Floor finishing hassle...?

Question

Howdy,A buddy of mine is soon to open a small retail store in anold venue that was, for about 20 years, a hair salon.He refinished the floors (apparently) by sanding, and thenurethaning.In most areas, the results are fine, but in some areas, henoticed problems.In one section, the urethane did not adhere to the wood. Hetold me that a few hours after applying it, he saw smallbubbles in that area, and that a few days later, in thatsection, the urethane was completely worn off with only verylight foot traffic.With a bit of detective work, we were able to figure out thelocation of the original hair salon chairs, and the positionof the customers in those chairs.Our guess is that years of hair related stuff had drippedfrom customer's heads and had soaked into the floorpreventing the proper curing of the urethane.Given that he has no way to know just what that "stuff"might be, what is a reasonable way for him to proceed?Thanks for any help on this,

Father Haskell · Accepted Answer

Try spot priming with clear dewaxed (!) shellac.

SonomaProducts.com · Answer

It is most likely some silicon based products. I don't know if theyuse it in hair spray but I assume so and it is the bain of finishing.I think a true sanding to really remove the entire surface is what isneeded. The stuff couldn't soak in that much. Shellac might be a goodfirst coat after that. I wouldn't have thought of that but the Fatherhas it right.

Kenneth · Answer

That is certainly worth a try. I'll pass it along.Sincere thanks,

Kenneth · Answer

Hello again,I should have mentioned that the floor was sanded... anddeeply. It is in a building that is about 150 years old andthe boards of the floor look brand new.Whatever seeped into the floor got in there deeply.All the best,

B A R R Y · Answer

Dewaxed shellac is sold premixed as Zinnser Seal Coat.

Father Haskell · Answer

It could have been in the hair care gunk, --or-- in the floor polish, whatever they used. If it got trapped under the chairs (I'll bet they were the round based type), it would have sat forever without drying out. Sand again if you like, but probably you don't want to. Clean up the botched areas as best you can, then spot prime with the clear Zinnser spray. Let dry, and try the poly again. You might have to repeat a few times.

Be philosophical if you're left with big ghost rings. An attraction of a wooden floor is it retains character marks from its history.

Kenneth · Answer

I thank you for your interesting comments...

Indeed, the chairs were of the circular base type, and, as one would expect, one wall was mirrored. As a result, though the chairs could rotate, they spent most of their time facing the mirrors. That would put the patrons heads as far from the mirrors as possible, and that is where the problem is.

There is a clear "lane" of failed floor finish going from chair to chair "behind the customers."

My current guess is that periodically, they put something on the floor in the "strip" behind the chairs because that area had the most foot traffic.

In any case, I have passed the good suggestions along to my soon-to-be-a-retailer friend, and he will give 'em a try.

All the best,

Floor finishing hassle...?

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