Refinishing Wood Floors Oil Vs Water

Just like paint consumers and contractors alike wanted finishes that were less offensive to the environment home and work place.

Refinishing wood floors oil vs water. The history is as follows. Water based finish appears milky in the can but appears more or less clear when applied to your floor. Here are our expert. Water based and oil based polyurethane each offer good protection.

There are many factors to think about when deciding on the finish of your hardwood floor. The second basic type of hardwood flooring finish is a water based finish. Since refinishing wood floors involves multiple coats of polyurethane this means that the total time of your refinishing job is longer with the oil based. Oil based finish requires fewer coats than water based finish.

So while oil based typically only needs three or four coats you must wait several hours in between coats. Polyurethane is actually the most durable hardwood floor finish. In general it takes 3 layers of oil based finish to complete the job or 4 to 5 layers of water based finish. Oil based polyurethane or water borne polyurethane.

Excellent information about oil vs water based polyurethane. Wood floors refinishing water based vs. However the catch is that oil based finish requires a much longer dry time. We ve given some key points to consider when making your decision oil based poly is simply more durable and lasts about twice as long as water based polyurethane.

Water based polyurethanes or water borne urethanes are generally a bit more durable than oil based versions. Some manufacturers even use special aluminium oxide formula to make it extremely durable but the material itself is always applied in a thinner layer. The biggest difference is in appearance. Water based finish on the other hand is more durable.

Yes the oil based does smell strong but we would much prefer to get the best durability and so the tradeoff is worth it. They have a milky color when wet but they dry crystal clear and remain clear. The amount of coats applied in order to give ultimate protection is on average 2 coats. Which hardwood flooring finish is better and which lasts longer.

You should also be aware that water and chemicals can spot or damage oil sealed floors so you ll need to use wood floor cleaners specifically formulated for this type of finish. With oil based you typically have to wait until the next day to add another coat of polyurethane but water based polyurethane can be recoated in as soon as 2 3 hours. The milky color makes them easy to see so you re less likely to miss spots while refinishing hardwood floors.