Minwax "Polyshades" -- why not for floors?

I started an earlier thread yesterday with the subject heading : "CLEAR hardwood finishes? -- moisture cure, etc.".

I now have related question and I decided to post it as a separate topic in a new thread.

My question is about Minwax Polyshades -- which is a product that has stain and polyurethane combined into one. The idea is that it can be used in a one step process for finishing wood instead of having to stain first and then cover with a polyurethane finish.

Ironically, Pecan Minwax Polyshades is the one thing that I have tried so far that actually seems to look the best for the floor project that I wrote about in my other thread.

But, the Minwax website says that Minwax Polyshades is not recommended for floors.

My question is, does anyone know WHY it is not recommended for floors?

I am thinking of just using the Pecan Minwax Polyshades anyway, which looks pretty good, and then putting a clear polyurethane finish on top. Can anyone think of a reason why that wouldn't work?

Reply to
JayB
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Many companies. maybe even MinWax, have top notch customer service departments. Why not give them a call and see if one of their development scientists can give you some insights? They might even suggest a nice alternative to help you get the floor color you want.

Joe

Reply to
Joe

You are just a regular gltton for punishment, aren't you!

Reply to
salty

Go ahead and do it, it will look like crap, then we can hear you for a month asking how to fix the mess. You got good ideas already.

Reply to
ransley

My dad did this for his floors several years ago and they turned out FANTAS TIC, so him and my brother convinced me to do it for my floors (especially since the only other option for us was dye as the color we want is not avai lable in stain). It looked amazing at first, but the finish is now chipping in places where the boards are against each other. My dad's still looks gr eat -_-

Reply to
zeroangel

...

...

My experience with it is that I'd never touch it for _anything_ again. It blotches terribly, doesn't level well and just generally sucks...

For floors, it's not recommended because it's not hard as a floor varnish needs to be. I'd guess mixing in the stain in the product itself has a lot to do with that as well as that it was just not designed for the purpose. On top of that it (the included stain) makes for terrible the application properties as well.

See above for at least a couple.

You can mix regular stains to whatever color you want if the premixed shades are quite the right tint or thin if somewhat darker than want in a near shade. You don't even have to restrict yourself to Minwax alone, there are a zillion other compatible stains and also base dyes as well.

and follow links therein.

Lots of that likely has to do with the type of flooring and the wear/use/abuse they get plus even the differences in location, climate and heating systems causing variations in the shrink/swell cycles with season and moisture.

Reply to
dpb

It could be tat the formula is not as durable for a floor. Top coating should solve that problem. Keep in mind, the clear oil finish is not clear but a bit amber. The water base is clear. Be sure to check compatibility when mixing different finishes.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Probably because it makes the floor slippery.

Reply to
harryagain

Thank you for posting that question. I was supposed at all the insulting n egative answers you received though. I had to search to see if i could find a straight answer without insults do i could actually learn and you were a lso the one to provide that, do thank you.

Kay

Reply to
kayj444

I'm a professional that has applied every typpe of coating imaginable for 2

0 years, and I've recently had this same question for my own home. All the guys here that are saying negative things are all talking out their ass. I' m sure non of them has tried it. I've done extensive testing on all the maj or finishes to find the best tintable clear coat for Pergo Flooring, which is going against conventional thinking even more than your situation. I've succefully applied coatings to plastic/ceramic/metal surfaces that are expo sed to exterior sub zero weather without a problem or premature failure for 20 years, I know coatings. Most people that say tyou can't do this or tha t to wood floors are flooring guys, not coatings experts. Anyway I recently tested about 20 different products on untreated pergo flooring, straight o ut of the box, no sanding, no prep. Some stuck but failed the scratch test, i expected the solvent based ones to hold up better but didnt. The ONLY pro duct that passed the same scuff test that manufactures use was this damn wa ter based polyurethane and stain in one. It was hard as hell, didn't scratc h off looked excellent. Guys that talk about streaking and such are not coa tings professionals so they most likely aplied it incorrectly or simply la cked experience, applying any clear coat properly with professional results must be done by someone with experience fellas. The reason why the poly manufasturers say not for use on floors is beca use the liklyhood that the homeowner will not properly clean any suface con taminates such as wax, pledge ect from the floor first id=s very high, so their product would appear to fail and lift and they would get the blame. Floors are much more likely to have a build up of who knows what put on the m over the years, much more so than furniture or cabinets.
Reply to
plzappala

Actually, the reason it is not recommended for flooring - rightly or wrongly- is that it is not a "penetrating stain" so as the top coat wears the color density changes. A normal stain actually "stains" the wood - and the finish "seals" the surface and provides a wear layer. Polyshades is more like a paint, in that the colour coats the surface instead of "staining" it, and acts as the wear layer as well..

The thinking of Minwax is they cannot stand behind their product in flooring use, since as the wear layer wears, the colour density changes as well, which to most users would be unacceptable.. Therefore they do NOT recommend it for flooring use.

They DO recommend some of their clear urethane finishes for flooring - which negates the previous "expert"s reasoning that it was a preparation issue.

Reply to
clare

I'm sure JayB was interested in your professional opinion when he posted his question, but that was six years ago.

A professional would have known that, right?

Reply to
Gordon Shumway

Your snark is misplaced. Even if the OP is long gone, this is still a searchable thread which could be helpful to other people. And he/her answer was quite helpful.

