Finding the best acrylic floor finish requires a look at the Pros and Cons. This page offers a brief inside peek at how floor finishes are really made.
The best acrylic floor finish is durable, safe and sustainable. But everyone knows not all products are made the same. People need accurate information to decide what the best floor finish is for them and their family. This page will help you through that process and offer some background on acrylic.
Few people consider toxicity when looking for a good acrylic floor finish. If its fast and cheap and cleans up with water that’s all many people think about. Most of the time people are in a hurry and go to the easiest Big Box store near them. Other times people, usually contractors, will assume that a more toxic product will be a more durable product. The good news is that’s not true. There doesn't have to be a compromise. The solution which will be the safest for the family can also be the best floor finish for the job. There simply is no need to introduce poisons into the family home just to get the floor finished. It’s even possible to get an affordable, high quality acrylic these days.
The number one rule in choosing the best acrylic floor finish is Buy Quality. If you are just looking for the cheapest, easiest floor finish with no concern for quality, health of environment you can stop reading now. That is not what is discussed here. For those who are unsure or who desire quality here are a few good reasons to be interested.
Basic Pros and Cons
Low Odor: One of the best things about a well made acrylic floor finish is the fact that it is has very low odor. Now, this is not true for poorly made floor finishes. Most people have had or know someone who has had a bad experience with one of the cheap floor finishes they bought from the Big Box home store. Obviously, the best floor finishes are specialty finishes so look to a specialist who knows how to make a tough, safe floor finish.
Less Toxic: Pure acrylic is the safest, strongest type of acrylic that we’ve seen. In and of itself can be pretty safe BUT there are many kinds of acrylic. There are only a few manufacturers who use pure acrylic and a rare few who know how to make a premium floor finish with it. The vast majority dilute and add things to their acrylic and don't start with a pure acrylic. The number one reason for this is to lower cost and raise profit.
It all starts with a good Acrylic resin.
(Technical Info On Acrylic and Toxicity)
Pure Acrylic can be made with one monomer such as polymethylmethacrylate. Most acrylic is made with more than one monomer such as ethyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate and too often vinyl acetate (cheap) or styrene. These will be processed in a solvent, usually water is used but not always. Surfactant is added so the monomer gets good contact with the solvent. Then it is processed in a kettle reactor. There the initiator or catalyst is added such as ammonium or sodium peroxydisulfate. This is a vital point in production. Radical sulfates are formed and the entire reaction and process must be calculated masterfully to produce the safest, highest quality acrylic. Quality and safety are interwoven in this process. In an ideal batch all the contaminants go out with the water and steam and are captured and reused and the pure acrylic gets cooled and canned. This kind of process will be much more sustainable and less toxic than if made with impunity and results in a pure, clean, low odor, non hazardous resin that can then be turned into the very best kind of acrylic floor finish.
Residual Sulfates, solvents, surfactants etc that are not removed properly or which are left over after the reaction process may have health consequences, short and long term. Which is why it is so important to select high quality resins to begin with. It all starts with quality. Less expensive, quickly made resins are more likely to be processed in a less sophisticated way, leaving more contaminants behind. No acrylic I know of is going to be completely free of trace amounts of contaminants. It just unrealistic. But most chemically sensitive people don't have reactions to a well made pure acrylic. Cheap resins are more likely to contain unreacted or residual chemicals, toxic solvents, biocides, defoamers and flowing agents. Avoid this. You get what you pay for any way.
Not only will a higher technology acrylic look better, but it will have less toxins and last longer. A good manufacturer will process the resin in a way similar to a fine chef, smelling, feeling, tasting (well no, not tasting). They will know exactly how to finesse that base into a fantastic resin. Now, if that person only has experience in toxic materials you may wind up with a good but toxic acrylic floor finish. But if you choose a manufacturer who specializes in non toxic, renewable, natural or sustainable chemistry then you will have that special blend. A beautiful combination of durability and safety.
Fast Drying: Water based finishes like acrylic dry faster than oil based finishes. This can be a pro or a con depending on what you need to do. If you are staining a big floor you don't want a faster dry. You want time to work with it, blend it, smooth it out, darken some areas and make it all look nice. You can do that with acrylic but you have to add water and do small areas. When it comes to using the floor again, faster drying is great. You have less downtime. Faster drying also helps limit the amount of dust that drops into a finish, resulting in a smoother finish. Return to use is another good reason to love fast drying.
Less Color Change: The best Acrylic floor finish is going to change the color of wood less than oil based. Again, this can be a pro or con. If you have a light toned wood like white ash and you want that wood to stay light, blonde toned, then acrylic is perfect. Now, if you want that deep, oil type of richness you should coat the floor with an oil first and then put a specially designed acrylic over that.
Less Sheen: If you want a satin or semi gloss sheen then acrylic is a a great floor finish. If you want a high gloss, go with a good cashew based finish.
