The toughest clear coat you can put on a timber floor, and the one that gives an older Australian hardwood that warm amber glow. Best suited to floors that take a hammering and homes that can be vacated for a few days.
Solvent-based 2-pack polyurethane uses an organic solvent rather than water to carry the resin, and like the water-based version it is cross-linked with a hardener on site. The film it leaves is thicker per coat and harder than anything else we apply. On a commercial floor, a busy hallway or a house with big dogs, it simply lasts longer between recoats.
It also builds. Two coats of solvent 2-pack lay down more material than three coats of most water-based systems, which is part of why it feels smoother underfoot and fills the grain more.
Solvent polyurethane adds warmth. On old brushbox, tallowwood, ironbark and Queensland hardwood it brings out a honey tone that a lot of people associate with a properly finished floor. It also keeps warming slowly over the years, which is either the look you wanted or the thing you were trying to avoid.
If your floor is a pale timber, an American oak, a limewash, a grey or white stain, do not use it. It will pull the whole thing yellow within a couple of years. That is a water-based job.
This is the honest trade-off. The solvent smell is strong while the coats go down and for a day or two after. We ask households to be out for the coating days, and to keep pets and anyone with breathing problems away for longer. Windows open, fans running, no naked flames or pilot lights anywhere near the wet floor.
Recoat times are longer too. Where a water-based schedule gets three coats on in three days, solvent typically wants a full day between coats. Plan on the job running longer end to end.
Rental properties and holiday lets where the floor has to survive tenants. Commercial floors, shops, offices and function rooms. Older Gold Coast hardwoods where the owner specifically wants the traditional amber look. And any floor where a previous solvent finish is going to be recoated rather than fully sanded, because the systems are compatible.
Yes. It is a controlled product with VOC limits and it has to be applied by someone who knows the ventilation and safety requirements, but it is a standard professional floor coating.
Two to three days as a rule, longer if anyone in the household has asthma or there is a baby in the house. We will give you exact dates when we quote.
Not reliably. If the existing coating is water-based we sand back to bare timber first. Coating systems do not always bond to each other.
That is what the free in-home estimate is for. We will look at your timber, show you samples on it, and tell you honestly what will work.
Tell us about your floor and we will get back to you fast, usually the same day, to book a free in-home look and an honest price.
Local timber floor sanding, polishing and restoration across 97 suburbs - from the Logan line and the hinterland to the NSW Northern Rivers. View all areas we service
Fine FinishedFloors
Floors worth showing off - cut back, stained and finished by Gold Coast specialists since 2010.
22 Springsure Drive,
Mudgeeraba QLD 4213
Monday to Saturday, 7am to 5pm
Servicing the Gold Coast, Logan fringe and Northern NSW to Ocean Shores. Free, no-obligation in-home estimates.