Replies

1. 
   jerrymayfield | Oct 26, 2005 08:04pm | #1

   Thinning polyurethane varnish will not change the way it looks. If you thin it about 50/50 you will need about three coats to equal one coat applied as it comes. If you don't want the look of polyurethane varnish don't use it(I agree ). A good choice would be waterlox original, it has a phenolic resin and is made with tung oil. Unless you will be roller skating on your floors it will be fine. I was told by an old time carpenter that waterlox was originally sold to schools as gym floor finish I have no idea if this is true or not.

   Regards
   Jerry

2. 
   sharpblade | Oct 27, 2005 12:52am | #2

   You can still use the poly if you wish, just go with a satin finish, instead of gloss or s-gloss.

   And please, no need to capitalize everything, TURN OFF CAPS KEY :-)

3. 
   cherryjohn | Oct 27, 2005 03:19am | #3

   Jim is right....use Waterlox Original.............you wont regret it

   Wicked Decent Woodworks

   (oldest woodworking shop in NH)

   Rochester NH

   " If the women dont find you handsome, they should at least find you handy........yessa!"

1. 
   DennisS | Oct 27, 2005 06:24am | #4

   OK, for all you Waterlox stockholders (grin), let's talk about stair tread finishes. I, too, would like to have a more satin look on a wood tread stair that's in the design process as I type. Recently I worked on a high end custom house project where the guy they brought in to finish the stair treads (wood of course) used some sort of finish that they use on sail boats. This had a moderate sheen but was surprisingly non-slippery even in sock feet. During the finishing stages no one was allowed in the house with shoes on, that's how I know about the sock feet thing! (grin).So, what kind of surface does this Waterlox material yield? We don't plan on wearing shoes on our house, either, so I'm concerned about putting something on the stair treads that will provide a less than varnish-like slippery surface.

4. 
   wrudiger | Oct 27, 2005 07:50am | #5

   I'm sitting here looking at a White Tigerwood floor with 4 coats of polyurethane and it doesn't look plastic.  First coat was 50/50 diluted with thinner, the rest full strenght.  I think they screeded between each coat.  Satin finish.

   The Waterlox does look promising, certainly a plus in terms of refinishing.  I just don't hear of it being used in the SF Bay Area.  The only local supply is quarts at a Woodcraft 30 miles away.  Other than that it's mail order. 

   I'm curious why it doesn't have any distribution here.  Couldn't be cost - there is all kinds of very high end building going on in the whole SF area.  All the commercial stuff (e.g. exotic hardwoods floors in high-traffic retail stores) is poly.  Interesting...

1. 
   racwood | Nov 08, 2005 05:13pm | #10

   I've used waterlox original on our stairs made of old CVG doug fir bleacher steps from a high school gym.  Took about 3 -4 coats (with 3-4 days between coats for good curing) to arrive at a beautiful and up till now very durable finish.  I spoke once with a waterlox rep about availability in Calif.  Apparently the state limits sales to quarts only due to VOC's.  I am a big fan of this stuff and buy many quarts/year for various projects (notably doors and tables)  Someday I'll venture out to another means of finishing, but so far no reason to...   RACWOOD

5. 
   Danceswithwoods | Oct 27, 2005 12:56pm | #6

   I installed a hardwood floor in our dining area of 3/4" unfinished santos mahogany with inlays of wenge, goncalo alves, and quilted maple about 3 years ago and finished it with Waterlox Original Sealer.   Three coats followed by two of the satin finish.  Very satisfied.  I haven't had to touch it up but I know that it is a lot easier than poly.  Beautiful product.

1. 
   jhounshell | Nov 03, 2005 03:15pm | #9

   Danceswithwoods-If you have any digital photos of that floor, I'd love to see what it looks like.Thanks.

6. 
   SteveSchoene | Oct 28, 2005 07:54pm | #7

   Let me add another vote for Waterlox.  Despite the marketing hype, in my opinion poly is a specialty finish for situations where particular "toughness" is called for.  Since you generally take off shoes in your house you have also removed about the only good reason for poly.  And waterlox is still pretty tough--essentially a thinned tung/phenolic varnish, but not quite the "long oil" formulation that would make it a spar varnish.   

   And, even the toughest finish can be scratched.  But if it is poly, about your only option for a good repair is stripping and refinishing.  Waterlox can be repaired easily. 

    

7. 
   HowardAcheson | Oct 29, 2005 03:36am | #8

   Be careful with the recommendations for Waterlox Original.  Waterlox makes a number of finishes.  Waterlox Original comes in Sealer/Finish which a thinned, oil rich finish.  It also comes in both gloss and satin varnish.  The Waterlox Original Gloss is what was formally known as Gym Floor finish.  Both the gloss and satin are very durable finishes but because they are made with phenolic resin, they will give a amber cast to the finish.

   On your other questions, thinning and oil based finish will result in a thinner film of finish.  The thinner the film, the less durable it is.  It's almost always a good idea to thin the first coat about 30-50% with mineral spirits to promote absorbsion.  However, if you continue to apply thinned coats, you will have to apply 2-3 coats for every one full strength coat.  Three full strength coats is the minimum recommendation for most floor products.

   A final comment.  The best way to get a durable, long lasting finish is to allow it to fully cure 3-4 weeks.  It takes that long for varnish and poly varnish to fully cure and develope full adhesion and scratch resistance.  Stay off it for a week.  Then you can put the furniture back as long as you put some scrap carpet pads under each leg.  You should walk on it only in stocking feet for the next three weeks.

   Howie.........