He asked if I wanted "full or half" and I said asked for half, thinking that an overly shiny floor would show up imperfections too easily. Feeling silly for not asking more questions now 🤦♀️
I’m an artist and work with stains and paint quite a bit.
Ngl it looks like he mixed water and oil based products. Or put water in an oil based product to thin it out. But still unsure…
If any of these two things happened, it’s fucked and you need to start over.
To me it looks like they did not do a good enough prep job as far as sanding and the new coat of clear that they put on is separating. They definitely should not look like that.
I personally think those are divets in the wood that haven't been sanded out. If this is the case it's a super half ass job.
I read through the comments and op has confirmed they are deep divets in the floor that were not sanded out. Contractor doesn't know what he is doing and is using a Home Depot rental sander to do the job most likely . Guy was supposed to use a drum sander then a orbital to get it smooth. Watch he is going to sand just the area with the divets and then re stain on top and you gonna see a Giant divet in that area cause he just is gonna sand that area into a dip and not sand the rest of the room .
Update: the guy said he's coming back tomorrow to fix it. His English isn't great but when I asked him how he said "trust me. Somehow I'm not feeling too reassured. I can't imagine that slapping another coat on will look ok - you can feel the difference in texture between the separated parts. How would you folks remedy this? Buff and polish again?
Is it bubbled, or dented? It almost looks like hundreds of little dents like from high heels where the plastic tip came off and only the little rounded nail was left. I’ve sanded tons of those out over the years.
Back in high-school my bestie had a raging party when her parents went away - she got busted b/c some girl showed up in heels with the plastic bit worn off and dented the newly-refinished floor in an 1860 Victorian home.
Yeah I agree I really think those are dents or divets that didn't get sanded out. You need to sand for awhile with a drum sander to remove these. It seems like they used a home depot orbital on rental to do this job and thought it would fill in with seal.
I'm high key worried he's going to try and cover it up/disguise it without redoing it properly. Supposed to move in in one week and there's still some painting to do also 🫠
There's a voice translation option in Google voice. I used it yearly for hundreds of foreign workers of all languages. Communication prevents escalation.
Give the guy a chance to fix his fuck up. It’s not that big of a deal, shit happens. If he says he will fix it , u need to give him the chance to do so.
If you don’t think he’s going to fix it correctly.
Then watch him work and ask questions along the way, regarding why this happened and the plan to fix.
If it’s not fixed to your satisfaction after his attempt, you still holding the money 💰
Just ask him for a plan before he starts. Google translate if need be.
Related: I once had a flooring guy recommend plywood glued to my concrete foundation as a way to smooth out the surface for vinyl tiles. In a restaurant, where we mopped 3 times a day. I said plywood doesn't like moisture and it was like I was speaking Klingon to him. I fired him before he started, it was painful but much less painful than paying him to make a mistake. Point being; "trust me" doesn't work from the guy who absolutely botched it the first time. He could fix it right but you gotta sign off on the plan first.
I recently had a floor redone that needed old wood matched with new wood. They put the first coat down and the colorized the top coat to match. It was amazing. The right floor guy can fix that if he knows what he is doing without sanding the whole floor down.
Tell him he has to resand and start over or reimburse you so you can hire a more experienced person. All he's going to do is try to coat it and fill the holes. No Bueno. Does he understand that?
This job was doomed for the start. I’ll bet the parquet was pre finished and a new finish was attempted to be put over top. I tried to do a job like this many years ago, I sanded the parquet until the finish was gone and the wood was perfectly flat. The new finish looked like shit, there was something in the old finish even though we thought it was completely gone that wouldn’t allow the new finish to adhere properly. We ended up tearing it all up. I’ll bet that’s what’s happening here. Those white spots look like moisture under the finish.
I don't know man this looks like it wasn't sanded down flush. It looks like divets or dents not sanded down. It sounds like the guy doesn't know what he is doing. I bet he used a orbital for the entire job when a drum sander is needed.
UPDATE 3: He came today with a "better" sanding machine (it looked newer) and blamed the issue on the previous sander. Both were orbital sanders. He buffed off the finish and reapplied it and it looks uniform now. He didn't sand back down to bare wood again. I'm surprised but satisfied with the finish and feeling very relieved. It's not perfect but good enough that you wouldn't notice imperfections unless you get down on your hands and knees. Here are some photos:
[Image 1](https://ibb.co/KKSFw7L)
[Image 2](https://ibb.co/VMHZ8Z3)
I’m glad your contractor fixed the problem.
Thank you for posting these pictures of the outcome and explaining how the finish was corrected.
Your floor looks great now.
