Q: “My first coats of Waterlox® ORIGINAL Sealer & Semi-Gloss Finish look uneven, rough and blotchy, is this normal?”
A: Rest assured that this is completely normal for your early coat(s) of Waterlox® ORIGINAL finishes. Waterlox® ORIGINAL finishes are penetrating oil finishes; therefore they penetrate into the wood pores and build up to a film with each subsequent coat applied at the recommended spread rate, number of coats and recommended method of application. Since wood has different levels of porosity, the film build will naturally be uneven until it is completely sealed. Most other clear finishes available on the market today are surface finishes that do just that – lay on the surface; therefore they will not look uneven when applied like Waterlox® ORIGINAL finishes do.
Whether or not your project is a floor, we advise you to watch the product application video on our website to learn how the wood will look with each subsequent coat of finish, and to learn the number of coats recommended and the proper spread rate.
Woods may look blotchy up until the last coat. If the wood continues to absorb Waterlox®, and the recommended spread rate is being followed, this is only to your advantage as the oil is continuing to penetrate deep down into the wood fibers protecting your floors from within.
TIPS
- Excessive sanding or buffing between coats
will remove enough of the previous coat that the next coat will not
build. Sanding for adhesion purposes is not required between coats of
Waterlox® ORIGINAL finishes. This makes Waterlox® unique and
different from surface finishes for example which need abrasion for
inter-coat adhesion. Failure to sand/abrade between coats of a surface
finish can result in delamination of the new coat from the old coat.
- Even
on a finely sanded wood surface, there are peaks and valleys as well as
spots of hard and soft grain. When you apply the first coat of
Waterlox®, it’s like snowfall on the mountains. The snow caps the peaks
and begins to fill the valleys. If you sand, you will unseal the caps
and there will be less to flow to the valleys when you apply the next
coat of finish. This will result in the cap being re-sealed again, and
will therefore result in less available finish to flow into the valley.
If you do not sand, then the next coat will flow away from the sealed
caps and do more to fill the valleys. After the third or fourth coat,
this self-leveling process is complete.1
- Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Waterlox® will alter the appearance of the wood. Apply all intended coats to a small, inconspicuous area or scrap piece of wood from the project and allow to dry properly prior to the actual application. Final color effect is always influenced by the grain, texture, porosity, species of wood and by the method of application.
1 This is the most important reason to obtain the recommended spread rate of 500 square feet per gallon per coat.
