Premium timber flooring specialist; European oak, Bamboo, Parquetry, Engineered floor, laying, onsite polishing, natural oil, tung oil, hard wax finishes ... Melbourne Australia
- Flexible finishes: Penetrating finishes such as oil and wax, oil modified polyurethane, waterbased polyurethane [medium flexible]
- Less flexible finishes: Solvent based polyurethane [ single pack and two pack ]
- My flooring recommends flexible finishes over the new laid flooring such as synteko solid hard oil, treatex hardwax.
- Surface finishes is reasonably recommendable on parquetry or engineered flooring.
Choosing an appropriate finish
There are many types of floor finishes available. The type you choose depends on the type and age of timber, the look you want, the environmental conditions and how you will use the floor. Talk to us about the perfect finish for your floors.
After sanding and finishing, we expect to see movement in some floors, from factors such as seasonal changes and humidity, use of wide boards, air-conditioning, and so on. In these cases we recommend a flexible finish to allow boards to move individually. If flexible finishes are not used, wide gaps and even split boards may occur. For example, a new timber floor laid in winter with the wrong finish risks splitting or edge bonding when summer comes.
Less flexible finishes are hard wearing, and mainly suitable where minimal movement is expected after installation such as parquetry or unfinished engineered flooring. They are best used in a permanently controlled environment, such as a shopping centre that is air-conditioned almost constantly. A skilled timber flooring company can balance the moisture content of the floor within the environment and ensure a small amount of board movement, and the floor finish can be selected based on wear resistance.
1. Penetrating finishes -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Oils and waxes penetrate the surface of the floor, protecting the wood from within. Penetrating finishes are absorbed into the wood fibres. Oils have a matt or satin appearance. If you can feel the wood grain when you run your hand across the surface, it is probably a penetrating finish. Most of the penetrating finishes are non toxic and hypo-allergenic. Oils do not create problems with edge bonding or cracking, and minor repairs can be completed without sanding the floor back to bare timber.
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Picture on righthand side shows diluted black stain over an American Oak floor finished with Treatex hard wax oil satin finish.
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2. Surface finishes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Surface finishes shield floors by forming a protective layer that looks like clear plastic on top of the wood.
Predominantly MC (moisture-cured) polyurethane, surface finishes are found on all pre-finished floors and are today's most popular choice in Victoria. They are beautiful, durable, water-resistant and require minimal maintenance. Various gloss levels are available to achieve the look you want.
However, surface finishes can suffer from edge bonding problems.
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