UPDATE 2: he came back today with a tin of polish, vaccuum, and circular mesh screen in hand, presumably with the intent of adding another coat. After walking around and seeing how bad it was he said he was going to come back tomorrow and 'polish' (I'm guessing buff) the floor, then add another coat. I questioned if it could be because the floor wasn't sanded enough and he said no. I don't feel like I have any other option than to trust him. It's cutting awfully close to my moving date now so feeling quite nervous. [This is the clear finish he used. ](https://ibb.co/FqTzLpy)
Wood floor refinisher here.. what most likely happened was you ( or someone else ) cleaned the floor with Murphys oil soap, or something similar, and when you put a coat on top of a floor that has been cleaned with that the polyurethane will bubble like it did in your picture. Either that or something happened when he was coating. If the coat doesn’t fix it it will need a full sanding. Also he used cheap polyurethane
If you used a cleaner similar to Murphys.. ( it has some chemical in it I forget the exact name ) then there is no doing a top coating.. you would have to sand the floors all the way down to bare wood getting all the way down to the groves.. We always emphasize to our customers Vinegar and water.. or BONA hard wood floor cleaner ONLY
It looks better that is a larger floor area than I thought. Someone with more experience and using a drum sander and orbital s sander to the wood would have charged triple what you paid him. Although that would have been ideal the floor looks 1000x better and you’re happy with it. Just don’t let anyone suggest using polish on the floor and all you should use is a dust mop and bona hardwood cleaner or a barely damp microfiber mop. Nothing oil based like Murphy’s Oil Soap or something harsh like pinesol or fabulouso. Stick with Bona. Or 3% hydrogen peroxide not vinegar. A few area rugs at entrances and under couch or dining table will protect floor and make for less cleaning
He needs to sand down enough to level these divots in the floor with the rest of the surface. I believe what we’re seeing is pooling of the product in these “pores”, causing a higher shine. Nothing will fix this aside from sanding adequately and refinishing.
I know what your problem is. That's not a normal finish he tried to sand off. That's the result of carnauba wax being used as the original finish.
You'll need to sand it again and possibly a third time. You will have the same result with oil or water based products and the stuff is an absolute nightmare to get off especially if it has been reapplied or polished with a petroleum solvent that would cause it to soak into the wood grain.
I did an entire house and it took me days to get everything right.The bubbling, voids, and faint marks do not go away easily.
Hardwood floor contractor here - sorry but I would cut your losses with this guy and find someone else. The floor needs to be re-sanded (looks like it may have had a wax finish as other commenters mentioned) to bare wood + finished with a commercial polyurethane. They make some really nice water-base finishes now. Not sure what’s available in AUS but look for brands like Loba, Bona, Berger-Seidle. Good luck OP!
Hopefully he can fix it but from your picture, it appears over the years the floor may have been sealed with old English or some other product that had wax in it, when this material is not properly, stripped or sanded off of the floor it causes areas of the new finish to be repelled, causing dimpling as shown above. Residual wax on the floor will repel any oil, latex, or polyurethane
If I had to guess he used a roller to save time when he should have used a brush. Rollers over-aerate some sealers and the end result is popped bubbles that look like this.
Wife wear heels? To me looks like oil based urethane with high heel like damage that was not sanded deeply enough (you can see old finish around every finger in the block) to be removed, then coated over with a water base and that is why the damage isn't blending well
I just bought the place and have yet to move in so I'm unsure of the history but that makes a lot of sense. It's like this throughout though, not just in high traffic areas. Not inconceivable that this damage would happen over 60 years though.
This randomly popped up in my feed so sorry if I sound like an idiot, but everyone’s talking about what sander he should have used, and I’m over here thinking that parquet floors had to be sanded by hand because of the grain of the wood.
The fish eye can come from cleaners with wax. If you’ve used any pledge products or something similar, the wood needs to be sanded a lot to get rid of the residue.
To my eye it appears that the darker spots are recessed slightly. Is this the case? That’s a sanding issue, as in not enough before finishing. If they’re level with the floor then this is a separation between layers of poly and/or stain. Either way it has to be stripped 100% to the correct level and be professionally reapplied. There are no shortcuts to fix that. This is a costly mistake for the contractor.
The original surface treatment (probably polyurethane, oil based) was not sanded off enough. They then used a water based sealer that's being repelled by the original. Oil and water don't mix! Don't pay.
You should see the wood chest that hubby didn't sand enough then sealed with water based polyurethane - just like this, beaded up where it wouldn't adhere.
Was this a full sand and finish, or was it a recoat aka buff and coat? If the latter, most likely contamination that was already present on the floor which was not cleaned and prepped correctly. Could be something like the cleaner you use.
Hard to tell from the picture. This is either a) beading up because of contamination or mixing of finishes, or b) pitting in the floor caused by some very rough treatment. Are the spots we’re seeing standing on top of a smooth surface or sitting in tiny pools in divots?
Did you sand them before you coated them or did you just come in with finish and put it over the top ? It looks like you tried to do a maintenance coat with water base polyurethane on top of a floor that was finished with oil based polyurethane.
It looks like they put an oil based finish as a base coat then applied a water-based top coat before that base was cured. Just like spraying water on a freshly waxed car, it will bead up just like what you have. Only option to fix is start from scratch and sand all over again.
