Bona Traffic Wood Floor Finish Review Page
© Copyright Author Gary Hughes/Woodfloor-Renovations
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Bona Traffic is a two-component waterborne 100% polyurethane finish for the surface treatment of wooden floors in commercial premises where a very high resistance to wear is required. It is also suitable for over coating factory pre-finished cork floors. Traffic Matt provides a clear natural appearance giving “Invisible Protection” and the look of an oiled floor but, unlike oil, offers years of virtually maintenance-free protection. Traffic Silk Matt has a higher sheen level but all the other qualities of the matt version.
Bona have calculated that well over 135 million m2 of wooden floors around the world have been coated with Traffic.
- Contains less than 10% solvents
- Superb scratch and chemical resistance
- High Scuff resistance
- Non Yellowing surface
- Meets DIN norm 18 032 and BS 7044:1990 for slip resistance
- Meets ÖNORM C 2354 Category C (very heavy wear)
The above text is the standard Bona Traffic product introduction.
Bona Traffic is undoubtedly the heavyweight champion of the wood flooring lacquer world, and is used extensively in commercial premises where durability and high levels of resistance to wear are needed.
We have used Bona Traffic on many many occasions and again have nothing but good positive things to say about this product. Its just as easy to apply as Bona Mega & Bona Novia, the drying times though are slightly longer at 3-4 hrs per coat.
Bona Traffic Is a 2-part formulation, meaning you pour part b into part a, give it a good shake up, leave for 5-10 minutes then apply as you would any other lacquer, we would strongly advise that both part A and part B are BOTH shaken vigorously as per manufacturers instructions.
Bona recommend a waterborne primer coat before using Traffic.
One of the Bona Prime variants would be suitable, as would Bona Novia and dependant on what the area is to be used for, in this case say a domestic situation, we would recommend 1 x coat of Primer then 2 x coats of Traffic for a high quality durable finish, which, if properly looked after and maintained will last the end user many years. [depending on traffic levels]
In my experience with using Bona Traffic, whether or not you are using a roller to apply this product onto your wooden floor or using a more professional 'T' bar type of applicator, Bona Traffic will apply beautifully with hopefully no issues.
Always follow the manufacturers instructions and recommendations for applying their respective products, if you apply the product as you should it should look superb and leave you with a hard wearing durable surface that will give you years of faithful service.
What the DIY er must also bear in mind with Bona Traffic is that this product has a 5 hour pot life, which basically means that if you have mixed more than you are going to use in a day then what is left in the pot will be un-usable after 5 hours.
**Note** In very demanding environments, further applications/coats of Bona Traffic would be recommended.
You may of noted that again there are no 'cons' or bad points against Bona Traffic , that's because there just isn't anything bad to say about the product, its absolute top quality and unfortunately, top quality always comes at a premium, in the UK you can expect to pay anything between £80.00-£100.00 for a 4.95 litre can of Traffic, it is on the expensive side, but remember that you are getting a premium product backed by the considerable expertise and might of Bona
With specialist flooring lacquers you do get what you pay for, and with Traffic you are getting one of the best flooring lacquers there is on the world market today - shop around online for the best deal you can.
With Traffic, Bona recommend light use a minimum of 8 hrs after the final coat has been applied to your floor, Remember maximum hardness of the Lacquer is achieved after 7 Days with Bona Traffic.
The coverage is also excellent, we get at the very least 10m2 per litre of Traffic, often 12m2 + is achievable but is dependant on many variables - Bona specify an application rate of 8-10m2 per litre of Traffic
Bona Traffic comes delivered in a 4.5 litre can and a 0.45 Litre bottle of hardner, and is available in 2 different sheen levels which are:- IP Matt or Silk Matt
IP stands for 'Invisible Protection'
NEVER EVER use Bona Traffic WITHOUT the hardner mixed in, the product would NOT be able to dry.
Both these finishes look superb when properly applied and it would of course depend on the choice of the end user as to what aesthetic sheen level best suits the particular area/room that the product is being applied into.
APPLICATION
We are often asked 'How many coats of lacquer do i need' the simple answer is as many as you like, but this always relates to cost & the timeframe involved in the project. As a general rule of thumb a Professional Floor Sanding company will specify 3 Coats of Lacquer or 2 coats of Oil as standard for a domestic situation, extra coats of lacquer will be at an extra cost, anything between £4 - £6 per coat per m2 eg. For a 20m2 lounge to be given a 4th coat of lacquer should cost between £80 - £120
If in doubt just ask your Floor Sanding Professional.
Bona Traffic can be applied to a wood floor in a number of ways, a floor sanding professional will use a variety of application methods depending on the size of project, but if you are looking to apply lacquer to for example a 20m2 lounge, Oak strip, a 9" roller would be perfectly acceptable, the roller refill you need should be a 'medium pile' with the pile length being approx 8mm, a decent quality roller will have that information on the packet, use an inch and three quarter roller and cage, these are more robust and just better than the cheaper inch and a half alternatives.
- Look out for a light blue line around the roller refill, this designates that the pile has been thermo fused onto the actual roller sleeve and is highly unlikely to shed hair/pile into the lacquer.
For cutting in we would recommend using a 4" Mini Paint Roller with a foam refill, these products are cheap but do the job extremely well. You don't always have to buy the manufacturers recommended products, which are normally twice the price of perfectly suitable alternatives.
The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of Woodfloor-Renovations through our experiences with the numerous Floor Sanding & Sealing projects that we have undertaken.
** No guarantee whatsoever is offered with this advice **
REMEMBER - ALWAYS follow the manufacturers instructions and read them carefully.
If you are not sure about any aspect of this article consult a Professional.
Woodfloor-Renovations is a genuine  certified contractor,
you can find us on Bona's Find your contractor page on their website |
The products listed below are in no particular order
The links below are Product Technical information sheets from the Manufacturers and should be of use. They are all PDF Files and clicking on the links will open your computers PDF reading program.
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