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I've been renovating a house from 1947 for some time now, and I've finally gotten to the floors. The bathroom and kitchen floors had to be completely replaced, but the rest of the floors were salvageable. My dad and I rented the appropriate sanders and that was no problem. Staining, likewise, went well. But the polyurethane has not gone as well. Since my dad has a lot more free time than me, he's been working on the floors while I'm at work. First, he put one coat on one of the bedrooms, let it dry for a few of days, then lightly sanded it. Then he put a second coat on, and put a first coat on the rest of the floors. Then he put a third coat on the bedroom, sanded the rest of the floors, and applied a second coat to those. Finally, he put a third coat on the remainder of the floors. So, everything has the same number of coats, applied in the same way, except that one bedroom was one coat ahead.
Now this is the problem: We're using Minwax Satin polyurethane (I believe oil based), and most of the floors have a beautiful satin finish. But that first bedroom looks like high gloss! And there are a couple of little spots here and there that are the same. How is this possible? As far as I know he did it all the same way, just not at the same time. I really wanted the satin look, but I'm afraid we're going to have to get some gloss polyurethane and just go over everything again. I can't afford to rent sanders again and try to redo it all over. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
I might try hand sanding with some fine grit wet-n-dry sandpaper. It will give a similar effect to the satin, you just might need to clean it more often.
Finishes are very susceptible to the effects of humidity and heat when they are drying. The best finishes are done in climate controlled environments.
We went through this..... the comment above about humidity and temp are very true and can cause all sorts a anomalies including dimples.
But we found the #1 culprit with satin/semi gloss poly was not fully and regularly stirring the the poly. Satin/semi poly has an additive to make the satin finish, and it settles.
We had to have several floors redone because of this, and still have some inconsistent spots.
Another issue is that the gloss seems to keep increasing as more coats are applied, which can cause big problems with consistency. I've found I've had to come back later with a fine polishing compound to feather out some areas.
I'm not sure I'd go with this brand/solution again if we ever scuff coat it again for a house wide touch-up. Having an old house we didn't want gymnasium shiny floors, so high gloss was not our choice, but the Minwax caused a lot of headaches.
But we found the #1 culprit with satin/semi gloss poly was not fully and regularly stirring the the poly. Satin/semi poly has an additive to make the satin finish, and it settles.
I think this may have had a lot to do with it. Today my dad told me that there was a hardened substance in the bottom of the can when he tried to stir it. This was from the other day when he tried to go back over the shiny parts, and he says he thinks he may have forgotten to stir it the other day before he did that room. Today, I got a new can, stirred it thoroughly, and did a small patch over part of the glossy room. After it dried it was satin! So we're going to try this on the shiny parts. Thanks for the help!
Minwax is not the best stuff out there, but even better quality stuff can have this problem. Even the pros can get it. Their solution - sand it off and redo it. They said that it has a lot to do with the material used and how well it is mixed. Do not mix vigorously though or you will get bubbles
No matter how many coats of whatever sheen poly you apply, the top coat always determines the final sheen.
Typically the gloss poly is harder than a satin, so companies will apply 2 coats of gloss (for the added hardness) and a final top coat of satin for the no-shine look.
There's 3 things that can make a satin finish turn to gloss in you.
Most commonly, it's from not thoroughly & constantly mixing the poly.
Second is adding paint thinner.
Third is flash from high humidity.
In my honest opinion, Minwax is a decent clear gloss finish, as long as it's the old 550 v.o.c. formula and not the new 350 v.o.c. formula.
Good luck to you.
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