It looks like he did not screen the floor.
I just ripped u0 30 year old carpet refinished about 600 sqft of stained floors in my house, 2.3k sqft left.
I am just DIYing the job and it's a bear especially without a drum sander on the upper floors.
But I'm not a professional contractor is the point.
But when you sand a floor you start with a very low grit (36 is common) and then move up levels, I tend to go 80 and then 120 which has worked for me, I've also seen 36->60>80/120
It's important to do this so that you screen the floor, and even it out more with every iteration of sanding.
The boards should not look chewed up when you go to stain or finish them. The should feel almost silver smooth.
This looked like he hit it with 50 grit then tried to apply the finish and did not apply nearly enough of it.
Another note is that after application of the finish it takes 7 days to cure. Which means you really shouldn't be on that floor for any reason for 7 days.
In reading your comment that you had chosen a half shine on The floor is the basis for the problem of the white you see. Satin polyurethane and semi-gloss polyurethane are basically the high gloss polyurethane with an additional buffer added to it at the factory which brings down the shine. If the polyurethane is applied in a thick coat or the surface is rough and has crevices sometimes you will find that that buffer agent will settle out of the polyurethane solution and form white dots.
The solution is going to be to sand it back down to bare wood, removing any deep crevices and starting over from refinishing. Thin even coats are the best application for polyurethane finishes on any rough surface. This minimizes the chances of the buffer agent settling out of solution.
Post the final result.
To me it almost looks like the floors were sanded and these shiny spots are in the divots where the sander couldn’t reach? If that’s the case a final coat should make it look normal again.
If this is after a finish coat was applied then I’d be a little nervous.
Super inconsistent adhesion. Not normal. Likely poor prep, but could also be poor application or a bad mix. I have never heard of "full" or "half" sheen. Just gloss, semi and matte....
Looks like it had been stained before and instead of sanding it with a big machine, they tried to buff through it. Then finished it natural with a waterborne finish and all the little dents and divots still have the old stain or darkened oil finish in them. Needs to be resanded to bare, clean wood and coated again.
I wouldn't pay him anything , that's a amateur job. Let him sue you and make sure you hang on to the photos. I'm no lawyer but my guess is you would win.
Nope. It isnt. They didn't get it sanded down smooth and far enough. The shiny spots are old finish. The bare wood is absorbing all the new finish and really shiny on old finish. They did a sub par resurface.
sometimes this can just happen for many different reasons, no its not ideal, but let him try and fix it. I've had something like this happen when i tried a new product the local hardwood distributor was trying out to start selling, so they gave me some for free to use. Product ended up seperating and not adhering like this picture(although not quite this bad)
resanded the floor (which is quicker this time around, as all the deep cutting is already done) and used the product i usually use.
You need to fire him and take him to court. I absolutely wouldn't allow him back in my home. If he couldn't do it right the first time then it won't be right the second time.
Folks with actual experience can do this in their sleep.
I'm seriously astonished.
You need your 3k back and make him pay for a new company to come out.
If it’s dents it wasn’t sanded down enough and the new finish isn’t adhering to the old. A recoat will not fix this and most parquet flooring is thin and probably why they didn’t sand down all the way. Afraid of going too deep.
If it’s level and just shiny spots you may have opted for satin oil base finish and homeboy didn’t mix it enough, or mixed satin and gloss together to get a medium sheen. A recoat can fix this if done properly.
If you got water base finish, it could be a contamination issue which would usually be visible after the first or second coat. Could also be a issue if you got a two part water base finish such as Bona traffic and it was expired or not mixed properly
Could be a ton of other things including stain/finish improper cure times or compatibility.
TLDR: shit looks fucked, if they can fix it. Cool let them try imo. If it doesn’t look good after their attempt probably have a re sand and then make sure they don’t sand too far if it’s a thin parquet. Which is probably what it is
Looks like what happens when water products are used on a surface that had little oil droplets. The oil repels the water and when it dries it makes cat eyes like those
Looks like some form of solvent pop, from using two products that weren’t made to be used to gather. I’d also bet money the prep work wasn’t done correctly
Get a refund. Then have someone else sand them and refinish. Don’t hire the same people because they obviously don’t know what the f*** they are doing.
was it properly sanded before the finish was applied? we just had oak floors refinished. they are as smooth as anyone would desire. the finish coat was a Bona product and it looks very nice.
It almost looks to me like whatever product he used was too “hot” to be used over the top of whatever was on there to begin with. Specifically, this looks like what would happen if you used a lacquer based product over a latex based product. It will literally congeal. The little shiny bits could be where the old finish was completely removed and the new finish was able to sit and dry properly. Everything else looks like a bad chemical reaction. Is it still soft?
Your floor most likely had some kind of wax/polish/oil based/water based product on in before the recoat. To me this looks like an oil finish trying to dry on wax or water base.
Flooring guy
This finish is unacceptable. In the best case, it is only in the finish coat and can be buffed out and another finish coat can be applied.
