Upon deciding that staining was unneccessary and taking several days off, we resumed our flooring quest. It was polyurethane time! Before getting started, we decided to read the directions on the can. Unfortunately it's black, size 6 font on a brown, curved background. So there was no way we were getting any info out of that.
It was a dirty job, but somebody had to get soaked in oil, covered in sawdust and stuffed in a garbage can. RIP cookie monster towel!
But instead of the natural inclination to just go ahead anyway, we decided to consult the Home Depot website to check on timing of coats. We browsed around for a few minutes but could not find the item we purchased. Apparently they had dissavowed all knowledge of Minwax 2.5 Gallon (or any other size) High-Build Polyurethane Semi-Gloss since our purchase. After much hunting we found something we thought comparable that claimed one could put down a second coat after 5 hours or when no longer tacky. Thus we set out: start varnishing at 3PM, put down second coat by 9PM and be done by 10.
The journey of a thousand square feet.
As it was essential to keep a wet edge on the floor, there was little opportunity to stop and take pictures once the process was in full swing. P manned the edging brush, while J used the lambskin applicator mop. We finished at 5PM to go eat some meat and let the floor dry.
Upon reentry, we heard the all too familiar sound of shoes sticking to the world's worst soda spill in the dilapidated shell of the Regal Cinema 17. We deduced that this could only mean the floor was "tacky." We briefly discussed the situation and concluded that we a) could not do this any later that day, and b) could not let it dry overnight as it would result in another week of hand sanding the floor. So we took the only option we had left: varnish anyway.
We retained our jobs and finished before 11 with a pint of polyurethane to spare. We didn't return to the house until the following weekend. The floor was still tacky, and some paid dearly for it.
He dead.
Closer inspection revealed some problems with the coats. A few places had either soaked up all the polyurethane or had been missed by SOMEBODY in the process. Regardless, P went over the bare spots again with a brush.
See youtube for extra whining.
Overall, though, we were quite happy with the result, a huge improvement over what had greeted us when we first saw the place.
Before and after...kind of.
We had finally reached our goal: total flooring domination!
No comments:
Post a Comment