Wood Floor Finishes

If you want to gain a full understanding on the proper way of handling the maintenance care of your flooring system, it is imperative to determine what type of wood floor finish was actually used on the material. Logic would tell you that different wood flood finishes would naturally require different types are cleaning and application techniques to effectively preserve the natural beauty and luster of the floor surfaces.

Years ago, the old methods of hard wood floor finish was mainly limited to wax, lacquer shellac and varnish. Although these rather outdated methods of coats and stain are still used today, is has become significantly difficult to find such treatment mainly because of lower durability and a considerable higher cost of maintenance. The predominantly preferred wood floor finishes today are the urethane based and the water based finish. However, in some rare cases such as in wood repairs, oil and wax are the most practical technique to use so you can’t consider it entirely out of the picture. So let’s take a closer look at the different contemporary wood finish.

Polyurethane Finish

This is known to be a clear and highly durable finish that is basically applied as a wear coat. This time of application is relatively easy, requiring three coats that are usually left to dry overnight. However, keep in mind that sanding and vacuuming should alternately be done in between coats to ensure a flawless finish. This type of coating gives a rather thick appearance with a rich amber tone. The great thing about this particular finish is its virtually moisture resistant and scratch resistant, which is actually ideal for residential areas with high foot traffic. However the notable downside polyurethane finish is the fact that it’s quite difficult to recoat or touch up and oil-based urethanes are known to develop an unsightly tinge of yellow as it ages.

Water Based Finish

This is manufactured with the combination of synthetic resins, film forming ingredients and plasticizers and ultimately results to an extremely durable moist resistant surface. There are actually different gloss levels that you can choose from for this particular type of finish and are popularly used on white and other muted colored stains. In comparison to oil-based urethane, the drying time is significantly faster and has little or no irritating fumes than can cause discomfort. However, the rapid drying feature actually makes it rather difficult to apply and would often need the services of professionals who have significantly experienced and adept in the application.





Moisture Cured Urethane

This is known to be hardest wood finish available but also require professional help because of the extreme difficulty in the application. Another downside of choosing the moisture cure wood floor finish is its highly unpleasant odor that would often need the use of respirators and family members to temporarily vacate the area. This type of finish is dried through from the moisture that is present in the air.

In vi9ew of the general difficultly in the application of wood finished, this makes it all the more practical to buy the pre-finished wood flooring system instead, where you can choose between the oil or water based finishes. These preferences significantly all boils down to the ease in the installation, the durability of the material and the maintenance issues one has to contend with. Most of the time, flooring installation and finishing will take up several days to accomplish, with pre-finished wood floors you can get everything done in one day. This also comes will the supreme guarantee of machine consistency that even the experts cannot hope to compete with.

So why needlessly worry and stress yourself out with the nitty gritty methods of application and finishing treatments when you can simply buy the pre-finished one right. With the information provided above, you can easily choose which of the wood finishes would best meet your specifications and preferences.