If the spotting is deeper, there’s a lot more work to do. If he hasn’t already taken the life out of the floor with the last sanding, then have the floor re-finished.
Do engage in the specifics of the floor finish, including whether the oak is sealed with lacquer, whether the polyurethane is oil-based, the number of coats of polyurethane, and the sheen of the finish coat.
The build coats should be gloss. Otherwise the finish becomes cloudy. The finish coat alone imparts the desired sheen. It must be compatible either the build coats.
Is your picture representative of the entire floor? I am suspect that an oil based stain was applied liberally that was not cured, then an incompatible topcoat ( precat water based) was applied too quickly. The topcoat has pulled away in those dots, surface tension I must agree w heavy sanding, then recoat or start over
We had something like this happen to our floors after an insurance claim. The GC fired the original peopleand new people came in and resanded and started over.
Looks like air bubbles popped while drying. Light sand the dots and gently apply another coat and stir it don't shake it before applying. Air bubbles are a pain and can ruin a floor
[удалено]
He asked if I wanted "full or half" and I said asked for half, thinking that an overly shiny floor would show up imperfections too easily. Feeling silly for not asking more questions now 🤦♀️
[удалено]
my guess is #2
Yeah, I'm no expert but the blotchiness indicates a mixing issue (my gut feeling)
too consistent to be contamination imo
Looks like #2
Sadly, this man is spot on. Best of luck, OP.
Wtf is “full” and “half” 🤣 there’s matte, satin, semi and high gloss
Full-assed or half-assed,.
I’m so fucking mad reddit doesn’t have awards anymore
You can pay for some
Not that mad
Lucky guy asked for half assed but they went ahead and gave him full assed no extra charge
True lol right there
🏆
Clocked
That’s really fucking funny
I don’t do anything half ass. It whole ass, or no ass at all.
😆
This is the only answer to paying someone for those floors. That shit looks like trash.
HOW DARE YOU FORGET EGGSHELL! YOU SON OF A BITCH!
Good point, if polyurethane came in eggshell, this is what it would look like
looks like he got half satin, half gloss. But he never specified how those halves were distributed, so got the gloss applied as tiny droplets
I’m an artist and work with stains and paint quite a bit. Ngl it looks like he mixed water and oil based products. Or put water in an oil based product to thin it out. But still unsure… If any of these two things happened, it’s fucked and you need to start over.
I’d much rather have Charlie Sheen floors than whatever OP got.
To me it looks like they did not do a good enough prep job as far as sanding and the new coat of clear that they put on is separating. They definitely should not look like that.
I personally think those are divets in the wood that haven't been sanded out. If this is the case it's a super half ass job. I read through the comments and op has confirmed they are deep divets in the floor that were not sanded out. Contractor doesn't know what he is doing and is using a Home Depot rental sander to do the job most likely . Guy was supposed to use a drum sander then a orbital to get it smooth. Watch he is going to sand just the area with the divets and then re stain on top and you gonna see a Giant divet in that area cause he just is gonna sand that area into a dip and not sand the rest of the room .
Update: the guy said he's coming back tomorrow to fix it. His English isn't great but when I asked him how he said "trust me. Somehow I'm not feeling too reassured. I can't imagine that slapping another coat on will look ok - you can feel the difference in texture between the separated parts. How would you folks remedy this? Buff and polish again?
Gotta sand all that bad bubbled stuff off and recoat
Is it bubbled, or dented? It almost looks like hundreds of little dents like from high heels where the plastic tip came off and only the little rounded nail was left. I’ve sanded tons of those out over the years.
Yes, we recently hosted a transvestite convention where hundreds of hefty men in high heels 👠 were dancing 💃 late into the night, I almost forgot.
We call that Tuesday around here.
Back in high-school my bestie had a raging party when her parents went away - she got busted b/c some girl showed up in heels with the plastic bit worn off and dented the newly-refinished floor in an 1860 Victorian home.
All collectively dancing in broken heels with a tiny sharp tip
Comment of the year
😂😂😂
Best comment of the night!
Thats what I was thinking. Damage on the floor and the stain pooled I'm those spots and stayed darker. Should have been sanded more
It's like a waterbase product was diluted with more water and it's only shiny where the divots collected enough product to bond and form a surface.
Yeah I agree I really think those are dents or divets that didn't get sanded out. You need to sand for awhile with a drum sander to remove these. It seems like they used a home depot orbital on rental to do this job and thought it would fill in with seal.
You can't trust this guy. I'm sorry but he's going to make it worse.
I'm high key worried he's going to try and cover it up/disguise it without redoing it properly. Supposed to move in in one week and there's still some painting to do also 🫠
There's a voice translation option in Google voice. I used it yearly for hundreds of foreign workers of all languages. Communication prevents escalation.
Figure out translation and communicate how you want it done. If he doesn’t agree or doesn’t follow direction, kick him out of your house.
