Acrylic Floor Finish Basics
Acrylic Floor Finish is a fast easy finish you can do yourself.
If you've been to Home Depot lately you've seen the aisles full of floor finishes for sale these days. Acrylic is a floor finish base that does a very good job, is easy to use and can be non toxic if you find the right manufacturer.
Perhaps this will help you narrow down your search and give you the information you need to get the right finish for the job.
Things to Look For Before Buying an Acrylic Floor Finish:
1.) Low VOC- Don't be fooled by the marketing hype. VOC is not a measure of toxicity. It measures a reaction paint solvents can have in the atmosphere that contribute to ground level ozone or smog.
These days most water based floor finishes can be made with less than 250 g/l voc. Any floor finish with more than 110 g/l is too much for this writers family. Look for companies who have expertise in low voc finishes. Low voc doesn’t mean low toxin so it takes some expertise. This is a new art and older finish companies often make minor adjustments to toxic products simply to lower voc and put a "green label" on the can. Some companies are to be commended for their efforts at reformulating however a finish company that has the most experience making a non toxic acrylic floor finish is going to have the kinks worked out better. The best acrylic floor finish I know of is NanoTech. This product is the state of the art right now.
Acrylic Floor Finish Sheen
A satin finish is the most common floor finish because it looks more like a natural finish of wood. If you apply more than two coats of satin your floor could look muddy. It is best to apply a clear gloss or semi gloss coat before the final satin finish coat. It looks better, deeper with more clarity of wood grain. Many people won’t notice this and it’s fine to do multiple coats anyway, it’s just that this little precaution can really make the wood grain pop.
Gloss floor finishes hold up better and can offer the best scuff resistance. Think gym floors for example.
Semi gloss may be the best middle ground for people with residential floors who want toughness; and it throws more light into the room than a satin finish.
Acrylic or Oil Floor Finish?
The fact is Oil Finishes look great.
The problem is that they dry slower and even if you have a non toxic finish, you will still have some natural odor. The real whammy comes if you buy an oil finish that is poorly made it will stink your house up for months or even years. Most oil floor finishes dry overnight or within a day or two of application. This is usually inconsequential since most floors are given one coat a day and often a floor is given a couple days to dry after it is stained.
But what about that gorgeous oil look without toxic polyurethane?
Sure, oil finishes do richen the wood tone and have historically been preferred floor finishes. If you want the wood to darken up a little and have the oil finish look, it is unavoidable, you need to use an oil finish for the first coat.
Now this doesn't mean you should go out and buy a bunch of poison. You just need to know where to get it. Again, it's all about who's in the kitchen. I want my chef to care about the ingredients and believe in the safety of those exposed to mix. Floor finish is no different.
Get a high solids oil / resin finish that can pop the grain and richen the wood. Then put an acrylic floor finish on top of that oil finish that is specially made to be compatible with the oil. Now you have a gorgeous floor that wont' kill you or add to the cancer likelihood in the family.
There is really only one manufacturer offering a system like this that I'm aware of. This is Earthpaint. They offer Bio Poly NT a non toxic oil finish for the first coat and then NanoTech Floor Finish for the second coat.
Finishing Light Colored Wood Floors
If you apply an oil finish to a light colored wood it will darken more than if Aqualine Satin is applied as the first coat. this keeps the wood closer to the natural tone of raw wood. Subsequent coats of NanoTech will keep the floor light toned and provide a crystal clear protective film. All wood vary, so this needs to be tested for each situation but as a general rule these are the best way to keep the natural color of the wood.
Light Colored woods often look better with a boutique grade pure acrylic applied and no oil finish as the first coat. This allows them to stay light in color, longer which is a very neat effect on some woods like maple, hickory or white ash.
Many people make the mistake of putting an oil finish on their white or light colored wood floor only to discover that it ambers over time. If you want to create a neat effect with your wood floor use an Aqualine Satin and NanoTech, they dry fast and provide lighter tones.
To jump it up even more and have more lightness add a little bit of white pigment to the first coat to stain the wood slightly. Pickling is common on cabinets but that can be a bit too obvious. Add just a little so you can tell there is some color added but nobody else can. Find that perfect blend and POW you'll have a killer effect that you love to look at for years and amazes everyone else! There is a variety of Oak Tone colors for oak floor stains, these can be great for holding to a certain tone. Cape Cod Grey in NanoTech can be a really beautiful floor stain that lightens the wood without going too grey or too dark. For customized recommendations the Ask Earthpaint tool can be very helpful since you get access to the people who use and invent the products.
