Bona’s Traffic has been the toughest finish on the block for a long time.

Yes, Bona Traffic HD is tougher than even the highest quality oil-based finish. Pete’s has been using this finish on contracting jobs for the past 25 years because it lasts a long time and keeps call-backs and complaints to a minimum. It is a crystal-clear, two-component cross-linked finish that features aluminum oxide to resist the gradual but incessant friction of life on your floors.

Traffic HD is all that and a bit more.

The main difference is that, in the first 24 hours after application, Traffic HD is 80% cured rather than just 70%. This seems like a small difference, but if you know you have to apply your finish and walk on it to deliver furniture or install appliances, being 10% closer to full cure can make a difference.

The other improvement over original Traffic is that the Volatile Organic Compounds of the product are lower: 110g/L instead of 150g/L. If you are respiratorily sensitive, this is a significant improvement. Bona also claims that Traffic HD is stronger and more protective than regular Traffic, but they don’t provide any data or measurements to back that up, so we don’t know how verifiable that is.

We like the Bona Traffic HD best because it is the only member of the Traffic family that comes in the Matte sheen level.

Traffic is not, however, the easiest finish to use or apply.

It is a two-component material that must be mixed just prior to use. It has a limited open time. This hardener contains isocyanate which is known to be a skin and lung irritant for some people during the dry time. The flow and leveling of this product are more sensitive to air temperature and movement that other finishes which makes puddles and applicator marks more likely.

Bona does not like that we sell this product to DIYers because its performance depends on applying it correctly. I think their concern is fair and well-founded because the product’s reputation is safer in the hands of professionals who take the time to learn and practice how to apply it. If you are a DIYer willing to take on the greater challenge of applying this Traffic, we believe the results will be worth it.

But it you want a finish you can just pour on and walk away, this is not it.

But will this resist dog toenails? Will it scratch?

Here is the truth that we have learned through many jobs with many finishes and many dogs. All finishes scratch. Period. Even Traffic. The better question to ask: will this finish protect my floor, even when it is scratched? A high quality floor finish like Traffic will ugly-out long before it wears through.

Wear-through is what floor finishes are mainly designed to resist: that slow, gradual friction that removes the protective coating and exposes wood. A quality floor finish will resist that for years and look great while doing it.But if you have dogs it will not look pretty that entire time.

Compare this to a car’s finish. Those finishes are thick and carefully baked on, designed to resist acid rain, ice, and sun. But one little swipe with a key, and that finish is considered to be ruined. The finish didn’t fail; it just wasn’t designed for that kind of damage.

Dog toenails are like handfuls of keys constantly scraping all over your floor! Of course they will affect the appearance of the finish, but they have not undermined its performance. I know you think a floor finish’s job is to look pretty.

We think a floor finish’s job is to protect the wood. Traffic will protect the wood and look pretty way longer than most, but if you drag a sharp, pointy, hard object across that floor, that line will show. If you need your floor to look prettier, you will simply apply a booster coat of Traffic more frequently. And, for crying out loud, trim your pets’ toenails.

Available in gallons only, hardener is included. Choose SemiGloss, Satin, or Commercial Matte.

Pete’s has a 30-day return policy – what’s up with that?

It may seem draconian but hear us out. We set this return limit because waterborne finishes are chemically delicate. If they are stored at very high or very low temperatures, or temperatures that fluctuate, the de-foaming agents become unstable.

The longer a gallon of finish is out of our control, the less we know about how it was handled and stored. If we can’t be sure of how a gallon of finish will behave, we won’t resell it. But if we can’t resell returns, we lose our already low margin. So, yes, we are firm on 30-day returns on all finish.