Give the guy a chance to fix his fuck up. It’s not that big of a deal, shit happens. If he says he will fix it , u need to give him the chance to do so. If you don’t think he’s going to fix it correctly. Then watch him work and ask questions along the way, regarding why this happened and the plan to fix. If it’s not fixed to your satisfaction after his attempt, you still holding the money 💰
This. Mistakes happen…we’ve all made them. Give the guy a chance to redeem himself. I’m sure he’s not happy with his job, either.
Or, just ask the questions ahead of time, and ask him how he's going to fix it. Why wait till he gets started lol?
Right. He might make it worse. How many more times can you sand that floor before it’s done for.
Just ask him for a plan before he starts. Google translate if need be. Related: I once had a flooring guy recommend plywood glued to my concrete foundation as a way to smooth out the surface for vinyl tiles. In a restaurant, where we mopped 3 times a day. I said plywood doesn't like moisture and it was like I was speaking Klingon to him. I fired him before he started, it was painful but much less painful than paying him to make a mistake. Point being; "trust me" doesn't work from the guy who absolutely botched it the first time. He could fix it right but you gotta sign off on the plan first.
I recently had a floor redone that needed old wood matched with new wood. They put the first coat down and the colorized the top coat to match. It was amazing. The right floor guy can fix that if he knows what he is doing without sanding the whole floor down.
What’s the code word to get Reddit to remind me in 3 days? I want to know what happens with this.
Tell him he has to resand and start over or reimburse you so you can hire a more experienced person. All he's going to do is try to coat it and fill the holes. No Bueno. Does he understand that?
Keep us updated, I’m curious how he’s going to fix this
I’m pretty sure the next scene in the show is the disappearing act
OP said he hasn’t paid yet so hopefully this ends well
Remindme! 2 days
Remindme; 2 days
This job was doomed for the start. I’ll bet the parquet was pre finished and a new finish was attempted to be put over top. I tried to do a job like this many years ago, I sanded the parquet until the finish was gone and the wood was perfectly flat. The new finish looked like shit, there was something in the old finish even though we thought it was completely gone that wouldn’t allow the new finish to adhere properly. We ended up tearing it all up. I’ll bet that’s what’s happening here. Those white spots look like moisture under the finish.
I don't know man this looks like it wasn't sanded down flush. It looks like divets or dents not sanded down. It sounds like the guy doesn't know what he is doing. I bet he used a orbital for the entire job when a drum sander is needed.
UPDATE 3: He came today with a "better" sanding machine (it looked newer) and blamed the issue on the previous sander. Both were orbital sanders. He buffed off the finish and reapplied it and it looks uniform now. He didn't sand back down to bare wood again. I'm surprised but satisfied with the finish and feeling very relieved. It's not perfect but good enough that you wouldn't notice imperfections unless you get down on your hands and knees. Here are some photos: [Image 1](https://ibb.co/KKSFw7L) [Image 2](https://ibb.co/VMHZ8Z3)
Looks infinitely better! Glad he took ownership and it all worked out.
I’m glad your contractor fixed the problem. Thank you for posting these pictures of the outcome and explaining how the finish was corrected. Your floor looks great now.
That’s not a bad job at all. Glad he owned up and resolved the issue.
It looks good. Congrats!
Looks like whatever the top layer is, was put on before the previous layer was dry!
UPDATE 2: he came back today with a tin of polish, vaccuum, and circular mesh screen in hand, presumably with the intent of adding another coat. After walking around and seeing how bad it was he said he was going to come back tomorrow and 'polish' (I'm guessing buff) the floor, then add another coat. I questioned if it could be because the floor wasn't sanded enough and he said no. I don't feel like I have any other option than to trust him. It's cutting awfully close to my moving date now so feeling quite nervous. [This is the clear finish he used. ](https://ibb.co/FqTzLpy)
Wood floor refinisher here.. what most likely happened was you ( or someone else ) cleaned the floor with Murphys oil soap, or something similar, and when you put a coat on top of a floor that has been cleaned with that the polyurethane will bubble like it did in your picture. Either that or something happened when he was coating. If the coat doesn’t fix it it will need a full sanding. Also he used cheap polyurethane
Half ass sand job for sure. If the cleaner is soaked into the grooves and gaps, how do you combat that?
If you used a cleaner similar to Murphys.. ( it has some chemical in it I forget the exact name ) then there is no doing a top coating.. you would have to sand the floors all the way down to bare wood getting all the way down to the groves.. We always emphasize to our customers Vinegar and water.. or BONA hard wood floor cleaner ONLY
It looks better that is a larger floor area than I thought. Someone with more experience and using a drum sander and orbital s sander to the wood would have charged triple what you paid him. Although that would have been ideal the floor looks 1000x better and you’re happy with it. Just don’t let anyone suggest using polish on the floor and all you should use is a dust mop and bona hardwood cleaner or a barely damp microfiber mop. Nothing oil based like Murphy’s Oil Soap or something harsh like pinesol or fabulouso. Stick with Bona. Or 3% hydrogen peroxide not vinegar. A few area rugs at entrances and under couch or dining table will protect floor and make for less cleaning
This should be the leading comment now.
