The finish is an essential aspect of a beautiful hardwood floor. Not only does a quality finish help your hardwood flooring keep its beauty longer, the right finish can accentuate the look you’ve chosen.
Characteristics of a finish include its sheen (high-gloss, semi-gloss, satin, or matte) and its color, which is not only determined by the natural color of the wood but also by the stain used in the finishing.
Polyurethane
Many hardwood floor companies push this choice, but we don’t use it much because it’s slow-drying, smelly, and not great in terms of durability. It can have a satin, gloss, or semi-gloss sheen.
Swedish
Unlike polyurethane finishes—which form a layer on top of the wood—Swedish finishes bond to the floor. This creates a natural look with great color and makes the finish extremely durable. Swedish finish is a very popular choice, but because of the difficult application, a Swedish finish absolutely needs to be applied by professionals with skill and experience. And we recommend that you not be in the house as it’s being applied because of its smell.
Water-base
This type of finish is good for showing off the natural color of a wood. It also has the advantage of drying faster than most other finishes. High-quality water-based finishes, like we use at Ralph’s, can be very scratch-resistant, with low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and very little odor.
Natural Oils
This type of finish—a mixture of oils, waxes, and stain—appeals to people concerned about carbon emissions, because it has no volatile organic compounds. Another appeal is that once a hardwood floor is finished with natural oil the first time, it’s not dangerous for anyone to apply more of the oil to refresh the floor. And it doesn’t take a trained hardwood floor professional to make it look good—it just blends in. Plus, you don’t have to refresh the entire floor at once; you can do just one section at a time as needed.
Moisture-Cure Urethane
This is the hardest common finish and is highly water-resistant. It is ideal for high-traffic businesses, such as restaurants or bars. It is available only in gloss and does not work over stain.
When selecting the finish that’s right for your floors, it helps to decide on the relative importance of appearance, durability, ease of maintenance, and cost. For example, many of the less-durable finishes are nonetheless popular because of their distinctive looks, which are just what some people are searching for. For others, a hard finish is a must.