The best acrylic floor finish is durable, safe and sustainable. But everyone knows not all products are made the same. People need accurate information to decide what the best floor finish is for them and their family. This page will help you through that process and offer some background on acrylic.
Few people consider toxicity when looking for a good acrylic floor finish. If its fast and cheap and cleans up with water that’s all many people think about. Most of the time people are in a hurry and go to the easiest Big Box store near them. Other times people, usually contractors, will assume that a more toxic product will be a more durable product. The good news is that’s not true. There doesn't have to be a compromise. The solution which will be the safest for the family can also be the best floor finish for the job. There simply is no need to introduce poisons into the family home just to get the floor finished. It’s even possible to get an affordable, high quality acrylic these days.
The number one rule in choosing the best acrylic floor finish is Buy Quality. If you are just looking for the cheapest, easiest floor finish with no concern for quality, health of environment you can stop reading now. That is not what is discussed here. For those who are unsure or who desire quality here are a few good reasons to be interested.
Basic Pros and Cons
Low Odor: One of the best things about a well made acrylic floor finish is the fact that it is has very low odor. Now, this is not true for poorly made floor finishes. Most people have had or know someone who has had a bad experience with one of the cheap floor finishes they bought from the Big Box home store. Obviously, the best floor finishes are specialty finishes so look to a specialist who knows how to make a tough, safe floor finish.
Less Toxic: Pure acrylic is the safest, strongest type of acrylic that we’ve seen. In and of itself can be pretty safe BUT there are many kinds of acrylic. There are only a few manufacturers who use pure acrylic and a rare few who know how to make a premium floor finish with it. The vast majority dilute and add things to their acrylic and don't start with a pure acrylic. The number one reason for this is to lower cost and raise profit.
It all starts with a good Acrylic resin.
(Technical Info On Acrylic and Toxicity)
Pure Acrylic can be made with one monomer such as polymethylmethacrylate. Most acrylic is made with more than one monomer such as ethyl acrylate, methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate and too often vinyl acetate (cheap) or styrene. These will be processed in a solvent, usually water is used but not always. Surfactant is added so the monomer gets good contact with the solvent. Then it is processed in a kettle reactor. There the initiator or catalyst is added such as ammonium or sodium peroxydisulfate. This is a vital point in production. Radical sulfates are formed and the entire reaction and process must be calculated masterfully to produce the safest, highest quality acrylic. Quality and safety are interwoven in this process. In an ideal batch all the contaminants go out with the water and steam and are captured and reused and the pure acrylic gets cooled and canned. This kind of process will be much more sustainable and less toxic than if made with impunity and results in a pure, clean, low odor, non hazardous resin that can then be turned into the very best kind of acrylic floor finish.
Residual Sulfates, solvents, surfactants etc that are not removed properly or which are left over after the reaction process may have health consequences, short and long term. Which is why it is so important to select high quality resins to begin with. It all starts with quality. Less expensive, quickly made resins are more likely to be processed in a less sophisticated way, leaving more contaminants behind. No acrylic I know of is going to be completely free of trace amounts of contaminants. It just unrealistic. But most chemically sensitive people don't have reactions to a well made pure acrylic. Cheap resins are more likely to contain unreacted or residual chemicals, toxic solvents, biocides, defoamers and flowing agents. Avoid this. You get what you pay for any way.
Not only will a higher technology acrylic look better, but it will have less toxins and last longer. A good manufacturer will process the resin in a way similar to a fine chef, smelling, feeling, tasting (well no, not tasting). They will know exactly how to finesse that base into a fantastic resin. Now, if that person only has experience in toxic materials you may wind up with a good but toxic acrylic floor finish. But if you choose a manufacturer who specializes in non toxic, renewable, natural or sustainable chemistry then you will have that special blend. A beautiful combination of durability and safety.
Fast Drying: Water based finishes like acrylic dry faster than oil based finishes. This can be a pro or a con depending on what you need to do. If you are staining a big floor you don't want a faster dry. You want time to work with it, blend it, smooth it out, darken some areas and make it all look nice. You can do that with acrylic but you have to add water and do small areas. When it comes to using the floor again, faster drying is great. You have less downtime. Faster drying also helps limit the amount of dust that drops into a finish, resulting in a smoother finish. Return to use is another good reason to love fast drying.
Less Color Change: The best Acrylic floor finish is going to change the color of wood less than oil based. Again, this can be a pro or con. If you have a light toned wood like white ash and you want that wood to stay light, blonde toned, then acrylic is perfect. Now, if you want that deep, oil type of richness you should coat the floor with an oil first and then put a specially designed acrylic over that.
Less Sheen: If you want a satin or semi gloss sheen then acrylic is a a great floor finish. If you want a high gloss, go with a good cashew based finish.