Surface Wood Floor Finishes - Surface finishes are very popular today because they are durable, water-resistant and require minimal maintenance. Surface finishes are blends of synthetic resins. These finishes most often referred to as urethanes or polyurethane's remain on the surface of the wood and form a protective coating. They are generally available in high-gloss, semi-gloss, satin and matte. Any one of the surface finishes are appropriate for the kitchen.
Types of Wood Floor Finishes 1. Oil-modified urethane is generally the most common surface finish and is easy to apply. It is a petroleum base with a blend of synthetic resins, plasticizers and other film forming ingredients that produces a durable surface that is moisture-resistant. It is a solvent-base polyurethane that dries in about eight hours. This type of finish ambers with age. and comes in different sheen levels. 2. Moisture-cured urethane is a solvent-base polyurethane that is more durable and more moisture resistant than other surface finishes. Moisture-cure urethane comes in non-yellowing and in ambering types and is generally available in satin or gloss. These finishes are extremely difficult to apply, have a strong odor and are best left to the professional. Curing of this type of finish is by absorbing minute quantities of moisture vapor from the air, which causes them to dry and harden. The curing process is very dependant on relative humidity. 3. Water-based urethane is a water-borne urethane with a blend of synthetic resins, plasticizers and other film forming ingredients that produces a durable surface that is moisture-resistant. These finishes are clear and non-yellowing and are different sheen levels. They have a milder odor than oil-modified finishes have and they dry in about two to three hours. Water-based urethanes are generally more expensive. 4. Converstion-Varnish Sealers-(Swedish Finishes)- A two-component acid-curing, alcohol-based sealers. Because of their origin (country), conversion varnish sealers are often referred to as Swedish finishes 5. Penetrating Sealers - These sealers are spread on the floor and allowed to penetrate and are solvent based. The excess sealer is removed with rags or buffed in with synthetic or steel wool pads. This type of finish often have a color and can be used to stain and seal the wood floor. Penetrating Oil Sealers are made from tung or linseed oil, with additives improve drying and hardness. 6. Paste Wax- The oldest, and in some ways the best. Wax is the easiest to apply, least expensive, fastest drying, easiest to repair, and with proper care will survive forever. Wax over a penetrating stain, and the system is in the wood so you wear the wood, not the finish. Wax is spread in thin coats for a surface protection after the stain and/or sealer is applied, then buffed to the desired sheen. 7. Varnish- Vinyl-alkyd varnishes have superseded natural varnish made from vegetable oils. This product was commonly used before urethane finishes where introduced. 8. Lacquer - The flammability and incompatibility of this floor finish is NOT a recommended by many manufacturers. This finish should avoided. 9. Shellac - This product (natural shellac) contains wax and is not widely used for top coating in today's wood flooring market. Dewaxed shellac is becoming used more and more for a wood floor sealer. NOTE: Inspection of wood floor finishes should be made from a standing position (five feet up and two feet away) with normal lighting. Light glare from windows, added lighting (flood lights) magnify any irregularities in the floor surface and should NOT determine acceptability of the finish. Prefinished Hardwood Flooring (Wood floors that have been factory finished before they are installed) 1. Acrylic Impregnated - Acrylic monomers are injected into the cell structure of the wood to give increased hardness and then finished with a wear layer over the wood. 2. Acrylic-urethane - Has a slightly different chemical make up than polyurethane, but with similar benefits. 3. Aluminum Oxide - particles added to the polyurethane finish to increase the abrasion resistance of the wear layer. This has become extremely popular on the better grades of hardwood floors. 4. Ceramic - Advanced finish technology that allows the use of space-age ceramics to increase the abrasion resistance of the wear layer. 5. Polyurethane - A clear, tough and durable finish that is applied as a wear layer. 