Ours looked very similar pre-sealing. It really depends on the light and the underlying color of each individual board. Where there’s a lot of direct natural light, it can look slightly yellow/orange (nothing compared to the 90s orange we had before). But I think it’s more likely to pull pink in real life. It’s hard to photograph accurately, and the photos skew more towards yellow/orange. I’d say it kept pretty close to the raw tones but a couple shades darker.

Yours are going to be beautiful!

I’d add to say our floors look pretty close now to the way your raw floors photographed and show up on my iPhone screen.

Here are photos of our floors which were finished with one coat Bona Natural seal and two coats HD Raw. Unfortunately, while the installation and sanding and buffing of the floors was perfect, I can see double streaks in the floor for the application of the natural seal. I am really disappointed about this. I wish I had gone with Classic Seal which doesn't have the white pigment.

Those floors look beautiful! I am a bit nervous about the application as well. But I feel the color variation between the classic and natural was night and day! Once you have furniture in you may not even notice the streaks- or are they that obvious? These floors are gorgeous!!

Our naturalseal/Traffic HD floors are finished and I LOVE THEM. It looked just like i hoped and I'll admit, I was terrified. We switched plan at the 11th hour and didn't actually see natural seal sampled on our own installed wood - so I did what everyone says not to - selected based on photos and samples in store. The color of my floor, to my eye, looks just like Flora's flooring. I scrutinized for any of the streakiness and I only found it in one place in a closet near an inside corner so not an issue. We have the boards laid out straight and I am guessing that is more forgiving for any issues with application than the herringbone. Not sure about that, but guessing. I will post pictures when I can - we are packing to move so in a bit of a tizzy this week as we finalize the renovation.

Ohhh can’t wait to see! I’m very nervous. We are doing bona mega one satin finish- should be same results!

We don’t have all our lighting installed but I think it’s bright enough to show how the floor looks. I think these pics are coming thru a little darker than it looks IRL. This is bona 1 coat natural seal and 3 coats traffic HD (we foster dogs and have kids so wanted as durable as possible with Bona, hence 3 coats)

^^^I just looked at my own posted photos and it is definitely way lighter than that IRL and the variation in the individual boards is not that dramatic in person. The finish is Satin.

Agreed that it’s hard to photograph accurately! I also have not noticed any streaking (and I’m super picky), but had a similar guess that straight boards may not show it as much. Or maybe the raw top coat is a different factor over mega one or traffic? But I’m a sucker for herringbone, and those floors are so stunning!

Do any of you ‘feel the grain’ in the wood? I’m in another group and they are saying they feel the grain and were told this is normal for water based. I believe that’s incorrect…

Post a close up picture to evaluate.

Kristine McGee I do ‘feel the grain’. It’s not rough, like to catch your socks. But its not slippery-ish like our prior oil-based poly was.

Never thought about this before. Oil I can’t feel anything it’s super smooth.

My installer told me he too noticed the streaks in the herringbone. He offered to resand the floors and finish them again with Natural Seal and 2 coats of Raw. I am worried if it wasn't applied property first time, I might not get any better results...and perhaps even worse if not all of the sealer is sanded off and then there are patches where the floor is whiter due to overlapping coats. I'm beginning to think I should just accept the floors as is. Any thoughts on this? Has anyone redone floors that were sealed with Natural Seal or Nordic Seal?

In response to feeling the grain, I do not feel any grain in our floor. The floor is as smooth as velvet. I do know that when the sealer is applied the wood grain is raised. Typically an installer should buff the floor at least once if not every time after each product is applied. In our case the installer applied the natural seal, returned the next day and buffed the floor. Applied a coat of Raw, waited 4 hours and then buffed the floor and then applied the second coat of Raw. The floor is so smooth to the touch. Sadly, the only issue is the streaking. i would suggest you have your installer return to buff the floor.

Ok guys… we started! Before photo and then one coat NaturalSealer. I’ll do more pics when I can.

looking good!

Streaking is caused by the application method. You installer is using a T-bar method over the herringbone. It's best to roll over pattern flooring. You still need to be a expert at rolling to avoid lap marks.

Ahh almost done!

Looks great your hard work and research have paid off! Enjoy those gorgeous floors!

You’re not kidding! I can’t wait to delete 356 screenshots from my phone regarding floors. I’ll post a final before, during and after.

For future readers who come across this while doing research, I would NEVER recommend applying just one coat of Naturalseal or Nordicseal, especially on a patterned floor like herringbone. For Nordicseal, even two coats could be problematic. It's quite easy to get streaks with an applicator, or double coats with a roller. If your layout isn't too complicated, you can get away with one coat of Naturalseal, but if you're a flooring professional it's wise to manage your client's expectations by informing them of the inherent risks, especially when one small spot could end up having to re-do a whole floor.

Edited to correct a mistake. I typed that you could get away with one coat of Nordicseal when I meant Naturalseal. With tinted sealers it's quite easy to get an overlap, and the more colors it contains, the worse the potential is. This differs from penetrating stains, where absorption into the wood controls the outcome and the major challenge is making sure your get uniform application and complete wiping of excess.

