Finish · lacquer
Bona Traffic HD lacquer.
The toughest commercial-grade lacquer on the market. Used in hotels, galleries and listed buildings, low-VOC and walkable in 12 hours.
The toughest commercial-grade lacquer on the market. Used in hotels, galleries and listed buildings, low-VOC and walkable in 12 hours.
When a floor needs to survive serious use, a south-facing kitchen, a hallway every visitor crosses, a children's play space, a small commercial unit, Bona Traffic HD is what we reach for. It's a two-component water-based polyurethane developed for hotel ballrooms and gallery floors, and the only finish in our toolkit we'd recommend without hesitation for the toughest residential settings.
The trade-off is that it cures as a film, so it isn't spot-repairable the way oils are. But the film is hard enough that you usually don't need to. We apply it as a base coat plus two top coats, with light abrasion between, for a surface that reads as crisp and modern.
Two coats over a Bona base coat, with light intermediate sanding for adhesion and an even sheen.
Extra matt, matt and silk-matt. Most residential jobs go with extra matt or matt for a natural-looking finish.
Water-based, so the room is usable the same day and the smell is minimal. Walkable in 12 hours, fully cured in 7 days.
Sits cleanly over stained floors without altering the colour. Brings up colour depth more than oils do.
Slightly tighter grain than for oils. We finish at 100 grit to give the lacquer a key without sealing the wood off.
Bona base coat applied first to even out absorption between boards and avoid grain raising in the top coats.
Two coats of Traffic HD, lightly abraded between, for full film thickness and a uniform sheen.
Trade lacquers come and go. Traffic HD has been the reference commercial-grade water-based lacquer for over a decade. We use it because nothing else we've tested in London traffic holds up as well over five-plus years.
In extra matt, no. It reads as a sealed natural wood floor. Higher sheens look glossier and reflect more light by design.
Foot traffic in 12 hours; we recommend keeping pet claws off until the 48-hour mark, and rugs back down only after a week.
Yes, it's one of the best lacquers on the market for kitchens. The trade-off compared with oil is that scratches can't be invisibly spot-repaired.
Sealed-extraction full sand-back using Bona and Lägler rigs. The fine dust traditional sanding leaves behind doesn't end up on your shelves, in your bedding or in your lungs.
Learn more
Resin-and-dust slurry for narrow gaps, slivered pine for wider ones, board swaps for water damage. We finish so the repair is invisible once the floor is sealed.
Learn more
Scandinavian whites, fumed oak, smoked walnut, deep ebony. We bring sample boards into your home so you choose the colour with your own light, your own walls and your own floor.
Learn more
Bona Craft Oil and Osmo Polyx. A natural matt look that lets the grain breathe, repairable in patches without re-sanding, walkable the same evening it's applied.
Learn more
Lifting, re-gluing, levelling and refinishing original blocks. Herringbone, chevron, basket-weave and field-and-border. Listed-building experience.
Learn moreWe come out, take measurements, talk through finishes and follow up with a detailed quote. No deposit, no obligation.