6. UV-cured - these floors are finished at the factory and the polyurethane finish are cured with Ultra Violet lights instead of using heat. Job Site- Refinishing- A job-site finish means you start with an unfinished wood floor and than the wood floor is sanded, stained, and/or finished at the job-site. If you want a custom stained wood floor, or a wood floor to match existing trim than a job-site finishing is to proper route to take. NOTE; The type of wood floor species you have may determine the type of wood floor finish that works best! Consult your wood floor professional FIRST ! FREE Installation or Refinishing Estimate from LOCAL Wood Flooring Contractors 1. Moisture Cured Urethane - A similar chemical make up as solvent based urethanes but, as the name suggest, this finish needs the humidity (moisture ) in the air to cure. 2. Solvent Based Urethane - Oil components are used as part of the chemical make up of the polyurethane finish. Dry time for most needs at least 24 hours before recoating and/or light foot traffic, 3. Water Based Urethane (latex) - Water is used as part of the chemical make up of the polyurethane finish. Dry times in 2-6 hours for most. Comparing Finishes Water-base Urethane Oil-modified Urethane Swedish Conversion Varnish Moisture-cure Urethane Seal & Wax or Oil finish Durability very good Durability very good Durability Excellent Durability Excellent Durability very good Mild Odor Moderate Odor Strong Odor Strong Odor Mild Odor Clear in color Amber in color Clear to slight amber Clear to amber Amber in color Easy to recoat Easy to recoat Recoatable Recoatable Renewable by customer Fast drying Slow drying Fast drying dries quickly with humidity Dry time varies Non flammable Combustible Combustible Flammable Combustible Commonly available Can water spot NOTE: Finishes can discolor over time. Ultraviolet light can change the color of a finish, so it is important to drape large windows from sunlight. Area rugs are an excellent addition to wood floors, however they should not be placed on the floor until the finish has fully cured (min 30-45 days) What type of finish do you have? Here are some simple steps to help you determine if the finish is a wax finish, shellac or varnish finish or a surface finish. If the floor was installed, or last serviced, before the mid '60s, you should assume the finish used was varnish or shellac. To determine this, scratch the surface with a coin or other sharp object in a corner or other inconspicuous space. If the finish flakes, it is probably shellac or varnish. Shellac and varnish are rarely used anymore and require full sanding to remove before application of a surface finish or wax finish. Next, check the floor for wax finish. In an inconspicuous area, corner or behind a door, apply two(2) drops of water. If, within ten minutes, white spots appear under the drops of water, the floor has a wax finish. To remove the white spots, gently rub the spots with #000 steel wool dampened with wax. If the finish does not flake from scratching with a coin and white spots do not appear from the drops of water, the floor has a surface finish and should be maintained accordingly. Other Finishes, Paints, Stains, & Tints Acid Curing Gym Finishes Urethane-High Solids Adhesion Promoters Penetrating Oil Urethane-Moisture Cured Conversion Varnish Sealer Urethane-Oil Modified Curable Sealers-Topcoats Stain-Oil Based Urethane-UV-Cured Finish Removers Stain-Water Based Urethane-Latex-Water Based Game Line Paints Tints Wax distributors/floor_style Things you SHOULD NOT expect from a wood floor finish ! also see: Trouble Shooting Finishes 1. A table top finish. Each piece of oak flooring sands differently depending on its grain type (plain or quartered) making it virtually impossible for a completely flat surface. 2. Dust-free finish. Since your floor is being finished in your home it is not possible to achieve a "clean room" environment. Some dust will fall onto the freshly applied top finish. 3. A monochromatic floor. Wood, as a natural product, varies from piece to piece. Remember it is not fabricated -- it is milled from a tree and will have grain and color variations consistent with the grade and species of flooring selected. 4. A floor that will not indent. In spite of the term "hardwood", Oak flooring will indent under high heel traffic (especially heels in disrepair). The finish that is applied will not prevent the dents. 5. A floor without cracks between the boards, or within the parquet pieces. Although your new floor may start tight together, as a natural product it will continue to absorb and release moisture. This natural process will cause the flooring to expand and contract from season to season -- resulting in cracks between some of the pieces in your floor. Some stain colors, such as white, will show this process more than others. Understand that furniture, cabinetry, doors, etc., are fabricated in a factory under ideal conditions and that they contain 1-10 different pieces of wood. Their floor is fabricated in their own home and is made up of 300 to a thousand individually different pieces. And that their floor is never to be duplicated * a truly custom floor of their own * Trouble Shooting Wood Floor Finishes * This is a condition in which the finish pulls away from itself, causing ridges in the finish, similar to an alligator's skin. This condition can occur in * both water-based and oil-modified finishes. There are many possible causes, including poor wetting of the