What is a UV Oil Cured finish on hardwood floors?

Some of your higher-end engineered hardwood floors are UV Oil Cured. They look similar to a penetrating oil and have characteristics of a urethane. The finishes are beautiful and the colors in the wood stand out very well. Because this finish has characteristics of two different finishes, there are ways for it to lean more to an oil finish and also to a urethane finish.

UV Oils are designed to protect the wood flooring from inside the wood. The oil penetrates the wood and the acrylic from the urethane part creates a barrier or coating on the surface as it dries. As more acrylic is added to the oil, the stronger the coating is on the surface to protect the wood. The side effect of this is that it will begin to show that it has this barrier and will lose some of the look of being an oil finish. It also makes it a little harder to make repairs if the surface has a lot of acrylic in it. It will scratch easier and show more. This process of applying the finish is done in a factory and the chemical reaction to cure it comes from the use of a UV light.

The surface of this type of finish is a softer feel since it doesn't have the heavy protective finish. It tends to look more like a satin to matte finish where you can still see the color and grain texture of the wood flooring It is more stain resistant than a penetrating oil finish because of the acrylic protective coating. Because it isn't a thick coating, it isn't as stain resistant as a full urethan or water borne finish.

This type of finish gives you the best of both oil finishes and some of the protection of urethan finishes. You will need to re-oil it after a few years and keep it moisturized every few months. Sanding will not be required  for anything and the maintenance is easy for a homeowner to do themselves. Keep your floors vacuumed and clean with whatever product the manufacturer recommends. Read any warranty information and cleaning instructions. If you do this, the floors should look beautiful for years to come.

The experts at BPS Southeast  service Western North Carolina, including Rutherfordton, NC, Spindale NC and Hendersonville NC. Give us a call today to see how we can help you with your flooring needs.