Finding The Best Wood Floor Finish
Characteristics of the best wood floor finish and why Buying Quality matters.
Some people will ask, “Why is buying quality so important when it comes to floor finish? I just want it done fast and cheap.” This is a fast changing mindset in America today. Savvy American shoppers are finding that the quick fix really isn’t that quick after all. This is especially true when it comes to things that are put in our homes and near our children. Buying Quality is now becoming the new American mantra of the middle class and anyone shopping for value.
There are many obvious benefits of using the best wood floor finishes. For example, you can revive the look of a rough, old floor finish simply by applying a good finish to it. In some cases, a wood floor which looked old and dingy can look shiny and brand new quickly with the right kind of finish, without all of the expense and mess of sanding. Now, this could backfire if you use the a cheap, poorly made, toxic floor finish. The bond may not be strong enough and you could end up needing to sand the whole floor down, spreading toxic dust all over the house. So, using a quality finish is obvious in this instance.
However, all floor finishes are not created equally when it comes to beauty, durability and most importantly, safety. As millions of people are learning, most floor finishes contain chemicals and toxins which can be released into your home, years after they are applied. When they are first applied the air quality can be seriously toxic. While many of the traditional floor finishes are designed to have fast dry times this almost always increases the amount of toxins in the finish. There are safer options which can give you a beautiful, safe floor without having to subject your family to potentially harmful toxins. Remember, floors cover a large area and the smell rises. A quality finish must address all these issues.
Natural Floor Finish vs Low Odor Synthetics
When you compare floor finishes which are natural to those which are full of toxic petrochmical solvents, there is little or no difference in regards to appearance and durability. Take a cashew based gym floor finish vs a polyurethane based gym floor finish. The cashew based finish has been shown to be harder, more resistant to scratching far better at scruff resistance and none of the noxious odor. Of course, since cashews can be grown as long as there is dirt, sun and water, we can be sure that it is a renewable resource and not derived from toxic petrochemical solvents. Now, cashew floor finish is going to have some natural odor. It will smell like cashews and citrus. Natural odors like this tend to be far less offensive than benzene, mineral spirits or naphtha. However, some people prefer to have as little odor as possible, which is where a carefully crafted synthetic can be of great value.
First, lets be clear about this. Most of the water based floor finishes up to this point have been polyurethane based finishes contain toxic petrochemical solvents. That is a problem.
Low odor synthetic resins can be made that clean up with water, have practically no odor and don’t contain the toxic solvents that most low odor floor finishes contain. This can be confusing at first since many people think, “I want a natural, low odor floor finish.”
While the natural floor finishes are going to be far less odor than oil based polyurethane floor finishes they are not less odor than certain, select grade synthetic floor finishes. There are certain non toxic, hypo allergenic synthetic resins that can be made which will produce a super durable floor finish. There is actually one nano polymer sized acrylic, the only of its kind, as of this writing, that is an extraordinary breakthrough for low odor floor finishes. This type of finish will outperform its polyurethane contemporary, have less odor and still dry fast. With so many people concerned about quality and safety, this is a perfect example.
If the Floor Finish Doesn’t Discuss Isocyanates, Don’t buy it.
Isocyanates are rampant in the floor finish fields and nobody is talking about it. Sure, voc’s are good to keep low but they don’t tell you how toxic a finish is. Isocyanates are one of the more dangerous chemicals used to make polyurethane. These are not worth having in a floor finish. They are generally not listed on a label and many manufacturers won’t know much about them since they don’t make the polyurethane. They buy it pre-made and mix it into a floor finish. Its entirely possible to make floor finish without isocyanates. Pine rosin with oil, cashew resin, pure acrylic and nano polymer acrylic are four good examples.
Finishes that are made with these elusive isocyanate chemicals can often have relatively high levels of isocyanate, still in the product. This is because not all of the isocyanates will always react with the material when being processed, potentially leaving unreacted chemicals in the can, on the way to someones floor. This has been proven by chemical engineers who react fresh material in polyurethane without adding more isocyanate.
NMP. Not for me.
n methyl pyrrolidone or NMP, is another dangerous solvent you do not want in your house. It has a mild odor, fast dry, seems fine but is actually dangerous according to what scientists have been learning abou it. NMP is definitely a floor finish solvent to stay away from, especially if you are pregnant or expecting a child or have kids already.
