Rut Row - floor refinishing

Leo Voisine

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5,703
Location
East Freeetown, Massachusetts
I have a friend that has a situation.

He had someone “help” him to do a floor refinish.

They sanded the old floor with a commercial sander to resurface and get down to bare wood.

Next, the “helper” put down a coat of Poly on the bare wood, straight from the can un-thinned.

After the poly had 1 day to set, they applied a coat Miniwax Stain - I am assuming oil based.

They were going to apply a second coat of stain after it dried for a day but it was still tacky.
They waited another day but it was still tacky.
After a few days it is still not drying.

Personally, I think the Miniwax stain reacted with the poly and will not allow the poly to cure.

They tried to use a dehumidifier, but that did not work.

Has anyone ever experienced this sort of thing?

What can be done to fix the problem?

There are 5 rooms and a hallway with this problem.
 
well i dont think your gonna have any other choice other than wipe off the mess and start over, the stain should have been put down first then the finish..to wipe it off you can use mineral spirits and to get the majority of it off then go back with some steel wool to get in the crevices better then do a wash coat of mineral spirits see what color he has then if he wants it darker then restain to desired color and apply the final finish..i am not a pro at this but i have co worker that was..

if i were you i would contact a pro in your area to get his opinion and maybe there is a easier method than the old way of doing it..
 
Larry, I mentioned about cleaning it off with mineral spirits. I will pass on your suggestion about having a pro do it. They will have equipment. I have not seen the job. Personally, I said all the same stuff. Why put poly down and stain on top of poly. The "helper" claims to be a pro. I told my coworker, that the "helper" does NOT know how to finish a floor.

Still waiting for a magic answer.

Anybody got a magic wand?
 
Any word on how this finally played out? I am sorry your friend fell victim to this knucklehead. I imagine the "pro" had done some unskilled labor cleaning up after someone who did a floor job, or was on the same jobsite as someone who did a floor job, or was in the same timezone as someone who did a floor job but, he was either drunk or has never finished anything made of wood. There may be some artistic reason to use poly to prevent the following product to absorb but as a normal course in finishing a floor . . . ?
 
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