Cure time. Floor prep. Safety. A lot can factor into coating your wood floors. Here are some things to consider before deciding which wood floor coating is best for your facility.

A Floor’s Age

Simply put, oil-based wood floor coatings are the only choice for newly installed wood floors. Because wood is composed of cellulose, it is porous enough to absorb water. This is why wood often expands when the air is moist in the summer and contracts when the air is dry in the winter. Over time, wood develops polymer protection against water. Until floors have been coated at least 4 times, it’s best to use an oil-based wood floor coating.

VOCs and Cure Time

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are odorous gases that can sometimes be dangerous to the health of employees or others in your facility.

While curing, oil-based wood floor coatings often emit more VOCs than water-based wood floor coatings. Oil-based wood floor coatings can take 2 weeks to fully cure. This means, for places like schools, wood floors must be coated in the summer to give them enough time to cure and disperse any VOCs emitted.

For water-based wood floor coatings, cure time is much quicker. Gym floors coated with a water-based wood floor coating can be played on within 2-3 days and are fully cured within a week. They also emit less VOCs while curing. Because of this, a school’s gym floor can be coated with a water-based coating over a long weekend or during spring break. This gives staff the flexibility to choose when to recoat the floors and keeps heavy odors away from teachers and students.

Burnishing

Oil-based wood floor coatings do not respond well to burnishing. However, some water-based wood floor coatings can be burnished to bring back gloss and traction to a wood floor. Buckeye’s Arena 300 responds well to burnishing, helping you regain the shine and durability of your wood floor without having to completely recoat.

Prepping the Floor

There are two ways to prepare a wood floor before coating it, wet prep and dry prep. Dry prepping your floors is not ideal because it leaves behind lots of dust. However, if you plan to use an oil-based wood floor coating and wish to prep and coat your floors on the same day, dry prepping is the only option. This is especially true for new wood floors. Wet prepping new wood floors can cause the floor boards to expand and lead to cupping and peeling. If your wood floors are new, dry prepping them before applying an oil-based coating is the best way to coat your floors.

With older floors and water-based wood floor coatings, you can wet-prep and coat the floor on the same day. This eliminates dust and saves valuable time.

Environmental Safety

Water-based coatings are not flammable. Buckeye’s Arena^® 300 is one of the most environmentally safe coatings in the industry, with a NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) rating of 0 for Health, Fire, and Reactivity. Also, when you have finished coating your floors with a water-based wood floor coating like Arena 300, all tools used during the process can be cleaned with water.

For oil-based finishes, this is not the case. Oil-based coatings are flammable and once you have finished coating the floor, the tools used to complete the process must be cleaned with flammable mineral spirits. Oil-based wood floor coatings often have more significant warnings on safety data sheets and, as mentioned, emit more volatile organic compounds into the air.

Room Temperature and Humidity

Fluctuation in room temperature can often cause wood floors to expand or shrink, causing cracks and air pockets to form between boards. The Maple Floor Manufacturing Association recommends that maple wood gyms be kept at a relative humidity of 35-50% and a temperature between 55-75 degrees Fahrenheit year round. While no coatings are immune to the problems that come with changes in temperature and humidity, oil-based coatings tend to resist cracking better than water-based coatings. If your facility has difficulty regulating its temperature or relative humidity, an oil-based coating may be the best choice.

Overall Savings

In addition to the features mentioned above, oil-based wood floor coatings are often less expensive to manufacture and therefore cheaper for the end user. They also only require 1-2 coats in comparison to the 2-3 required for water-based wood floor coatings.

In contrast, the overall savings offered by water-based wood floor coatings can make a difference in your facility. Water-based coatings can save staff time when prepping the floor. Their quick cure time can make the most of your gym floor year round.

Buckeye’s Reflections^® Wood Floor Program has oil-based and water-based urethanes depending on your facility’s needs. To find out more about Reflections and which wood floor coatings are right for your facility, contact your local Buckeye representative.

When a wood floor is first installed, too much exposure to water can cause damage. Because the boards have not yet had time to fill with polymer protection, the wood can more easily absorb water and begin to warp. This is why, for the first 2-3 years of a wood floor’s life, it’s best to use an oil-based wood floor coating. However, once your floor has had time to settle and build up a layer of polymer protection in its seams, a water-based wood floor coating may be the better option.

