FINISHES

When choosing the right type of finish for your wood floors, consider your lifestyle as well as your maintenance preferences. All wood floors will require ongoing care such as sweeping or dust mopping to keep them looking beautiful and new, but your choice of finish will greatly impact the care of your flooring longterm—as well as how it will look in the years to come. Your Warren Christopher design consultant will walk you through the pros and cons of each finish, suggesting the one that's right for you and your project needs.

SURFACE FINISHES are very popular because they are durable, water-resistant, and require minimal maintenance. Surface finishes are blends of synthetic resins. These finishes are usually referred to as urethanes or polyurethanes, and form a protective coating on the surface of the wood. There are several types of surface finishes available: water-based, oil-based, acid-cured, and moisture-cured.

Water-based or waterborne finishes appear clear and will resist yellowing over time. They have a mild odor when applied, and will dry in two to three hours. Water-based finishes are very durable, and can leave your wood floors feeling more polished, and can yield a higher sheen than many other finishing methods.

Benefits: Environmentally, water-based finishes don’t contain the same solvents as an oil-based finish, so are much less toxic. Unlike oil finishes, this method can yield a much higher sheen. As it is extremely durable, it is suitable for heavy-traffic residential and commercial hardwood floors.

Considerations: As this is a polyurethane-type finish, water-based finishes cover the wood (as opposed to wax or natural oils that absorb and bond with the wood fibers). It has a unique application method that limits it to hand application at the factory or job-site application on unfinished flooring.
Sheen: Matte, Satin, Semi-Gloss, Gloss
Ease of Repair: Good

Natural Oil finishes appear amber in color. They have a moderate odor when applied, and will dry to a matte finish in about eight hours. Oil-based finishes are very durable, and leave your wood floors feeling more natural. Another option is to choose a UV Oil—cured via ultraviolet light and so immediately dry once it runs through the machine at the factory.

Benefits: Based on vegetable oils and non-aromatic solvents, our natural oil finish doesn’t contain wax. Instead, the oil penetrates the surface of the wood, then hardens to form a protective surface that becomes a protective and beautiful part of your wood floor. Small scratches and indentations caused by normal wear and tear are less noticeable and can be easily repaired.

Considerations: This finish has a unique application method that limits it to hand application at the factory or job-site application on unfinished flooring.
Sheen: Ultra Matte, Matte, Satin, Semi-Gloss, or Gloss
Ease of Repair: Excellent

UV Oil finishes have an extremely thin coat which makes for an attractive matte/satin finish. The oil penetrates the surface and provides rich appearance rarely seen in conventional UV Urethane floors. UV oil finish can also be produced with a very low gloss level (10%) that reflects a minimal amount of light. This lack of gloss is beneficial when it come to dents, dings, and other common house hold or commercial mishaps.

Benefits: Oil finishes are extremely easy to repair and blend, without any noticeable spots. It’s as easy as rubbing touch up oil into the wood and letting it dry for one hour.   Environmentally, UV oil is made of 100% solids and contains no solvents or after cure products. There is no post installation off-gassing of any kind. 

Considerations: Oil finishes are ideal for commercial applications, where there will be considerable wear on the floor.
Sheen: Matte/Satin
Ease of Repair: Excellent

HARD WAX FINISHES soak into the pores of the wood and harden to form a protective penetrating seal, which appears low luster and amber in color.  Produced from natural materials such as vegetable oil and natural waxes, these wax finishes have a mild odor when applied, and will dry in a variable amount of time depending on the type of wax used and the job-site conditions.  

Benefits: This finish is an non-toxic zero-VOC natural product with no biocides or preservatives, and is lead-benzene free. Produced from natural materials such as vegetable oil and natural waxes from purified, renewable natural resources, the special features of this finish allows the oils to penetrate deeply into the wood, while the wax remains on the surface for a natural matte finish, creating a protective layer offering a resilient and enduring finish.

Considerations: Though wax finishes are durable, they will eventually show spots from water and other contaminates.
Sheen: Ultra Matte, Matte
Ease of Repair: Excellent