Floor finish

[fptahoe]

Not sure if this post should be here or in the Finishing section.  The subject is top coating a floor.  My son in law renovated the first floor of their house. For flooring, they used random length wood plank, stained it a walnut color and finished it with poly - not sure of brand but he thought it was a Minwax product.  It has been about a year now and the finish on the floor has been easily damaged in several areas.  By easily damaged, I mean if his three year old scuffs the floor with her shoe, there is a permanent mark there.  He brought the contractor back to look at it and they guy agreed that it isn't right. He also said he was pretty sure that the poly he put on had been inadvertently frozen the night before in his truck.  Bad news but at least the guy came clean.   

With all of this as background, I am writing to get recommendations on the best (hardest) finish to use when they re-coat the floor.  Since it is stained brown, a little ambering is fine as long as it is durable. Also, any comments on fumes or smell, curing time, or any other input would be great.  As always, very much appreciate any advice provided.  Thank you!

[who]

Recoating with a different product can cause adhesion issues, even with a screening first.  I wouldnt recommend it.  Either use the same product, or sand and refinish with a quality topcoat... Nothing Minwax.  I like L&L 1500, but you dont see most one truck chuck floor guys using it because it's expensive @ $70/gal.

[tomsteve]

only input I can suggest is on sheen. I prefer a satin over gloss for 2 reasons; 1- scratches in satin don't show as much. 2- glare from lights off the floor are lower with satin.
I have a 3 year old in this house with wood floors throughout except kitchen and bathroom.i refinished the floors 3 years ago. used minwax for floors( oil based) - 2 coats of gloss and topcoat of satin. no traffic for 48 hours with fans moving air through the rooms for that 48 hours with open windows and beings how it was summer, the temps stayed above 65. i didnt notice any poly smell after that time, but it could have been there.has some wear from a 3 year old here daily, but hasn't scuffed/scratched that easily and never scuffed that easily.

something about " poly he put on had been inadvertently frozen the night before in his truck" has me thinkin. im no finishing expert, but I make sure any finish is to room temperature before using.
if it froze, was it an acrylic?

edit- Id think it would have to be an acrylic to freeze?

[Steven_D]

Whatever the problem with the finish, a simple recoat would not fix it, you need at least a full buffing and a new coat and even then you might still have the same problem. The way I see it only a complete sanding would do some good but it will probably remove the walnut stain. So the actions would be - deep sanding to remove all the finish, buffing to remove some deep marks, staining, finishing with few coats of lacquer. On what I would recommend is something very easy - Bona high traffic lacquer which would take 24 hours to dry and is water based so fewer fumes for the child to take in.

[fredhargis]

He also said he was pretty sure that the poly he put on had been inadvertently frozen the night before in his truck.  Bad news but at least the guy came clean.   

With all of this as background, I am writing to get recommendations on the best (hardest) finish to use when they re-coat the floor.  Since it is stained brown, a little ambering is fine as long as it is durable. Also, any comments on fumes or smell, curing time, or any other input would be great.  As always, very much appreciate any advice provided.  Thank you!

The best wouldn't be the hardest; the reason urethanes are great for floors is the elasticity they have makes them harder to scratch. That aside, if that finish the contractor used was oil base freezing won't hurt it at all, but if it was a waterborne it became toast (probably) when it was frozen. But as some of the others have mentioned I would insist on a quality product....to me that would be something that's not Minwax.