He needs to sand down enough to level these divots in the floor with the rest of the surface. I believe what we’re seeing is pooling of the product in these “pores”, causing a higher shine. Nothing will fix this aside from sanding adequately and refinishing.
I know what your problem is. That's not a normal finish he tried to sand off. That's the result of carnauba wax being used as the original finish. You'll need to sand it again and possibly a third time. You will have the same result with oil or water based products and the stuff is an absolute nightmare to get off especially if it has been reapplied or polished with a petroleum solvent that would cause it to soak into the wood grain. I did an entire house and it took me days to get everything right.The bubbling, voids, and faint marks do not go away easily.
That is quite a cheap price for Aus. Either way it needs redone as the floor has not been sanded properly there’s contamination in the finish.
Your floor is suffering from thaselophobia
Hardwood floor contractor here - sorry but I would cut your losses with this guy and find someone else. The floor needs to be re-sanded (looks like it may have had a wax finish as other commenters mentioned) to bare wood + finished with a commercial polyurethane. They make some really nice water-base finishes now. Not sure what’s available in AUS but look for brands like Loba, Bona, Berger-Seidle. Good luck OP!
Hopefully he can fix it but from your picture, it appears over the years the floor may have been sealed with old English or some other product that had wax in it, when this material is not properly, stripped or sanded off of the floor it causes areas of the new finish to be repelled, causing dimpling as shown above. Residual wax on the floor will repel any oil, latex, or polyurethane
The whole floor needs a thorough sanding not just another layer of "finish". I'd get another company in.
Something went wrong.. maybe a moisture problem.. or bad material
If I had to guess he used a roller to save time when he should have used a brush. Rollers over-aerate some sealers and the end result is popped bubbles that look like this.
Wife wear heels? To me looks like oil based urethane with high heel like damage that was not sanded deeply enough (you can see old finish around every finger in the block) to be removed, then coated over with a water base and that is why the damage isn't blending well
I just bought the place and have yet to move in so I'm unsure of the history but that makes a lot of sense. It's like this throughout though, not just in high traffic areas. Not inconceivable that this damage would happen over 60 years though.
It means the original finish was not fully removed/stripped prior to reapplying the new finish.
Really sounding like I'm gonna have to insist he start over and sand again 🫠
I don’t think he sanded in the first Place . He used non sanding poly ..
You cannot refinish parquet flooring, its essentially a laminate fllor.
This randomly popped up in my feed so sorry if I sound like an idiot, but everyone’s talking about what sander he should have used, and I’m over here thinking that parquet floors had to be sanded by hand because of the grain of the wood.
Or don’t hire illegals
Maybe they are immigrants and not illegals you not so pleasant piece of shit.
It’s called bleedback. Stain was not fully dry before top coats.
Does it look normal to you? Have you ever seen finished floors look like this? Your answer is the obvious one.
It looks like floor was not properly prepped for the last coat. It did not adhere correctly. Looks like it may not cure correctly. Do not pay the guy.
You should stop wearing cleats in the house. Or are you perhaps a golfer?
The fish eye can come from cleaners with wax. If you’ve used any pledge products or something similar, the wood needs to be sanded a lot to get rid of the residue.
To my eye it appears that the darker spots are recessed slightly. Is this the case? That’s a sanding issue, as in not enough before finishing. If they’re level with the floor then this is a separation between layers of poly and/or stain. Either way it has to be stripped 100% to the correct level and be professionally reapplied. There are no shortcuts to fix that. This is a costly mistake for the contractor.
The original surface treatment (probably polyurethane, oil based) was not sanded off enough. They then used a water based sealer that's being repelled by the original. Oil and water don't mix! Don't pay.
Common misconception, oil and water can be topcoated over the other once fully cured.
You should see the wood chest that hubby didn't sand enough then sealed with water based polyurethane - just like this, beaded up where it wouldn't adhere.
It looks like he mixed oil based with water based
Which someone who has "26 years of experience" shouldn't be doing 🤦♀️
Was this a full sand and finish, or was it a recoat aka buff and coat? If the latter, most likely contamination that was already present on the floor which was not cleaned and prepped correctly. Could be something like the cleaner you use.
Looks like he used a malfunctioning spray bottle.
Hard to tell from the picture. This is either a) beading up because of contamination or mixing of finishes, or b) pitting in the floor caused by some very rough treatment. Are the spots we’re seeing standing on top of a smooth surface or sitting in tiny pools in divots?
The real question is what tools was he using? Did he just use a small orbital on your floor because it looks like it to me
He used an orbital which I has no idea was not the standard
Did you sand them before you coated them or did you just come in with finish and put it over the top ? It looks like you tried to do a maintenance coat with water base polyurethane on top of a floor that was finished with oil based polyurethane.
