Problem with an oak floor

[James Hart]

A friend of mine is having a bit of a nightmare getting his white oak floor refinished.

The floor is about 20 years old. It was first sanded, then stained, then poly. He's getting bubbles coming up from the seams in the floor. Originally, they were filled with stain, then just air bubbles of poly.
The refinisher waited 3 days after staining before applying the poly.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Jim

[Lee Schierer]

I've seen red oak bubble the finish if the sun hits it before teh finish is completely cure. Teh finish in the poores takes considerably longer than the finish on the surface to dry. When the wood warms up, the trapped air pushes the finish out of the pores and formes bubbles on teh surface.

In your case, I suspect teh floor is warming up and the cracks are acting like the pores in red oak.

The cure is to sand out the bubbles and apply another coat. If the floor is exposed to sunlight, do the finishing after the sun is gone or the area is already good and warm from the sun..