Oil Finish V’s Lacquer – Which is best?

We are often asked “Which is the best finish – Oil or Lacquer?”

They are both very different finishes and each have pros and cons.

‘Floor Lacquer’ or ‘Varnish’ is what we refer to as Lacquering a Wooden Floor.

When you lacquer a wooden floor you are effectively forming a large protective barrier which covers the entire wooden floor and offers durable and lasting protection to your wooden floor.

With so many brands and types of floor lacquer to choose from, it can get get confusing each offering a different level of sheen and toughness.

The floor surface is protected by this lacquer (varnish) until it starts to crack, wear or break down.

The life span of the lacquered floor is determined by the quality of the lacquer and the usage of the floor, a mid range lacquer subject to heavy traffic in a domestic environment should last approximately 7 years, whereas a higher end more expensive lacquer should perform for at least 10 years.

Once the lacquer starts to fail and wear away the only option is to re-sand and re-lacquer the whole floor which is added expense and inconvenience.

Summary

A lacquered floor is undoubtedly a tough hard-wearing option which requires no specific maintenance other than routine cleaning.

One Stop Floor Sanding Opinion: “Lacquer is not the most attractive finish.”

Oiling a Wooden Floor.

Wooden Floor Oil.

There are plenty of products available that call themselves ‘Floor Oil’ but are in fact more similar to the floor lacquer. These products are made up using 50% Oil and 50% Polyurethane and when applied it also forms a hardened surface (film) making the wooden floor very difficult to maintain like the lacquer (varnish) mentioned above.

One Stop Floor Sanding only applies Oils that are 100% solid Oil and are totally Organic and voc free.

Summary

When we use a solid oil that is mixed with a hardener it does not form a coating or leave any surface build, it permeates into the timber and hardens to the fibres forming a very hard wearing barrier that is protected against day to day spills and accidents.

The Oils we use do not create a film on the surface of the wood which makes it very easy to maintain.

With an oiled floor you simply clean it with the correct product and maintain it by adding more oil as needed, this is a very simple process that just involves spraying a product on and mopping it in using a flat mop.

An oiled floor will give you a beautiful matt or satin patina and will enhance the natural beauty and colours of the timber far more than any lacquer will.

Without the lacquered surface there is no topcoat that can wear away meaning you will never have to sand your floors again! You simply clean them and re-oil the wooden floor which is a very simple process.

An oiled floor is the perfect solution for an engineered wood floor that can only be re-sanded a couple of times due to it only having a thin layer of timber.

One Stop Floor Sanding can also add colour to your wooden floors, all our oil finishes come in a wide variety of colours, from a White oil that will stop the floor from yellowing to Dark Browns for that ‘Old Oak’ effect or even trendy Greys and Blacks the choice is yours.