannot get anymore in 1 or 5 gallon containers.The only way to buy high VOC poly is to get it in quarts.So next time you’re going to the hardware store, make sure, you are buying your poly that way, unless you want all sorts of trouble, that low VOC poly gives you: heavy brush marks, very fast drying time on the surface, while you’re applying it, but very slow actual drying time(sometimes it’s still like a gum even after two days of wait)- all the good stuff.
Ok, where were we? Oh, yes, oil-based poly.Here are some minuses: dries much longer than water-based, smells a lot(and I mean it) and not safe for the environment, which, I know very important for more and more people day by day.
2.Now let’s talk water. This is very durable polyurethane.With 1 coat of sealer and three coats of water-based poly your floor is going to be much harder, than with oil-based.Dries very quickly: in half an hour after you applied the first coat, you can go ahead and put another one.You can literary finish the whole flooring project in one day, where if you would use the oil-based, it could take you 2-3 days.
By applying it without using a sealer, your floor is going to look milky, although, over the years it will yellow up a little.I would recommend to use a sealer first(Lenmar quick-dry sealer is perfect for that purpose): that will give your floors an amber look, not as rich as you would get with an oil-based finish, of course. This, the price of it(on average twice higher then the price for the oil-based poly) and a little bit complicated application process, are actually the main minuses.Otherwise it’s great.