finish, contamination of the finish, application * under cold temperatures, application of a new coat before the previous coat has dried, application of a heavier coat than is recommended, or the use of * thinners that cause the finish to dry too quickly. The solution is to screen and recoat after the finish has dried sufficiently. * * APPLICATION STREAKS * This condition is usually associated with water-based finishes. It often occurs when an improper spread rate is used - too much or too little finish is * applied - or if the finish is not applied evenly. Excessive air movement and abnormally high temperatures can also be responsible for causing the finish * to dry too quickly, so that a wet edge of finish is pulled over one that has already dried. The problem can also be caused by applying a satin or semi-gloss * finish that has not been stirred properly. The solution is to screen and recoat after the finish has dried sufficiently. * BLEED-BACK * This condition, associated with stain application, occurs when excess stain seeps from the grain or from the spaces between boards. The most obvious cause * is excessive stain application, but low-viscosity stain may also be the culprit. The solution is to wipe off the excess stain and let it dry thoroughly * before applying another coat. If finish has already been applied over bleed-back, a complete resand is required. * * DISCOLORATION * Some finishes are amber in appearance and will yellow even further over time. Wood lying in direct sunlight will fade over time. These are natural changes * - the former condition cannot be prevented, despite the pervasive myth that an oil-modified finish recoated with water-based finish will stop ambering. * The latter condition can be prevented by shading the light source. Erratic discoloration can also occur - especially in white oak - if a good sealer is * not used. This is called tannin pull. * EXCESSIVE AND EARLY WEAR * Often, the cause is improper maintenance procedures that have either failed to fully remove grit from the floor's surface, or the introduction of water * or strong cleaners. Dog nails, high heels and chair legs also contribute to the problem. Make sure the customer understands proper maintenance procedures, * including regular dust-mopping with an approved wood-floor cleaner. (Some cleaners may leave a residue that will prevent good adhesion on a recoat.) If * recoating is necessary, the owner should pay for it. * * ORANGE PEEL * If the surface of the finish has a texture that resembles an or- orange peel, the problem may have been caused by rolling a finish, which then dries too * quickly. When that happens, the texture is "frozen" into place before the finish has a chance to flow out and level. The solution is to screen and re-coat. * * PEELING, BUBBLES, BLISTERS AND FISH-EYES * Any of these conditions can mean that the floor was not sufficiently screened between coats of finish, or that soap or some other contaminant substance * was not removed before coating. It's also possible that the affected coat is incompatible with the finish or stain previously applied, or a contaminated * applicator may be responsible. Problems in the top-most finish coat can be screened and re-coated, although severe problems may require complete sanding * and refinishing. * * ROUGHNESS * The cause is often contamination of the finish during dry time, although moisture beneath the floor can also cause the wood grain to rise. If a moisture * problem is evident, this must be corrected before re-screening and re-coating. * STAINS * Spilled water and other liquids, including the residue from incompatible cleaners, can stain finish. Cloudy surface finish can be fixed by lightly rubbing * with a proper cleaner and buffing, although some stains require screening and recoating. Strong chemicals should not be used to remove stains. * * STICKY BOARD SYNDROME * This occurs when excessive tannic acid in the wood prevents the finish from adhering to the wood. This is most common with oil modified finishes and with * white oak. When one board or several boards scattered throughout the floor will not take stain or finish, the only solution is to repair the floor by replacing * the boards. * * UNEVEN GLOSS OR SHEEN LEVELS * Insufficient stirring of finish prior to application, a contaminated finish applicator and uneven sanding or finish thickness are typical culprits. All * require rescreening an re-coating. Great care should be take if using different sheen levels. Sometimes, multiple coats of satin, three or more coats will * start to give a hazing look to the finish coat. ********************************************************************** This message and its attachments may contain legally privileged or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not disclose or use the information contained in it. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and delete the e-mail. 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