UV Oiled vs Lacquered Finishes

Selecting the right finish – like UV oiled and Lacquered finishes – for your project is vital for the longevity of the floor and the ease of maintenance throughout its service life. There are a number of ‘finishes’ that can be applied to wood and if you’d like to see a more detailed version of this, then please refer to our guide: Wood Floor Finishes Explained.

The two being compared below are by far the most popular: UV Oiled & Lacquered.

Please note that this comparison is based on the finishes used by The Solid Wood Flooring Company. There are a number of oil and lacquer manufacturers available, and we can safely say now that some have great quality products. Unfortunately, others are quite poor. The method and QC of applying these finishes are critically important, too.

At The Solid Wood Flooring Company, we use our own special formulation of UV Oil, making it unique and only available on our products. Bona makes the lacquer we use, one of the world’s leading manufacturers. Our production teams are highly skilled and use the latest technology to create our products and all of our products undergo multiple rigorous QC checks throughout production to ensure every board is of exceptional quality and suitable for heavy commercial use.

What’s the difference between UV Oiled & Lacquered?

As noted above, there are a lot of similarities between the two finishes, UV Oiled has a couple of obvious benefits in slip resistance, penetration and ease of repair.

*It should be noted that anti-slip lacquers are available, but due to the cost and ‘rougher’ texture, they are only available on bespoke orders.

A deeper dive into Lacquered floors

Lacquers are excellent for kitchens and (with other considerations) bathrooms because they excel at water repulsion (though are far from waterproof). This makes them great at giving some extra time for spillages in the kitchen but, again, immediate action should be taken to avoid staining. They generally require little maintenance making them a consideration for build-to-rents and other such properties.

However, others manufacturers may only apply three coats of lacquer and these coats have a possibility of performing poorly. It’s amazing how much variation in lacquer quality there is in the current market. Lacquers that contain Aluminium Oxide will even scratch white and will need continuous maintenance, we, therefore, recommend clients always thoroughly test any lacquered samples they have from competitors to ensure the quality is sufficient.

As previously mentioned, at The Solid Wood Flooring Company, we only use Bona lacquers, which are amongst the best on the market. We also apply 9 coats of lacquer to ensure suitability for commercial premises.

There is a misconception about lacquered floors requiring no maintenance and being almost impervious to damage. It’s true that some (ours at least) are very hard-wearing and require minimal maintenance. However, the fact is that all lacquered floors can be damaged, and when they are, spot repairs are nearly impossible to blend in. For example, you would see sheen and colour differences where significant repairs have been made. For heavily damaged floors, you would need to re-sand the whole surface; this would require a professional service and carries quite a cost.

Of course, the above is a worst-case scenario, but nonetheless, accidents do happen, and the realities should be noted and understood during the decision-making process.

A deeper dive into UV Oiled floors

UV Oiled finishes can be considered as a hybrid between traditional oiled finishes and lacquer. They are the latest in finishing methods as they utilise the curing methods used for lacquers but are still based on deep penetrating oils. The “UV” in UV Oiled refers to the curing process, not a reference to UV protection – though they are suitable for use in high sunlight areas.

This means that UV Oils protect the wood by penetrating deep into the surface. This helps to reduce the ability for contaminants to take hold. During the drying/curing process, the oil also creates a ‘sit-on’ surface quality, which acts as a defence mechanism against spillages and general wear and tear, making UV Oils less porous than natural or hard wax oils.

The advantages of UV Oils are that they are ultimately oils based, and they are significantly easier to repair than lacquered. Damaged areas can be treated with extra oil or spot sanded and oiled to achieve a blend. Depending on the level of damage, this can range from a simple unskilled DIY job to one requiring a professional.

UV Oiled floors offer a more ‘natural’ look and feel as they have a lower gloss level (matte) and allow more of the texture of the wood to be felt compared to lacquer.

Mixing the two

It’s important to note that UV oiled and Lacquered finishes are very different. As the lacquer is water-based and oil is, well, oil-based the two are not compatible. I.e., you cannot apply a lacquer to an oil or an oil to a lacquer. So, it’s important to know which finish you have prior to carrying out any maintenance (such as cleans with finish-specific products or top coat applications of the finish) to avoid any serious problems.

Which is best out of UV Oiled and Lacquered Finishes?

That is up to you and your unique situation. There are advantages to both products, which is why we offer both finishes. In some cases, like when using American Red Oak, lacquer is best suited due to the cell structure of that particular species of Oak, especially when combined with the treatment we apply to the Oak to remove the ‘pink’ tones.

However, by far, our unique UV Oil finish is the most popular choice for developers of both commercial and residential premises. The matte look, texture, ease of repair and maintenance and, ultimately its durability have kept it a firm favourite for nearly two decades, with well over a 1,000,000m2 of our UV Oiled flooring supplied around the world.

If you’d like to discuss your project with us and talk through which finish would be best for you, please call on +44 (0) 1666 504 015 or email info@thesolidwoodflooringcompany.com