Hi All,

Just finished installing 2-1/4 red oak unfinished engineered Hapwood by Howell. I sanded it with a big orbital sander (Varathane sander from Menards) and then finished with Rubio.

While finishing, the floor caught fibers from the red and white pads a lot and now is catching socks and leaving splinters in feet.

https://imgur.com/a/V94iW2Q

(Not sure if anyone will be able to see the link unless I make it public. If not available, let me know)

Any fixes? Could I put Bona Traffic or something over it and hope it holds the splinters down? I could sand with the big machine and redo the Rubio, but I'd like to spend less money fixing it rather than more.

Open to any suggestions.

Thanks all,
Garrin

I do not think that another coat of finish will solve this problem. I have seen an article that said that the reason for this is the veneer was defective in that the way it was peeled off of a log creates checks on one side of the veneer that should have been the side of the veneer that was glued to the core of the engineered flooring and this would reduce the checking. The defective grain needs to be stabilized all the way to the core. The article I read calls this a manufacturing defect. Check NWFA articles in Hardwood Floor Magazine
My opinion is that the floor needs to be coated with clear epoxy to fill the defective grain, then sanded to bare wood, again. Epoxy coating can equal many coats of varnish which would be needed to fill the torn surface texture. Two or three coats of high solids varnish will not result in a floor that is serviceable, in my opinion. A floor inspector ought to be called.

I reached out the manufacturer and they suggested that I fill, resand, and refinish. At this point, I'm going to wait until someone gets a splinter before I mess with it. Luckily I can spot sand and refinish with the Rubio.

Still, pretty lousy that the manufacturer just shrugged it off. I contacted Hurst as well but haven't heard back.

Thanks for the reply.