I second that, "ANY" white pigmented finish requires two coats minimum. This helps block tannins, cuts down on the yellowing overtime.

What issues would I have in the future with one coat NaturalSeal?

Future issues? None in particular. The potential issue that could happen immediately is uneven application. If one coat goes on and looks good now, you're good to go. Refer to my comment above for elaboration.

S H ,

You're kitchen is so similarly to what we are doing right now island color and all. What counter top is that?

Taj Mahal Quartzite. It’s $$$$, but I absolutely love it! The beauty of marble with the durability of granite.

FYI, It photographs darker/more gray than it is in real life.

Hello- anyone have a suggestion for lightweight / stick vacuum recommendations which won’t scratch my new Bona floors.
My Dyson v8 is dying and I don’t want another Dyson (great concept and size, but have replaced the expensive battery too many times!).
Our entire house is wood flooring (except bathrooms) and I already have a really good corded “rug beater” for the area rugs. However, i don’t trust to use that one for the new flooring. I’d like something pretty light weight for the floors and either long battery life >20 min or cord if need-be.

I’ve been trying to find a very light natural white oak that has that raw look thats pre finished soid hardwood, 4”-5” wide 3/4” thick. ive just about given up. and Im terrified anything unfinished will not be as durable. where did you buy your wood from or what brand is it? And did you stain at all or just seal? it feels like all the stains either darken or give the white-isn look. i am starting to hate floors…

Ours was purchased from DERR I think I have the name of it - I’ll look. We used a sealer that has a bit of a stain in it - the natural seal. We wanted the natural look. Ours above are 5” white oak.

Thanks so you think Derri is the brand of white oak? And do you know if it is 3/4” thick? Thanks so much. Any problems with cupping with the 5” I’ve heard to avoid anything above 4” for solid hardwood because of cupping. Thanks again for the response!!!

Also apologies which brand stain did you use? I saw the finish above - the bona but not the stain. Apologies if i missed it but thank you so much. I swear this is the hardest part of the process!

I have 5” white oak that was installed during the winter when humidity was low.. my first summer we ran into cupping as we were not running the dehumidifier constantly.. just wasn’t pulling enough moisture out of the house.. my beautiful floors cupped in a few areas.. luckily they went back once we got the humidity under control.. the next summer we kept an eye on it and floors were fine.. unfortunately i now keep windows shut in summer and run air conditioner and keep close eye on humidity to 35-45%.. i also have 3.5” in my upstairs and have never had a problem with that..

S H, think you can send me more pics of that counter? Trying to convince My wife it's the way to go Gmail is Td30mott. Idk why can't DM on here....

Here are a few more from right after installation (backsplash was still missing). The coloring is more accurate in these photos, though the contrast of the veins are still a bit exaggerated looking compared to real life. There are tons of pictures of Taj Mahal on Houzz, and I highly recommend seeing it in person at a few different stone yards. The slabs can vary a LOT

Such a pretty slab! You are right - each slab is so different and esp so with TM. The ones I was seeing were very different from this. What are you doing for backsplash- tile or bringing this stone up?

We have not had issues with cupping and we had to wait for the humidity to drop. We installed beginning of November- heat on throughout the weeks. It is 3/4 thick. We used NaturalSeal and then Mega One. naturalseal has a ‘stain’ in it. No need for anything else other than a finish.

We brought it up the backsplash. I am happy with the decision, especially since we didn’t have much backsplash we needed to cover and we were able to skip introducing another material.

beautiful

S H,

Sorry, I might be missing it, are your floors bona classic seal or natural seal?

Hi Roarke- I think most people on this particular thread ended up with Natural Seal on white oak incl SH (but SH has to confirm)? I’m very happy with Natural seal results but I also think I would have been happy with ClassicSeal which is a bit warmer.

I actually think above SH said they used the intense seal. But most on the thread did natural. Or no seal
And just the hd high traffic bins finish

We did natural + HD traffics Satin

You can see how the lighting in pictures even in the same rooms can look drastically different. The pictures tend to make the variation look much more dramatic than real life, and the color is probably most similar to the post on 2/23, though still a bit lighter is real life

Okay so we have had our floors for about 3 months now and I do think they are def not as smooth as an oak finished floor would be. Also, I think they ‘scuff’ and scratch a bit more. What is everyone using to clean their floors? Any tricks to get the scratches out? I always had oil based in our homes until now- I don’t want to use anything that is oil based on these floors- my fear is it would soak it up.

Post a close up picture of the scuffs and scratches., You may have underlying issues if, the floor finish damages easily. Show us these rough surfaces you are talking about, also.

Can anyone speak to whether or not you can (or even should) just do three layers of the bona HD finish on raw maple or if that impacts the integrity of the floor and you need to use a seal (irrespective of stain) because it’s maple and doesn’t really take stain anyways. I’m just asking more as a matter of durability and function - does the raw wood require the seal for protection in addition to the finish???

The sealer is to prevent tannin pull (dark applicator marks) and side bonding. Bona recommends either to apply a sealer or stain and then two coats of HD over any species of wood. A third coat is only needed for high traffic areas. Residential homes do not need the extra third coat. Information is on the bottle.