When choosing hardwood flooring, the type of finish applied on the hardwood plays a crucial role in determining its look, durability, and maintenance requirements. Understand the differences and make your choice.
1. UV LACQUER
A synthetic finish applied to hardwood floors that creates a barrier on the surface, providing a protective layer against wear and tear, UV rays, stains, and scratches. It offers a matte and smooth finish that enhances the natural beauty of the wood. UV Lacquer offers increased durability, low maintenance requirements, and the ability to resist moisture and spills.
2. NATURAL OIL
Natural oil is a traditional finishing and protective method that is common in Europe. Hardwood floors with this finish are also more susceptible to stains and scratches compared to UV Lacquer. “UV lacquer is great because it offers extra durability while at the same time requires less maintenance. Natural oil, in certain cases, can generate a more natural feel to the wood and bring out visually appealing colors. The downside is it does require consistent maintenance, usually once a year, where you must lift up all your furniture and re-oil the entire floor,” says Juan Reina, Product Director at RIVA Spain.
3. WIRE BRUSHING
Wire brushing is a technique that adds personality and performance to the hardwood. This process opens up the grain enough for better staining and enhances the natural characteristics of the wood. “Wire brushing adds a dimension of depth, highlighting the beauty of the grain”, explains Reina.
4. WOOD REACTIVE
Wood reactive solutions are applied to hardwood floors to alter the color of the wood, creating unique and customized finishes. They can be used to achieve various effects, such as weathered, aged, or gray tones, adding character and personality to the floor. A reactive is an external force applied to the wood that physically alters the material. “It physically reacts with the wood, changing from a molecular level the properties and structure of the wood to produce a very extremely deep and natural color,” says Reina. External forces include bleach, temperature, sunlight, fuming, or any combination of the mentioned.
The reactive staining process penetrates the wood, making it possible to achieve tones, variations, subtleties in the grain that would otherwise be impossible to achieve with traditional stains. This is especially true with European Oak since it is a species that is naturally high in tannins. Reactive stains require a true expert to properly work with reactives since the practice is highly artisanal and has to be able to reproduce the same outcome. At RIVA Spain, this process is developed by one of the industry’s best craftsmen, Tom Goddijn, for the LA RIVA collection. Wood reactives create one-of-a-kind finishes that complement the overall design scheme of a space.
