Spots on a Brazilian Cherry Floor

Q: We are building a new home and have upgraded our floors to Brazilian cherry throughout the first floor and upstairs to the loft. They are beautiful but after the final stain some of the wood planks have light spots on them almost like water spots. There are no groves in the spots only discoloration. Our builder has told us that it is the variation of color in the Brazilian cherry. We knew that Brazilian cherry would have some blond and lighter color woods. That is what we liked about it, but we didn’t expect these spots in some of the planks. It is only on a few areas but is really noticeable. I have attached some pictures taken. Again this is after the last stain, there were a total of 3 coats applied.
April and James

I’ve tossed quite a few emails back in forth with April and James to get some information to really dig into their problem here. Typically the problem they are encountering occurs when the floors layers of finish are not buffed between coats. By roughing up the floor, this allows the new layer of finish to properly adhere. In this case the builder did everything right, sanded the floor well, buffed between each coat, gave the floor plenty of time to cure, but still they encountered these spots. April and James went in depth on this, meeting with the manufacturer of their floor to see if the wood grain could cause this, but in the end here’s what is actually happening.
A: I had a conversation with Gene Decker, who is iFLOOR’s commercial contract specialist, and he mentioned that he has seen this kind of problem when a finish with old catalyst in it which can cause it to set similar to what you are seeing. The catalysts used in finishes to ensure that the urethane dries at a proper rate without the necessity for direct heat. However, when the catalysts get old, they will cause spots that look white like a water spot. In the end here’s the recommendation – rescreen the floor so your remove the spots of the finish, then finish with a new finish. I would heavily suggest using Bona’s Traffic Finish or Glitsa’s Infinity II.