Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer
Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer
Many people question the quality of water based floor lacquers and varnishes. Are they as durable as solvent or oil based finishes? Do they maintain the natural look of the wood? Do they yellow? Do they scratch easy? What are the main benefits of using a water based floor lacquer instead of a solvent based floor lacquer? Can you apply it over stains? How many coats are required?
Bona Mega One – Water Based Floor Lacquers
All manufacturers of floor lacquers and floor finishes have stopped manufacturing solvent or oil based products. Or at least have greatly reduced their solvent / oil based product range. The main issue was the pollution. These products are highly toxic for the tradesmen using them and create a lot of pollution in the manufacturing process. But there were other reasons also.
Natural Finish – while the new water based floor lacquers are maintaining the wood 100% natural and allow the wood to breath, the old oil based floor lacquers were glazing the wood surface & creating an artificial finish. Even the extra matt solvent based finish has more sheen than the glossy finish from the water based range.
Yellowing – solvent or oil based finishes react with light & chemicals. When new, it looks great, but within a few months, most solvent based finishes will change colour. From a light peachy colour it will become dark honey yellow. Some people love it while others hate it.
Durability – this is a very disputable issue. Initially, all water based floor lacquers were very poor quality and were not recommended for high traffic floors. But over the past few years, the products have improved a lot and now you can buy a high traffic floor lacquer, like Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer, that will provide pretty much the same durability as any solvent based floor lacquer. But, to be fair, the old solvent based floor lacquers have a much better resistance to harsh chemicals and traffic.
Issues – The new water based floor lacquers require proper maintenance. Quality wood floor cleaners are required to maintain it and clean it. Years back, many commercial buildings, schools, pubs, etc, that had wooden floors, were using only one mop and one cleaning product for all their floors. A water based floor lacquer cannot be deep cleaned or washed with bleach based cleaning products, harsh chemicals, steamers or rough floor pads. As long as you are maintaining it correctly, it will last for very long periods of time.
Advantages – a water based floor lacquer like Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer, will enhance the look of your wooden floor without creating artificial glazing, it will not yellow and it will not wear off easily The lacquer dries very fast and 3 coats can be done in one day. It is manufactured with less pollution and it has a very little impact on the environment.
Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer – Why Mega
In Ireland, there are a number of brands selling different quality water based floor lacquers. Some are better than others and some are more expensive than others. There are two ranges of products available : domestic and commercial floor lacquers. Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer is listed as a “domestic & light commercial” floor lacquer. That means that it can be used for sealing medium to high traffic domestic floors and medium traffic commercial floors, like office floors & halls. Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer is a thick floor lacquer that can be applied without a primer in two coats system. Most water based floor lacquers require a primer & 2 coats of floor lacquer or 3 coats of floor lacquer without a primer. But Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer will look amazing with only 2 coats without a primer. You can apply it over a primer if you plan to change the look of the floor ( Bona White or Bona Amberseal Floor Primers). Being done in two coats only, makes this product much more cost effective and it speeds up the job as well.
Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer – Sheen
Many well established brands of floor lacquers, like Bona, Carver, Tover, Junckers & others, are not manufacturing glossy finishes that much. They might have one or two products available in gloss but most top quality floor lacquers are available in natural, matt & semi gloss/silk matt finishes. The idea of top quality water based floor lacquer is to keep the wood as natural as possible without glazing. Glossy finishes have to glaze a bit and that creates a slight artificial finish on wood.
Bona Mega One is available in extra matt (natural) not sheen at all, matt – very low sheen or semi gloss – medium sheen.
Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer – Where to use
Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer is a single pack water based floor lacquer that can be applied over water based floor primers or directly on wood. It can be used to seal all types of wooden floors, frames, furniture, doors, etc. The product is not compatible with oil based wood stain from Bona or any other brand. If you are planning to stain your floor with Bona Craft Oil or some other oil based wood stain, you should be using Bona Traffic HD Two Pack.
Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer can be used as a main sealer for domestic floors, all types of office floors and on all medium traffic commercial floors
Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer – Coverage
All professional floor lacquers should cover around 10-12 sq meters per 1L. Now, that coverage area is informative only. It all depends on the type of the wood sealed, the quality of the sanding and the way it is applied. The first coat will always cover less while the second coat will cover more. Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer will cover around 10 sq meter per 1L for the first coat (assuming that the floor was sanded well or is a new floor) & it will go up to 14 sq meters per 1L for the second coat (assuming that the first coat was sanded off with 180 grit sandpaper). A professional floor sanding company can achieve even better results.
Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer – Non Yellowing
Yellowing over time was the main issue with the old solvent floor lacquers. You can be 100% assured that your floor will not yellow if you are using Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer. The UV light cannot affect a water based floor lacquer. Your floor will stay nice and natural if it is properly maintained.
Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer – How do you apply it?
Let’s assume that you plan to seal a wooden floor. If there is any type of sealer or finish present on the floor, you will need to remove it fully before varnishing. Proper belt sanders have to be used and the floor has to finish with 80 grit sandpaper before lacquering. Apply 1 coat of Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer with a roller and a brush. Use the brush to lacquer the edges and all hard to reach areas and use the varnishing roller for the larger areas. Apply enough lacquer to cover the whole floor without over soaking the wood. Allow about 2 hours to dry & then re-sand the whole floor with 180 grit sandpaper to remove all the imperfections. Vacuum well and apply one more coat the same way as the first coat. You can do a third coat but it is not essential. Two coats should do the job.
Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer – Maintenance
The maintenance is the main issue with the water based floor lacquers. People just don`t pay attention to details and they end up damaging the finish. Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer is a water based floor lacquer that requires special care and the use of quality “wood floor cleaners”. Maintain your wooden floor daily with Bona Wood Floor Spray Mop to prolong the life of your wooden floor. From time to time, use Bona Cleaner (heavy duty wood floor cleaner) to deep clean the floor and remove dirt deposits. No steamers on wooden floors, no bleach, no harsh chemicals, no rough scrubbing pads & no high heels on your floors. Install protectors on your sofa & chair legs. Once every 5-10 years, your wooden floors will require refinishing.
It is always worth spending a bit of money on your floor finish. A low quality cheap floor lacquer can wear off 12 months later while a high traffic floor lacquer like Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer can last for 5+ years. If you have semi solid wooden floors, you need to be aware that you can only have it refinished a limited amount of times. You need to make sure that you use the strongest and the most durable water based floor lacquer available.
Bona Mega One Floor Lacquer