The Reflections Wood Floor Program provides both oil-based and water-based wood floor coatings. Reflections coatings have low VOCs, making them environmentally responsible and less hazardous for employees. Each Reflections coating is quick-drying but Reflections’ Arena water-based urethanes allow sports play only 48 hours after application. For older wood floors, Reflections water-based coatings are ideal, making the recoating process quicker while retaining exceptional gloss.

As a whole, the Reflections program is designed to provide years of beauty, performance, safety, and durability to both new and old wood floors. The program comes complete with wood floor coatings, bonding agent, cleaners, tacking solution, and the tools you need to coat your wood floors in-house.

Glenn Miller, Director of Building and Grounds at Mount Olive Board of Education in New Jersey has been using Buckeye’s Reflections Wood Floor Program for 5 years. He credits Arena^® 300 and Reflections for the shine of his gym floors, saying, “Prior to the Reflections Wood Floor Program, we had been recoating our gym floors every year. We had been getting inconsistent results, even with the professional contractors we were hiring. I was a little concerned about my guys coating the floors themselves but Buckeye came in and trained my staff. Three custodians were able to coat the floors and we got a beautiful result.” With Arena 300 and the Reflections Wood Floor Program, Mount Olive’s gym floors have more grip and shine. Miller and his staff now coat their gym floors once every 2 years, saving them time and money.

Buckeye’s water-based wood floor coatings have allowed Miller and his team to recoat the floors quickly while providing more consistent results than many of the outside contractors they had previously hired. The training that accompanies the Reflections program has made it simple for staff at Mount Olive to complete the job with sparkling results.

To learn more about how the Reflections Wood Floor Program and its wood floor coatings can be customized to fit your facility, contact your local Buckeye representative.

Gym floors are some of the most expensive floors in your facility. Finding a cost effective way to maintain them can be difficult. Buckeye’s Reflections^® Wood Floor Program can reduce costs, provide excellent durability, and extend the life of your wood floors.

One of the simplest ways the Reflections program saves money is through the training it provides. With Reflections, employees can be trained to prep and recoat gym floors. For daily, weekly, and as-needed procedures, the Reflections Maintenance Wall Charts guide employees in proper gym floor maintenance procedures. The program provides comprehensive in-person and online training with tools like the Reflections Maintenance training videos. These videos provide employees with valuable information, covering topics like burnishing wood floors and vacuuming mats.

Buckeye uses the most innovative methods to help save time and money. When you’re ready to coat your gym floor, the Buckeye Reflections Wood Floor Program covers the proper techniques for applying both oil and water-based wood floor coatings including recommended product coverage, dry times, cure times, recoat windows, and more. With Buckeye’s latest and most innovative preparation method, the Gym Bond/Autoscrubber prep method, facilities can save up to 60% of the typical time and labor spent on prepping wood floors.

Buckeye knows that every gym floor is different. Reflections products include both water-based and oil-based wood floor coatings, as well as other wood floor maintenance products. These products hold up well to scuffing and scratching. They are easy to apply, less viscous, and don’t have harsh odors. The Reflections Wood Floor Program and its products can be customized to fit your facility needs, ensuring the improved durability, shine, and life of your gym floors.

Find out how much you can save with the Reflections Wood Floor Program using the Reflections Cost Calculator. Contact your local Buckeye representative for more information.

A complete program is the best way to extend the life of your wood floors and maintain their beauty, performance, safety, and durability. The Buckeye Reflections^® Wood Floor Care Program combines Arena^® water-based wood floor coatings and Coliseum^® oil-based wood floor coatings with proper procedures to achieve beautiful, longer-lasting wood floors. The Reflections program also includes specialty products, one of which is Gym Bond, a water-based urethane bonding agent.

Gym Bond is formulated with exclusive technology to provide maximum adhesion when applied to previously coated maple wood floors before urethane wood floor coating application. When applied, Gym Bond drastically reduces peeling from tape on a gym floor and increases adhesion when applied both under and over gym floor paint and decals. Only one coat of Gym Bond is required and it covers 1,800 square feet per gallon.