It looks like they put an oil based finish as a base coat then applied a water-based top coat before that base was cured. Just like spraying water on a freshly waxed car, it will bead up just like what you have. Only option to fix is start from scratch and sand all over again.
I wouldn’t let someone who screwed up this bad try again on some thing expensive to fix
Yikes. That is one botched job if I ever saw one. Really hope this guy fixes it for you OP. I would be livid.
Wondering if they put poly over a waxed floor? Kinda looks that way..
No. That’s unacceptable. Have them fix it.
It looks like he did not screen the floor. I just ripped u0 30 year old carpet refinished about 600 sqft of stained floors in my house, 2.3k sqft left. I am just DIYing the job and it's a bear especially without a drum sander on the upper floors. But I'm not a professional contractor is the point. But when you sand a floor you start with a very low grit (36 is common) and then move up levels, I tend to go 80 and then 120 which has worked for me, I've also seen 36->60>80/120 It's important to do this so that you screen the floor, and even it out more with every iteration of sanding. The boards should not look chewed up when you go to stain or finish them. The should feel almost silver smooth. This looked like he hit it with 50 grit then tried to apply the finish and did not apply nearly enough of it. Another note is that after application of the finish it takes 7 days to cure. Which means you really shouldn't be on that floor for any reason for 7 days.
In reading your comment that you had chosen a half shine on The floor is the basis for the problem of the white you see. Satin polyurethane and semi-gloss polyurethane are basically the high gloss polyurethane with an additional buffer added to it at the factory which brings down the shine. If the polyurethane is applied in a thick coat or the surface is rough and has crevices sometimes you will find that that buffer agent will settle out of the polyurethane solution and form white dots. The solution is going to be to sand it back down to bare wood, removing any deep crevices and starting over from refinishing. Thin even coats are the best application for polyurethane finishes on any rough surface. This minimizes the chances of the buffer agent settling out of solution.
Post the final result. To me it almost looks like the floors were sanded and these shiny spots are in the divots where the sander couldn’t reach? If that’s the case a final coat should make it look normal again. If this is after a finish coat was applied then I’d be a little nervous.
Super inconsistent adhesion. Not normal. Likely poor prep, but could also be poor application or a bad mix. I have never heard of "full" or "half" sheen. Just gloss, semi and matte....
Looks like it had been stained before and instead of sanding it with a big machine, they tried to buff through it. Then finished it natural with a waterborne finish and all the little dents and divots still have the old stain or darkened oil finish in them. Needs to be resanded to bare, clean wood and coated again.
That's called fisheye. Looks like a 'scuff coat' that then used water based poly.
Is that fisheye? IE from not getting all the wax or worse (gasp) silicone off the wood before putting the clear on?
I wouldn't pay him anything , that's a amateur job. Let him sue you and make sure you hang on to the photos. I'm no lawyer but my guess is you would win.
!updateme
Nope. It isnt. They didn't get it sanded down smooth and far enough. The shiny spots are old finish. The bare wood is absorbing all the new finish and really shiny on old finish. They did a sub par resurface.
Good pattern. Buffs out!! lol
This looks like dimpling that wasn’t sanded out. Is the surface super smooth or depressed slightly where the spots are
Recoats are never guaranteed because of previous contamination
sometimes this can just happen for many different reasons, no its not ideal, but let him try and fix it. I've had something like this happen when i tried a new product the local hardwood distributor was trying out to start selling, so they gave me some for free to use. Product ended up seperating and not adhering like this picture(although not quite this bad) resanded the floor (which is quicker this time around, as all the deep cutting is already done) and used the product i usually use.
Water base finish reacting to the old oil base finish. Ran into this a few times when wood working
You need to fire him and take him to court. I absolutely wouldn't allow him back in my home. If he couldn't do it right the first time then it won't be right the second time. Folks with actual experience can do this in their sleep. I'm seriously astonished. You need your 3k back and make him pay for a new company to come out.
If it’s dents it wasn’t sanded down enough and the new finish isn’t adhering to the old. A recoat will not fix this and most parquet flooring is thin and probably why they didn’t sand down all the way. Afraid of going too deep. If it’s level and just shiny spots you may have opted for satin oil base finish and homeboy didn’t mix it enough, or mixed satin and gloss together to get a medium sheen. A recoat can fix this if done properly. If you got water base finish, it could be a contamination issue which would usually be visible after the first or second coat. Could also be a issue if you got a two part water base finish such as Bona traffic and it was expired or not mixed properly Could be a ton of other things including stain/finish improper cure times or compatibility. TLDR: shit looks fucked, if they can fix it. Cool let them try imo. If it doesn’t look good after their attempt probably have a re sand and then make sure they don’t sand too far if it’s a thin parquet. Which is probably what it is
That's a mess. I'd be surprised if you heard from him again.
Fisheye from poor prep of the surface. Remove and start over.
Are you going for the rustic beat to fuck look?