Acrylic Floor Finish is a fast easy finish you can do yourself.
If you've been to Home Depot lately you've seen the aisles full of floor finishes for sale these days. Acrylic is a floor finish base that does a very good job, is easy to use and can be non toxic if you find the right manufacturer.
Perhaps this will help you narrow down your search and give you the information you need to get the right finish for the job.
Things to Look For Before Buying an Acrylic Floor Finish:
1.) Low VOC- Don't be fooled by the marketing hype. VOC is not a measure of toxicity. It measures a reaction paint solvents can have in the atmosphere that contribute to ground level ozone or smog.
These days most water based floor finishes can be made with less than 250 g/l voc. Any floor finish with more than 110 g/l is too much for this writers family. Look for companies who have expertise in low voc finishes. Low voc doesn’t mean low toxin so it takes some expertise. This is a new art and older finish companies often make minor adjustments to toxic products simply to lower voc and put a "green label" on the can. Some companies are to be commended for their efforts at reformulating however a finish company that has the most experience making a non toxic acrylic floor finish is going to have the kinks worked out better. The best acrylic floor finish I know of is NanoTech. This product is the state of the art right now.
Acrylic Floor Finish Sheen
A satin finish is the most common floor finish because it looks more like a natural finish of wood. If you apply more than two coats of satin your floor could look muddy. It is best to apply a clear gloss or semi gloss coat before the final satin finish coat. It looks better, deeper with more clarity of wood grain. Many people won’t notice this and it’s fine to do multiple coats anyway, it’s just that this little precaution can really make the wood grain pop.
Gloss floor finishes hold up better and can offer the best scuff resistance. Think gym floors for example.
Semi gloss may be the best middle ground for people with residential floors who want toughness; and it throws more light into the room than a satin finish.
Acrylic or Oil Floor Finish?
The fact is Oil Finishes look great.
The problem is that they dry slower and even if you have a non toxic finish, you will still have some natural odor. The real whammy comes if you buy an oil finish that is poorly made it will stink your house up for months or even years. Most oil floor finishes dry overnight or within a day or two of application. This is usually inconsequential since most floors are given one coat a day and often a floor is given a couple days to dry after it is stained.
But what about that gorgeous oil look without toxic polyurethane?
Sure, oil finishes do richen the wood tone and have historically been preferred floor finishes. If you want the wood to darken up a little and have the oil finish look, it is unavoidable, you need to use an oil finish for the first coat.
Now this doesn't mean you should go out and buy a bunch of poison. You just need to know where to get it. Again, it's all about who's in the kitchen. I want my chef to care about the ingredients and believe in the safety of those exposed to mix. Floor finish is no different.
Get a high solids oil / resin finish that can pop the grain and richen the wood. Then put an acrylic floor finish on top of that oil finish that is specially made to be compatible with the oil. Now you have a gorgeous floor that wont' kill you or add to the cancer likelihood in the family.
There is really only one manufacturer offering a system like this that I'm aware of. This is Earthpaint. They offer Bio Poly NT a non toxic oil finish for the first coat and then NanoTech Floor Finish for the second coat.
Finishing Light Colored Wood Floors
If you apply an oil finish to a light colored wood it will darken more than if Aqualine Satin is applied as the first coat. this keeps the wood closer to the natural tone of raw wood. Subsequent coats of NanoTech will keep the floor light toned and provide a crystal clear protective film. All wood vary, so this needs to be tested for each situation but as a general rule these are the best way to keep the natural color of the wood.
Light Colored woods often look better with a boutique grade pure acrylic applied and no oil finish as the first coat. This allows them to stay light in color, longer which is a very neat effect on some woods like maple, hickory or white ash.
Many people make the mistake of putting an oil finish on their white or light colored wood floor only to discover that it ambers over time. If you want to create a neat effect with your wood floor use an Aqualine Satin and NanoTech, they dry fast and provide lighter tones.
To jump it up even more and have more lightness add a little bit of white pigment to the first coat to stain the wood slightly. Pickling is common on cabinets but that can be a bit too obvious. Add just a little so you can tell there is some color added but nobody else can. Find that perfect blend and POW you'll have a killer effect that you love to look at for years and amazes everyone else! There is a variety of Oak Tone colors for oak floor stains, these can be great for holding to a certain tone. Cape Cod Grey in NanoTech can be a really beautiful floor stain that lightens the wood without going too grey or too dark. For customized recommendations the Ask Earthpaint tool can be very helpful since you get access to the people who use and invent the products.