Buy Quality
With all of the information above in mind, it cannot be stressed enough, Buy quality. These types of floor finishes are not going to be found in a big box store. These are not the types of finishes that a company can just throw together. You will need to find a manufacturer that specializes in quality floor finish and who can help you through the process of getting your floor finished. Buy quality, avoid the pitfalls above and you will feel good about your floors for many years to come.
There are many obvious benefits of using the best wood floor finishes. For example, you can revive the look of a rough, old floor finish simply by applying a good finish to it. In some cases, a wood floor which looked old and dingy can look shiny and brand new quickly with the right kind of finish, without all of the expense and mess of sanding. Now, this could backfire if you use the a cheap, poorly made, toxic floor finish. The bond may not be strong enough and you could end up needing to sand the whole floor down, spreading toxic dust all over the house. So, using a quality finish is obvious in this instance.
However, all floor finishes are not created equally when it comes to beauty, durability and most importantly, safety. As millions of people are learning, most floor finishes contain chemicals and toxins which can be released into your home, years after they are applied. When they are first applied the air quality can be seriously toxic. While many of the traditional floor finishes are designed to have fast dry times this almost always increases the amount of toxins in the finish. There are safer options which can give you a beautiful, safe floor without having to subject your family to potentially harmful toxins. Remember, floors cover a large area and the smell rises. A quality finish must address all these issues.
Natural Floor Finish vs Low Odor Synthetics
When you compare floor finishes which are natural to those which are full of toxic petrochmical solvents, there is little or no difference in regards to appearance and durability. Take a cashew based gym floor finish vs a polyurethane based gym floor finish. The cashew based finish has been shown to be harder, more resistant to scratching far better at scruff resistance and none of the noxious odor. Of course, since cashews can be grown as long as there is dirt, sun and water, we can be sure that it is a renewable resource and not derived from toxic petrochemical solvents. Now, cashew floor finish is going to have some natural odor. It will smell like cashews and citrus. Natural odors like this tend to be far less offensive than benzene, mineral spirits or naphtha. However, some people prefer to have as little odor as possible, which is where a carefully crafted synthetic can be of great value.
First, lets be clear about this. Most of the water based floor finishes up to this point have been polyurethane based finishes contain toxic petrochemical solvents. That is a problem.
Low odor synthetic resins can be made that clean up with water, have practically no odor and don’t contain the toxic solvents that most low odor floor finishes contain. This can be confusing at first since many people think, “I want a natural, low odor floor finish.”
While the natural floor finishes are going to be far less odor than oil based polyurethane floor finishes they are not less odor than certain, select grade synthetic floor finishes. There are certain non toxic, hypo allergenic synthetic resins that can be made which will produce a super durable floor finish. There is actually one nano polymer sized acrylic, the only of its kind, as of this writing, that is an extraordinary breakthrough for low odor floor finishes. This type of finish will outperform its polyurethane contemporary, have less odor and still dry fast. With so many people concerned about quality and safety, this is a perfect example.
If the Floor Finish Doesn’t Discuss Isocyanates, Don’t buy it.
Isocyanates are rampant in the floor finish fields and nobody is talking about it. Sure, voc’s are good to keep low but they don’t tell you how toxic a finish is. Isocyanates are one of the more dangerous chemicals used to make polyurethane. These are not worth having in a floor finish. They are generally not listed on a label and many manufacturers won’t know much about them since they don’t make the polyurethane. They buy it pre-made and mix it into a floor finish. Its entirely possible to make floor finish without isocyanates. Pine rosin with oil, cashew resin, pure acrylic and nano polymer acrylic are four good examples.
Finishes that are made with these elusive isocyanate chemicals can often have relatively high levels of isocyanate, still in the product. This is because not all of the isocyanates will always react with the material when being processed, potentially leaving unreacted chemicals in the can, on the way to someones floor. This has been proven by chemical engineers who react fresh material in polyurethane without adding more isocyanate.
NMP. Not for me.
n methyl pyrrolidone or NMP, is another dangerous solvent you do not want in your house. It has a mild odor, fast dry, seems fine but is actually dangerous according to what scientists have been learning abou it. NMP is definitely a floor finish solvent to stay away from, especially if you are pregnant or expecting a child or have kids already.
Buy Quality
With all of the information above in mind, it cannot be stressed enough, Buy quality. These types of floor finishes are not going to be found in a big box store. These are not the types of finishes that a company can just throw together. You will need to find a manufacturer that specializes in quality floor finish and who can help you through the process of getting your floor finished. Buy quality, avoid the pitfalls above and you will feel good about your floors for many years to come.