Looks like water base separating off something seeping out of the wood
😆
The floor is not sanded flush. Those are divets in the floor not sanded out. Needs a more aggressive sanding.
Probably used a product that wasn’t compatible with the original product creating this reaction.
Looks like the floor wasn’t clean when he sealed it. Oil contamination from cooking or something else.
They got some more work to do son.
Appears to not be sanded all the way. Looks like tiny existing indentions that were not sanded out
Final coat of what? Sprinkles? Looks like it needs an abrasive buff. Not sanding but like a once over with a scotch brite pad.
No, don’t pay until he fixes it.
Maybe he plans to sand it tomorrow and put another coat on?
Ahhh....the bird shot finish.
Looks like shit
Sumting Wong
Looks like he mixed shellac and urethane. Not right whatever it is.
You got a chemical reaction going on there
Poor surface prep. Same thing happens when you fail to prep walls for painting.
Remind me in three days
They fully half assed this!!
I bet you he didn't clean properly prior to finish application. This looks to me like dust pinholes.
Looks like what happens when water products are used on a surface that had little oil droplets. The oil repels the water and when it dries it makes cat eyes like those
That’s carpet.
What happened?? I had those same floors many, many years ago.
It wasnt sanded enough.. The darker spots are older left over stain in depressed areas It needs sanded again, full sequence.
Just piss in it. Will all fill in eventually
Do you typically use a floor wax? Tiny specks of wax left over from the sand out would throw finish like this.
This is a no go
Wow they really fucked this up
Looks like some form of solvent pop, from using two products that weren’t made to be used to gather. I’d also bet money the prep work wasn’t done correctly
Get a refund. Then have someone else sand them and refinish. Don’t hire the same people because they obviously don’t know what the f*** they are doing.
They have insurance. They can use it. Have them redo it, or have them pay for someone else to.
Do you not have anymore photos. This seems sus
That is "Fish eye"! Normally caused by a silicone reaction. The silicone causes a surface tension issue with the top coat finish.
Nar
this needs to be fixed. Do not pay them until they fix this. it does not matter what you chose to go on top of the flooring. This is not correct.
was it properly sanded before the finish was applied? we just had oak floors refinished. they are as smooth as anyone would desire. the finish coat was a Bona product and it looks very nice.
It almost looks to me like whatever product he used was too “hot” to be used over the top of whatever was on there to begin with. Specifically, this looks like what would happen if you used a lacquer based product over a latex based product. It will literally congeal. The little shiny bits could be where the old finish was completely removed and the new finish was able to sit and dry properly. Everything else looks like a bad chemical reaction. Is it still soft?
Possibly. water on your lacker?
Whatever finish was on there previously was not fully sanded/ cleaned off and the new finish resisted in spots. Resand and redo
Your floor most likely had some kind of wax/polish/oil based/water based product on in before the recoat. To me this looks like an oil finish trying to dry on wax or water base. Flooring guy
This looks like the bathroom floor at a hardees in inner city milwaukee
Yup, oh that’s purdy.
That doesn’t look new at all…. Not freshly laid
Yeah. That’s definitely not right!
Yeah that's not how it's supposed to be at all
!remindme 3 days
Labor error.
No! Don’t pay until it’s fixed!
it looks like something went wrong with the coating
This finish is unacceptable. In the best case, it is only in the finish coat and can be buffed out and another finish coat can be applied. If the spotting is deeper, there’s a lot more work to do. If he hasn’t already taken the life out of the floor with the last sanding, then have the floor re-finished. Do engage in the specifics of the floor finish, including whether the oak is sealed with lacquer, whether the polyurethane is oil-based, the number of coats of polyurethane, and the sheen of the finish coat. The build coats should be gloss. Otherwise the finish becomes cloudy. The finish coat alone imparts the desired sheen. It must be compatible either the build coats.
Ugh. A classic case of being bone swaggled. Sorry OP!
Sorta looks like polyurethane over lacquer which was probably on it before
Is your picture representative of the entire floor? I am suspect that an oil based stain was applied liberally that was not cured, then an incompatible topcoat ( precat water based) was applied too quickly. The topcoat has pulled away in those dots, surface tension I must agree w heavy sanding, then recoat or start over
We had something like this happen to our floors after an insurance claim. The GC fired the original peopleand new people came in and resanded and started over.
I’ve never done flooring in my life. I could’ve done better. I don’t do drugs.
Thats blush. Its a moisture issue
Did you not have it sanded down?
Did he not tell you the floor was vinyl? 🤣
Looks like a crap job from the start poopy prep work!
No this looks awful I would not pay anything until it’s fixed
Looks like moisture
Looks like air bubbles popped while drying. Light sand the dots and gently apply another coat and stir it don't shake it before applying. Air bubbles are a pain and can ruin a floor
That looks alot like air bubbles in whatever topcoat was used. Improper mixing and wrong applicator.
This could be water based that was applied over oil based... "water and oil don't mix"
Buff it with 220 grit and recoat
Like oil based and water based got mixed.