Gym Bond is a low-VOC water-based bonding agent, making it safer for the environment. It also has a very low odor, excellent leveling, and dries quickly with no ambering. A floor coated with Gym Bond may be recoated with a Reflections water-based floor coating in 2 hours or a Reflections oil-based floor coating in 4 hours.

Other specialty products in the Reflections Wood Floor Care Program include Screen Clean^® Ready-To-Use Floor Prep Cleaner, Tenacity^® Pre-Cleaner, Buckeye Green Light^™ Daily Cleaner, and Floortonic^® Burnishing Liquid. In combination with Gym Bond, these other specialty products maximize your floor coating adhesion and make it easy to use the equipment already available in your facility.

Contact a Reflections representative in your area to learn more about the program.

Arena^® 300 is a 100% urethane water-based wood floor coating with exceptional durability and shine for all types of wood. It has an extremely mild scent and no solvent odor. Since it is made from a single component, there is no mixing required. Other benefits of Arena 300 include easy application, quick dry time, and greater abrasion resistance. It provides excellent leveling and superior film hardness, while being environmentally safer and VOC compliant.

Arena 300 is part of the Buckeye Reflections Wood Floor Program. A wood floor is one of the most expensive and prestigious floor types, and needs to be protected. Reflections products make it is easy to use the equipment that is already available in your facility, and the program is cost effective, easy to follow, and will extend the life of your floors. Many of the products are VOC compliant such as VOC compliant Arena water-based wood floor coatings and high performance and VOC compliant Coliseum^® oil-based wood floor coatings. The program also offers hands-on training at no cost to you. Contact us today to learn about using this product and other wood floor care products from Buckeye International.

Seeing is believing when it comes to picking the right products for maintaining a wood floor. With the Buckeye Reflections^® Wood Floor Program you can host a wood floor seminar at your facility. First, contact your local Buckeye representative to set the date and time. At the seminar you’ll receive hands-on training with the products, procedures, and equipment needed to keep your wood floor looking its best. After the seminar, you’ll meet with your Buckeye representative to discuss results and feedback. You’ll complete the program by picking the products that meet your facility’s specific needs.

Failure to keep up with yearly maintenance can decrease the lifespan of a refinished floor or replacement floor by as much as 30%. The Reflections Wood Floor Program is complete with tools and training, including the the Reflections Maintenance wall chart, to keep your wood floors clean. This wall chart includes daily, weekly, and as-needed procedures. It can easily be posted in janitorial closets where wood floor maintenance equipment and supplies are kept. The Reflections Maintenance training video is also a valuable tool for all employees. The video covers topics ranging from vacuuming mats to burnishing floors.

The Reflections Wood Floor Program is built around meeting and exceeding tough environmental regulations. The Reflections wood floor coatings meet strict VOC regulations and are single component, 100% urethane products. This improves indoor air quality and is safer for employees to use, while eliminating mixing mistakes and reducing overall costs. Learn more about the benefits of the Reflections Wood Floor Program here.

Maintaining and protecting a wood floor can be a challenging task. It is important to use products that are safe, durable, and cost effective. One common issue with wood floor products is that they come with harsh odors that can be unpleasant and even dangerous to work with. You can breathe easy and achieve the best traction with the Buckeye Reflections® Wood Floor Program.

Reflections Wood Floor Coatings have little to no odor and low VOCs. Arena® Water-Based Wood Floor Coatings have the lowest VOCs in the country. They are formulated without hazardous cross-linkers and have virtually no harsh odors. Coliseum Oil-Based Wood Floor Coatings are also VOC compliant. Products like these allow you to recoat wood floors while school is still in session. There will also be no dust in the air with Buckeye Reflections wet prep procedures.

If you want the best indoor air quality when recoating your wood floors, the Buckeye Reflections Wood Floor Program is the go-to program. Your wood floor will dry extremely fast and will be ready for play in no time. Check out the full line of products available here and learn about what the Buckeye Reflections Wood Floor Program has to offer. It is easy to follow, cost effective, and will provide years of beauty, performance, safety, and durability.