Prefinished Flooring – Prefinished Hardwood Flooring

Up until about ten years ago all factory produced prefinished wood floors either had a UV cured urethane or wax finish. Wax finishes have since gone the way of the dinosaur, but urethanes have evolved.

The majority of today’s UV cured urethane finishes come with aluminum oxide suspended in the coats. The aluminum oxide is the same mineral that makes up the grit on most sandpapers. The aluminum oxide is ground into a fine powder so that it is not visible to the naked eye. This mineral, when added to the finish, increases the durability and abrasion resistance up to 10 times that of normal urethane finishes.

The majority of prefinished flooring has approximately six to eight coats of finish. Initially, manufacturers were using aluminum oxide in all coats; however, this created a couple problems. The first was that the product was difficult to refinish with a sanding screen due to its abrasion resistance. The second was that the top coat, in some cases, had a textured feel. Today most prefinished flooring has aluminum oxide in the base coats only and the top coats are a traditional UV cured urethane. This allows for easier refinishing and a smoother feel.

Aluminum oxide finishes are extremely durable and since their inception have significantly increased the warranty period that manufactures are willing to offer consumers. It is not uncommon nowadays for prefinished wood flooring to have 25 year, 30 year, or even 50 year finish warranties. It is important to keep in mind however, that although these finishes are durable they are still susceptible to normal wear and tear. These finishes will still scratch, scuff, and dull, but not as easily.