Reply to
juliatn

| Your snark is misplaced. Even if the OP is long gone, this is still a searchable thread which could be helpful to other people. And he/her answer was quite helpful. |

I don't see any searchable thread. I see you criticizing someone but have no idea what came before. You should get a real newsgroup reader and stop using Google Groups. Then you won't be posting ghost messages that don't make sense to anyone else. Newsgroups happen in real time, not 6 years ago.

Reply to
Mayayana

r 20 years, and I've recently had this same question for my own home. All t he guys here that are saying negative things are all talking out their ass. I'm sure non of them has tried it. I've done extensive testing on all the major finishes to find the best tintable clear coat for Pergo Flooring, whi ch is going against conventional thinking even more than your situation. I' ve succefully applied coatings to plastic/ceramic/metal surfaces that are e xposed to exterior sub zero weather without a problem or premature failure for 20 years, I know coatings. Most people that say tyou can't do this or that to wood floors are flooring guys, not coatings experts. Anyway I recen tly tested about 20 different products on untreated pergo flooring, straigh t out of the box, no sanding, no prep. Some stuck but failed the scratch te st,i expected the solvent based ones to hold up better but didnt. The ONLY product that passed the

hane and stain in one. It was hard as hell, didn't scratch off looked excel lent. Guys that talk about streaking and such are not coatings professiona ls so they most likely aplied it incorrectly or simply lacked experience, a pplying any clear coat properly with professional results must be done by s omeone with experience fellas.

ecause the liklyhood that the homeowner will not properly clean any suface contaminates such as wax, pledge ect from the floor first id=s very high, so their product would appear to fail and lift and they would get the blam e. Floors are much more likely to have a build up of who knows what put on them over the years, much more so than furniture or cabinets.

I agree that the product lacks the hardness to withstand wear and the color would eventually wear. However, used simply as a vehicle for the stain to be applied(or yes, painted) on top of an existing coating and then topped w ith a polyurethane that IS recommended for floors, polyshades is ideal.

Reply to
plzappala

I arrived here via a simple search for information on polyshades use on floors, does that make it a searchable thread?

Reply to
plzappala

| > I don't see any searchable thread. I see you criticizing | > someone but have no idea what came before. You should | > get a real newsgroup reader and stop using Google Groups. | > Then you won't be posting ghost messages that don't make | > sense to anyone else. Newsgroups happen in real time, | > not 6 years ago. | | I arrived here via a simple search for information on polyshades use on floors, does that make it a searchable thread?

It's hard to explain if you don't know the difference between Usenet and the Internet. Usenet is a series of text-based chat groups that are hosted on numerous servers. It's similar to group email, and it happens in real time, like email. It has nothing to do with the http protocol that browsers use to show webpages.

Usenet posts show up in the group and one can subscribe to any number of groups. Once you subscribe you can see the latest posts in a "treeview" format, showing the course of the discussion, and you can join in.

What Google has done has been to collect past Usenet posts and show them in webpages. In many cases those posts are years old. That would be OK for informational purposes, but Google is also allowing people to post to the groups from those webpages, bypassing Usenet. Those people usually don't understand what Google is doing and think they're joining an active discussion.

The result is that Google Groups posters are usually posting into empty space, while here on Usenet we see nonsense posts that don't seem to relate to anything.

It's a bit like answering want-ads from a newspaper that's 10 years old. If you reach anyone at all they'll probably be confused about why you're calling. It misses the basic concept of how Usenet works. Since the original post is years old, no one in the newsgroup sees it, because the newsgroup is in real time. Posts that old are long gone. And no one in the newsgroup sees the responses to that original post. They're also long gone. That's what I meant in saying it's not a searchable thread. For those of us on Usenet the first post in the thread is the one starting with "your snark is misplaced". There's no indication of what the foregoing posts might have said, so the post from juliatn has no context. she might have found the discussion by searching Google, but she's not taking part in the discussion as she thinks she is.

If you want to read and post to newsgroups you really should get a proper newsreader and subscribe to the groups. Then you can take part in the discussions as they're happening. If you post to ancient threads that Google Groups has archived it *could* possibly benefit someone, at some point, who's searching the Web, but the value of a discussion is lost because the posters are usually long gone. And meanwhile you're leaving rubbish posts in the actual Usenet newsgroup that have no context and therefore make no sense to readers in the group.

Here's a basic explanation of Usenet:

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There are numerous newsgroup readers available.

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If you're used to using freebie webmail through Google then you may not be familiar with email programs, like Thunderbird. (Real email, like newsgroups, is a completely separate communication protocol from webpages and webmail. Webpages are http. Usenet is nntp. Email is smtp. Each involves different communication protocols with different strengths and weaknesses, designed to be used by specific software. Just as webmail is limited in comparison with real email, Google Groups webpage format is limited in comparison to actual newsgroups.)

However you get your email, you can still install Thunderbird, Forte Agent, MesNews, or any of several other programs to read newsgroups. You can then subscribe to groups through your ISP. If your ISP doesn't have newsgroups service you can get free service here:

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Reply to
Mayayana

the

Perhaps not ideal, but likely at least acceptable. In this case, preparation WOULD be the critical step.

Reply to
clare

Manyana and Stormy need to give this topic not only a rest but "the deep sleep"

The important thing is people are getting the information they need.

Reply to
clare

I didn't see Mormy in here...but I agree!

Reply to
bob_villain

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