Rain rain go away

With all this rain and cold, 

I thought my blogs this week could cover a couple of questions that our customers regularly ask us.
So for the first one.....What is the difference between solvent and water based polyurethane?

A solvent polyurethane when applied to your wooden floor is thicker in texture than the water based products. This means that a wooden floor coated with a solvent based polyurethane is more durable once cured, however it does take longer to dry during application and has a strong smell because it is an oil based product.

(Above pictures are a solvent based solid Tawa wooden floor sanded by our Nufloors Auckland floorsanding team)

A water based polyurethane has little to no smell and dries faster due to its water base. This means the curing time post application is faster and of course it is kinder to pets and little people. It may mean however that your wooden floor may need a refresher coat for maintenance prior to a solvent based coated floor.

(Above pictures are a waterbased solid Tawa wooden floor sanded by our Nufloors Auckland floorsanding team)

What about drying time? (Especially during these cold winter days).
There is no black and white answer to this question as the environment, ie windows, air ventilation and space does make a difference however ultimately it does depend on our choice of polyurethane, whether it is solvent based or water based.
Solvent polyurethane is oil based and therefore takes longer to dry than water based. However regardless on the weather the following estimates still should apply.

Solvent based
From the last coat ...
- Wait 24 hours before walking on the floor
- 24-48 hours you can walk on the floor in socks only – do not wear shoes or bare feet.
- 48 hours you can now walk on your wooden floor with shoes
- After 3 – 4 days you can move your furniture on it. Ensure floor protector pads are secured to bottom of furniture suck as table and chair legs etc. Which you can now buy from your floor sanding Auckland team.
- Dogs should wear doggie socks for up to two weeks
Our best advice around care for newly solvent based polyurethane wooden floors is... If you can smell it, it is still curing. While it is still curing it is still hardening.
This process can take up to four weeks.

Water based
From the last coat...
- 12 – 24 hours before walking on the floors
- 12 - 24 hours you can walk on the floor in socks only – no pets
- 24 hours you can now walk on your wooden floor with shoes
- After 2 days carefully move your furniture back
- Dogs should have doggie socks for a week 

So if you would like to discuss this subject more or would like one of our Nufloors Auckland Floorsanding Specialists to come out and see you. Give us a call on .