How I Did the Poly Repair

Wayne Lee Headshot

I got the repair ready for the topcoat today, but I was asked: Why it was a two-day repair?

It was a light stain, very close to a neutral, but had a little golden in it, so that was the easy part. The floor is four years old and the poly is yellow, very yellow ... it started out as a 4-5 board repair but ended up as a 16-board repair. The reason for the extra boards? For some reason the ends of the boards were split. The more I looked at them, it just made me dig deeper and deeper into the floor. Our goal is to do the best we can do, and for some reason I do not know when to stop.

The old poly-the yellow tint and the fact that it will show a halo on the edge where the new meets the old-that was what I had to blend. I started with the edger 100-grit to sand the new boards flat with the old flooring. Next I used the scraper to remove any edger marks, then hand sanded the floor with 120-grit hand paper. Then, just like shown at the NWFA class and with many years of me helping Daniel Boone do the demo, I did the grain blend ... scrape one grain, skip one (what Boone calls "chasing the grain") ... leave the old color to blend with the new stain. Next I took 180-hand paper with a SPP pad so that my fingers would not transfer into the wood.

Now that the floor was all good, the poly was next. Getting the "halo" look gone is the hard part for me. My hands are not as nimble as the good old days, but it has to be done. I started with 600-grit and hand rubbed the leading edge of the poly. This will start the blend into the poly. Next I took 1000-grit wet/dry paper and hand rubbed that with a SPP pad again so my fingers will not transfer-each time making the blend wide into the next board so that it looks like the poly does not leave a line or edge. Next I took 1500-grit paper and rubbed the edge of the poly to "close" it down so the new poly will look like it is melted into the old poly. My last paper was 2000-grit with an SPP pad; I went over everything to shut down all the edges. This is the very hard part for my fat fingers ... keeping a flat, smooth grit while I only sand the edge of the old poly. This shuts down the poly and removes any halo look.

I put on the new poly with a black china brush, starting in the middle of the board, then bringing the poly out to flow the even look. You can take glass jars, fill them with poly and let them sit in the sun for a week and the poly will yellow fast. That gave me the tone needed. Now we will pad and coat the room to make sure it all will blend across the floor from any point you look at.

The two days was because we needed to do the same steps as when the floor was sanded four years ago; trying to rush the color or skip the steps would only make the blend harder. Let the stain dry, allow the poly to dry and make sure the handwork is done. Boone always said the best tools on the truck are "your hands and eyes".

Hope that helps, my best advice: Do not give up on the tough repairs; it took me a long time to get okay at this. I have seen NWFA's Steve Seabaugh make it look like nothing ever happened. I am not that good, but good enough to make it nice. Some day and with a ton of trying; I might get that good.

Thanks to Boone and Seabaugh I can do it. The NWFA class on repairs is worth every dime.

Page 1 of 65
Next Page
Resource Book
Looking for a specific product or a company? Wood Floor Business has the only comprehensive database of the industry.
Learn More
Resource Book
Podcasts
All Things Wood Floor, created by Wood Floor Business magazine, talks to interesting wood flooring pros to share knowledge, stories and tips on everything to do with wood flooring, from installation, sanding and finishing to business management.
Learn More
Podcasts