Our floor was just stained and they put on 2 coats of oil based polyurethane. There are "bubbles" in the finish....areas that look pimply and rough. They are throughout the floor (1800 square feet).

The staining company is telling me that the finish "looks great". That the floor will even out and the bubbles will wear off over time as you walk on the floor. And that the floor is not the same as a table top piece of furniture. He said they are not working in a totally dust free environment and that the finish is great.

My experience with furniture refinishing is that working with poly is very tricky! You need to gently stir, not shake. You need to work slowly and carefully.....hard to do I know on a big flooring area. Am I expecting too much? Is this "normal" Will it wear off (I don't think so as it isn't just sitting on top of the finish!?)

Thanks,
Karen

My experience is that the bubbles will knock off but you will be left with a small crater, which is less noticable but still there. I had a customer complain of bubbles when I use to use poly and I went back and fixed it to me it sounds like the contractor is looking for excuses for not taking the time to do it right. Just my opinion and I'm not as experienced as some of these guys.

And those craters will be soil catchers, and look dirty all the time.

Acceptable only to the one owed money.

These type of "quality questions" are difficult to answer. We can't see the work so how can we judge. On average, one should never expect an absolutely flawless floor finish job. It's not furniture; it's a floor. But that doesn't excuse sloppy or inferior work. Some VERY SMALL dust particles and the like are normally present and will walk off, as will certain types of poly beads that can form along seams. But if the entire floor is covered with thousands of literal bubbles in the finish, that would not be acceptable usually. And those wouldn't walk off, IMO.

What I have always been told is that if it is offensive under normal light from a standing position then its a viable complaint, if you have to be in the house at a certain time window on your hands and knees to catch the glare then you just might be a little over critical. Some small light debris is to be expected in a jobsite finished floor, trash throughout or bubbles throughout is a entirely diffrent problem. Unfortunatly one persons expectations of a good looking floor may be far from what the next might have in mind. Post a few pics if you can if you want a more accurate conclusion.

air bubbles in finish is not acceptable.
Oil based Finish?

Ray---Yes, the finish is oil based.

Thanks for the responses. After reading Kevin D.'s response, I'm not sure whether I am being too picky or not. It does look worse in some light than others. I can feel it when I am on my hands and knees. You can see it from a standing position, but I can really only see them when the area is lit. They are all over the flooring not just in spots where dust or debris might have been.

I've expressed my concern to the staining company. I guess I will wait until we get some furniture in place and see how noticeable it is. I don't want to move everything back in and then have to move it back out.

Thanks again,
Karen

Dont get me wrong, I cant tell from my chair if your floor is acceptable, it sounds questionable, I would look into a second or third opinion on this, its a real difficult thing to put a difinative answer to without seeing first hand.

Who would I call for a second opinion? Would another company want to give an opinion that may be "against" another local company? In REALLY inspecting the floor, we have a large closet that has a VERY little amount of "bubbles". ...I would think this area is very acceptable and what I would want in the rest of the flooring.

They were waiting until the contractor is finished everything else and then coming back to do the last buffing and third coat of poly. Could this take care of the problem if they are careful to sweep/vaccuum well and careful in their application?

I'm thinking I should give them the chance to get the last coat down and if it is still a concern then have it worked out.

Karen

OK, I thought the floor was completed. Yes, you need to allow them to complete the job. The second coat is never as good as the final coat. When they prep the floors for the final coat, they will abrade with screens usually the second coat, which will smooth it out and prepare it for the final coat. Just let them complete the work BEFORE judging it.

Glad that got clarified I was thinkin right along with Gary LOL.

Yes, let them complete the job it may be just fine when they are done.

One more thing on bubbles if they remain after the next coat.
Are you sure you are seeing bubbles or is it dirt, trash or whatever? I use a small-lighted microscope to help determine the problem. A bubble and a piece of trash in the finish sometimes look very similar until you see them through the microscope.

There is one thing I would like to add to what has already mentioned. The bubbles could be caused from the stain not being completely dry when the poly was applied. If that is the problem sometimes you can see the majority of the bubbles are in the area of the open grain where the stain is deep in wood and not yet dry. Our southern oak has a lot of open grain so it is hard to tell when the stain is dry below the surface of the wood. This happens to us sometimes and we usually screen the floor and let it dry for several days before coating. Sometimes it is faster to resand than to wait for the outgassing to stop.

Thank you! I'm sorry I was not clear. I now feel better waiting until the last coat is applied. I was thinking if the 'bubbles' were already there, they wouldn't go away with light sanding and they would still be there after the last coat.

I'll keep my fingers crossed! :-)

Your professional opinions are always helpful,

Karen

yes.... let 'em finish.
all will be fine.. don't worrry.