Adding catalyst is a great choice when using a hardwood finish. While you may not “need” a catalyst, it is recommended to avoid excessive scuffing and scratching. If done correctly, your floor finish in conjunction with a catalyst will leave your floors aesthetically appealing and tough as nails.

We recommend using catalyst in Basic Coatings StreetShoe® NX and PureMatte™. Catalyst is optional in Emulsion PRO™, and you can read about the benefits of catalyst in Emulsion PRO on its Technical Data Sheet.   Once catalyzed, wood floor finishes have a pot-life of 24 hours. After that, the catalyst slowly becomes less effective, because it reacts with the water in the system. Re-dosing or re-catalyzing unused portions of finish after 24 hours restores the mar and chemical resistance properties of the dried film.

When working with unused portions of catalyzed finish, it is important to keep in mind that the un-reacted catalyst remains in the film and tends to act as a plasticizer, thus resulting in a slightly softer film. Therefore, we recommend that catalyzed products only be re-catalyzed one time and that re-catalyzed finish be reserved for lower coats, rather than finish topcoats.

General Reminders When Using Catalyst:

• Add catalyst slowly while stirring the finish with a clean stir-stick
• Never add catalyst to hot finish; allow finish to come to room temperature
• Never store catalyzed finish in hot temperatures, as it will solidify
• Wear proper protection; catalyst can irritate skin and eyes upon contact

Recommended Paint Rollers for Basic Coatings Waterbased Finishes

• 5/16” Sherwin Williams® Microfiber
• 5/16” Wooster® Microfiber
  • Note:  Best results were found using rollers labeled for “Smooth Surfaces”.

For bare wood, apply two coats of a Basic Coatings Waterbased Sealer with a T-bar, roller, and/or paint pad per label instructions, abrade, and tack floor with Basic Coatings Squeaky™ Cleaner before applying a Basic Coatings Waterbased Finish. For screen and recoats, use a 120 grit screen or higher for final screen, for best results use a maroon pad (3M spp) with 240 grit Gold Strips, then tack floor with Basic Coatings Squeaky Cleaner before you apply the top coat.

To begin, use a paint pad to trim along the starting wall, pour a line across the floor boards about five to six inches wide, and condition the roller with finish.  Place the roller past the line of finish and roll back through the finish in three to four foot sweeps, roll forward through the finish again feathering up at the end.  Repeat this process in six to seven inch increments until the floor is completed.  Rollers sliding or skipping is an indication of too much finish, roll excess finish out before continuing.  Allow finish to dry 30 to 45 minutes before adding any airflow to prevent debris from collecting or skinning to occur. Finish will be ready for recoat in 3 to 4 hours depending on environmental conditions.

Basic Coatings recommendations have been fully tested at our application laboratory and shown to work under proper environmental conditions and sound application techniques.  Recommendations are not to be considered warranty for misuse or improper application methods and should not be considered the only way to apply Basic Coatings Waterbased Finishes.  For many years, Basic Coatings products have been applied with a variety of methods from T-bars and paint pads to spray, brushing and wipe-on application.  Please contact a Basic Coatings Representative or consult basiccoatings.com for more information on application methods.

Basic Coatings has unique one-on-one training seminars for distributors and contractors across the country. Basic Coating’s training center features and impressive 700 sq. ft. sports floor area and a 900 sq. ft. mock apartment floor area, allowing our customers to train in a realistic environment and ensure optimal learning.

“I would say this was the best residential class I’ve ever attended, and I’m very heavily into residential and have been for 20 years; therefore, I’ve attended many training programs. This class was paced well, very informative, and had great hands on training. I walked away feeling very confident that I could implement this in my business to the point that I walked into the convention center, went right to the counter and purchased everything needed and related to wood floor care.” —Mike Vitti, Superior Cleaning.

Mike recently took part in our residential wood floor maintenance class. Our floor care experts worked with him in a hands-on training session to show him how to correctly take care of residential flooring.

Basic Coatings works daily to stay current with advancements in floor care technology to provide you with the most accurate information. Mike Vitti is one of many successful training stories at Basic Coatings. Visit our training page to learn more about our variety of training programs designed for you and your business.