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Trial Number 0

Trial Purpose:

To evaluate drying times for various floor finishes.

Date Run:

05/31/2005

Experiment Procedure:

The moisture content at the time of testing will influence results due to the hydroscopic nature of the base materials. Therefore, efforts must be taken to ensure that the moisture content and temperature remain constant during the evaluation period. Ideally, the sample floor should be kept at 65+/-1% relative humidity and 68+/-6 F.

During laboratory testing, conditions were slightly drier, 40% relative humidity, but the temperature was within the given temperature range ~70 F).

The flooring material supplied was Hardwood flooring made from Red Oak. The boards were ¾” thick, 2 ¼” wide and cut into 8” sections. Some pieces of the flooring had to be sanded prior to making initial thickness readings to remove residual packing tape adhesive.

Three coupons were coated with a supplied floor finish according to the manufacturers’ specifications. The finish was applied using a 1” Pure Bristle 1500 paint brush. To ensure consistent coating application, the finish was leveled off using a 10 mils Precision Gage & Tool Co Dow Film Caster. Three coats were used for each floor finish as this was common number of coating layers suggested by the various manufacturers. Each coating layer was allowed to dry for 2 hours prior to the application of the next coat. Completed coupons were allowed to sit for a minimum period of 24 hours before performance evaluations were conducted.

During the sample preparation with floor finish, drying times were monitored. Observations were made after the first coat at every 10 minutes until the finish was dry to the touch. The amount of drying completed during each time interval was estimated and recorded. Subsequent coats were analyzed in the same manner. Drying times for each finish were compared to each other.

Trial Results:

Observations made were based on the approximate area that looked and felt dry. 

Drying Times (minutes) Observations % Dry- qualitative visual assessment
First Coat 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Capitol Polyurethane Gloss 15 20 37 42 45 67 87 95 97
Pro Finisher Water Based Polyurethane 65 97 100            
Pro Finisher Water Based Sanding Sealer 75 95 100              
Quide SA Aqua Deva Metro 55 80 90 95 100        
Second Coat 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Capitol Polyurethane Gloss 70 80 95 100          
Pro Finisher Water Based Polyurethane 80 85 100            
Pro Finisher Water Based Sanding Sealer 80 90 100              
Quide SA Aqua Deva Metro 90 95 100            
                   
Third Coat 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Capitol Polyurethane Gloss 90 100              
Pro Finisher Water Based Polyurethane 100                
Pro Finisher Water Based Sanding Sealer  100                
Quide SA Aqua Deva Metro 100                

Success Rating:

A cleanliness study, addressing only various analytical techniques.

Conclusion:

The oil based floor finish required the longest drying time, nearly 40 minutes longer than the slowest drying water based product. Each product dried faster after each coat. The third coat took about 10 minutes to dry for the water based products and around 20 minutes for the oil based finish.

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