I had a rosewood floor installed this past July(see previous posts under patagonian rosewood) and now I am having problems. The installers had to use a water base finish since the oil base gave them problems(taht is another horror story).

I know floors expand and contract with weather etc, BUT the finish is cracking/peeling at all of the joints/seams. You can see the seam, its kinda yellowed and that is where the peeling begins and of course it follows the length of the boards. Almost like its too thick if you know what I mean.

I do not have this problem anywhere in the house where I have other hardwood floors that was finished with oil.

They used Basic streetshoe xl on it. Now for a little history, this floor is easily scratched and when I called them on it they said they would get back to me, well that was December!! I was told when it was put it that this Basic stuff was harder than nails, so much for that!! Now its peeling at the seams.

Any suggestions!!!!

Thanks for your suggestions,
bill g

One of the things waterbased finishes do different than oil based is stretch. What you are seeing is as the flooring ever so slightly shrinks, instead of the finish breaking at the seam (that's what oil based does), it stretches and makes that white film. As for a cure, I think you know what you are in for. A refinish. This time, use oil-based. I never use waterbased finishes on exotics. They just don't look good, IMO. Since the rosewood is oily and giving the finishers problems, there are ways to deal with that. Good luck.

Thanks, that is what I am afraid of. I am still waiting for the installers to call me back!! Hope its not a long wait if you know what I mean.


As opposed to a resand, can they not abrade(or whatever you do between coats) or use that scothbrite type of pad on their machine and then put oil on top of whats there?

No, the finsh below needs to be removed. A light sanding with the buffer won't suffice. My recommendation is a complete resand down to bare wood. Then on the same day as the final sanding, thoroughly tack the floors with either acetone or de-natured alcohol. This with remove surface oil from the wood. Then apply a thin even coat of Zinsser Seal Coat and allow to dry about one hour under ideal conditions. Follow that up with a quality oil-based polyurethane by Fabulon, DuraSeal, Basic or Bona Woodline. Or Lenmar if available in your area. Then if your floors move again in the future, the finish should break cleanly at the seams and you shouldn't have the problem you're experiencing now. Just one note about exotic wood floors in general. These are relatively new to the market. Some species have been around for awhile. There are reports of on site finishing problems with some of these woods and it is not necessarily the finisher's fault. Some foreign mills may not be drying the wood properly and milling may not be up to American standards. What works on one job may not work on another. A floor finisher needs to take this into consideration when working with imported flooring and charge accordingly.

Gary, thanks for the info, I really appreciate it.
bill g