Issue

Appearance

Cause

Alligatoring/Frying

The coating pulls away from itself, causing ridges in the coating similar to an alligator's skin.

Recoating too soon; application under cold conditions; applying coating too quickly; use of incorrect thinners to speed up drying.

Chatter marks

Undulations or lines running across several boards.

Poor sanding technique.

Cloudy finish

The coating appears cloudy or milky.

Latest coat was applied over earlier coat before it was sufficiently dry. Moisture trapped in coating.

Contaminants

Small specks or insects in the finish are often worse near poorly sealed external doors and windows.

Cleanliness of the surface; windy conditions; dust caught between board or under skirting.

Cratering

Faults in the coating that resemble craters.

Contamination of floor or finish; application over previous coats not sufficiently dry.

Delamination

The finish peels at board joints or board ends.

Movement of the timber at board joints or at the end of the board. Inappropriate sealers.. Insufficient sanding.

Edge bonding

Splitting in the boards.  Wide irregular spaced gapping at board edges.

Finish flowing into gaps at board edges and gluing boards together. No sealer being used.

Fisheyes/crawling

Circular, cloudy hazy areas with a clear centre measuring anything up to 1 inch (2.5cms) in diameter.

Surface contamination; insufficient stirring of product before application. Additives such as wet-edge extender not being mixed into product properly.

Gloss variation

Shiny and dull patches in the finish.

Roughness of the boards; uneven film build. Insufficient stirring. Wet edge extender not being mixed in properly.

Grain raising

The floor surface is rough to the touch.

Inadequate sanding, skipping too many grits; insufficient coating thickness. Not using a fine enough sand before coating.

Lap Marks

Uneven appearance with "double build" occurring.

Over working one area, too much
heat, or draught during application or too porous a surface. To avoid them, divide the area into smaller sections and complete each in turn. In warmer conditions or on large jobs, a wet-edge extender may be used.

Pimples

Bubbles or bits in the finish.

Air bubbles introduced into the film during application or insufficient vacuuming prior to coating.

Pin holes

Holes in the coating, similar to fish eyes, but much smaller.

Product has been applied over a previous coat that was not sufficiently dry; shaking the product excessively.

Quilting

A lack of consistency of the coating over board joints highlighting them and giving a bed quilt

Surface coating flow into the joints between boards.

Rejection

It ranges from a change in a localised gloss level to an ‘orange peel” appearance.

Contaminants leaching out of the flooring affecting the wetting of the finish.

Finishes being over-coated before they are dry.

Swirl marks

Circular swirling scratch marks.

The marks from rotary sanding when the final sand has been carried out with too coarse a grit size.

Uneven sheen

Inconsistent sheen across the floor.

Insufficient mixing before application; uneven sanding; uneven application thickness. Wet Edge extender not being mixed in thoroughly.

White lining

White lines appearing along joints between boards.

Rapid stretching of coatings when boards move.