Wood floor sealer

Bonnie
by Bonnie
I recently filled in big gouges on my wood floor. What sealer should I put on it that drys quick. I've heard polyurethame takes long to dry and you have to leave the house. Thx!
  12 answers
  • Marion Nesbitt Marion Nesbitt on Jul 14, 2015
    Doesn't smell as bad as the sealer coat some pros use - damages brains. Think anything will have an odour. Drying time will be affected by humidity. Is there a way you can temporarily seal the room until it has dried for at least 3 days?
  • Kristin Topping Kristin Topping on Jul 14, 2015
    In my opinion, whenever you are applying wood floor sealer,be sure to read the manufactures instruction, and specs on the side of the container. If you consult a professional of certified flooring company, you canget more innovative ideas that suit every budget. Thanks for nice article.
  • Kimberly A Kimberly A on Jul 14, 2015
    There are plenty of " quick dry" polyurethanes available. We just had to do that to a den floor in a house we sold last week. The quick dry kind still takes a few hours before it's dry to the touch and don't put anything on it for a couple of days. It all has some odor but the water based polyurethane (which is what I used) doesnt smell as bad and dries quicker than the oil based.
  • Siva Siva on Jul 14, 2015
    I had the same problem in the year 2009. I after using sealer applied a thin layer of quick fix over it and allowed it dry for just 3 minutes. It worked well.
  • Darla Darla on Jul 14, 2015
    The fastest drying sealer is shellac. It dries almost immediately and will stick to most finishes or bare wood. You have to make sure the shellac's fresh enough, or it won't dry at all. Try it on a scrap piece to test it. Shellac is not for places that will get wet or have alcohol spilled on them.
  • Ray Phillips Ray Phillips on Jul 14, 2015
    As a retired builder "always tired" use a water based poly. it dries in minutes and easy to clean up
  • Ellen Doss Ellen Doss on Jul 14, 2015
    I tried the water based poly in my dinning room and a bedroom after we refinished the floors. Within six months it was starting to peal in the traffic areas. We had to re-sand and we used the regular poly and have had no problems in 2 years. We lived here during it all and had no problems so not sure why you would have to leave the house. Also most of the ones I have looked at recently seems to dry to walk on in sock feet in 4 hours. You would not want to set furniture on it for 48 hours though. Hope this helps.
  • Rachel Shoemaker Rachel Shoemaker on Jul 14, 2015
    You need to sand and finish the floor now. You can stain whatever finish and seal with 2-3 coats of water poly.
  • Karen Scott Karen Scott on Jul 14, 2015
    I filled the cracks in our old pine floor with wood filler. We sanded the old floors and then filled the cracks but did not tint the filler. When I put the polyurethame on it, the stuff did not go into the wood filler so now you can see all the spots I filled. Our floor was pine and when sanded looked as white as the filler. I wanted the floors darker so it did not work well. Thank goodness I did not do a lot of filling. IT took 4 coats to get the look I wanted and we could not walk on it for about 5 days. It did look amazing when done though.
    • Susan Swanson Susan Swanson on Jul 15, 2015
      Sorry Karen, I accidentally hit the wrong expand "pin", I did not mean to report it.
  • Lucy Lucy on Jul 14, 2015
    I'm assuming that the stain is oil-based, so just make sure that you apply an oil-based sealer versus one that is water based. It will eventually pop off. Oil and water really don't mix! If you filled the gouges with something water-based, It probably won't be a problem. You can apply oil-based over (dried) water-based, but not vice-versa.
  • Nita Nita on Jul 14, 2015
    I have not had the time or energy or nerve to start my floors, so I just use a commercial product you have to reapply every month as if I am moping with wax. I would have to sand and refinish mine and leave the house also.
    • Donna Donna on Jul 15, 2015
      What is the name of the commercial product you use?
  • Daniella Daniella on Jul 15, 2015
    I follow a blog called domestic imperfection. She did an amazing post on this very topic. You should check it out. She's totally honest and unbiased. She really recommended Bona Traffic (it is expensive) but you can recoat in 3 hrs and dries within 24 hrs to walk on. Low odor compared to others. I just used it on our floors. It's great so far and easy to use! Hope I helped! And good luck