# Flooring Finishes: Oil vs. Wax vs. Polyurethane



## Jason_Vivash (Sep 12, 2014)

There have been drastic improvements in Oil finishes and hardwax oil finishes in recent years making them extremely durable, water resistant, low maintenance and offer an incredible flat sheet raw wood look or even a higher satin sheen if desired. Color options are endless. They are lower VOC and healthier to use and have in your home compared to urethanes. They are easier to touch up campared to topical plastic urethane finishes. If you compare a 10 yr old urethaned floor to a 10 yr old oil finished floor that has received maintenance oil coats every 3-5 yrs the oil finished floor will look as good if not better than day one whereas the urethaned floor will look like a dogs breakfast all scratched up and worn down. Even if the urethaned floor has been buffed and coated, the finish normally magnified the imperfections. Research products like Rubio Monocoat oil, Loba Oil, Ciranova Oil, just to name a few. Ive been applying these finishes to homes for six years now and have had great success. They have been using these products in europe for decades with great success. They are gaining in popularity here in North America. Most prefinished wood floor manufacturers are following this trend offering pre-oiled floors along side their prefinished urethane finished floors. The biggest downfall of this is that there will be a learning curve for us as not many contractors/ homeowners know how to apply these products properly which may give them a bad wrap and shy people away who have bad experiences because they can't/ don't maintain their floors properly. Good Luck


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## Barbara_Harcrow (Jan 13, 2017)

I know this post is a couple of years old but I hope you still respond. We are getting ready to add more hardwood flooring next to our existing 35-year old waxed 3/4" oak floor. Can I put the oiled one next to it and get the same look? Do you wax it? Would I need to refinish my old one for it to match? It still looks great. Thank you for any insight.


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