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The 7 Best Hardwood Floor Finishes for Your Home
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A good hardwood finish protects your flooring and gives it a sleek and beautiful appearance. You can choose from a DIY-friendly water-based polyurethane, a professional acid-cured finish, a classic oil sealer, and more. We’ll walk you through the top seven hardwood floor finishes, along with their characteristics, pros, and cons.
1. Best Hardwood Floor Finish: Acid-Cured
Acid-cured finish, also known as “Swedish finish,” stands as the top pick and most popular choice for hardwood floors. This professional application uses alcohol and acid for a varnish that dries in a snap and holds up beautifully. However, it can take up to three months to fully cure, and you can’t place area rugs over it for about two weeks. Once complete, it shows off all the character of exotic species like Brazilian Cherry.
This type of finish will last up to 10 or more years with good care, and you can touch it up as needed.
But it’s important to note that Swedish finish is high in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and releases gasses during application and for a few days after, so it requires special precautions during installation. Homeowners should plan to find other accommodations for a day or two after it’s installed, and remove plants and pets from the work area.
2. Most Durable Hardwood Floor Finish: Aluminum Oxide
Aluminum oxide is the finish you buy when you are interested in easy installation and longevity. It comes already installed on some prefinished hardwood flooring. Rated to last up to 25 years in a single application, it makes the surface much less likely to scratch or fade.
Although this type offers supreme durability, it’s difficult to refinish—but not impossible. When it wears out, you can sand it. If the finish is a problem to remove, you can spray a softener on the flooring to soften the aluminum oxide coating.
3. Best Way to Finish Basement Floor: Water-Based Polyurethane
Water-based polyurethane is a standard choice for many environments, but especially those with more moisture. Homeowners often find this finish easy to apply, making it a reasonable DIY project.
It dries clear in a few hours, so you can put on multiple coats in one day. Although it’s not as durable as oil-based options, it has low VOCs. That makes it a better choice for the basement or other rooms with minimal ventilation.
4. Best Hardwood Floor Finish for High-Traffic: Oil-Based Polyurethane
Oil-based polyurethane offers middle-of-the-road durability at an affordable price. The least expensive of the modern finishes, this type adds a warm glow to popular wood flooring options like white oak or maple. Athletic floors use oil modified polyurethane—and there’s a reason why street shoes aren’t allowed on your high school gymnasium’s floor. But its soft finish is ideal for traction in sports.
Unlike the old-school oil sealer, it dries hard with several hours between coats. It costs less than water-based polyurethane, and usually needs fewer layers for the same finish. Homeowners should note that oil-based polyurethane has very low UV protection, so it yellows quickly when exposed to frequent sunlight.
5. Best Wood Floor Finish for Kids and Pets: Moisture-Cured Urethane
Moisture-cured urethane provides an extremely durable surface. The preferred option for bowling alleys, this finish can take whatever you want to throw at it without a scratch or scuff. However, it’s not commonly used in residential wood flooring due to health concerns over exposure to its solvents; it’s mainly for industrial use.
Moisture-cured urethane dries in one to two hours, making it difficult to apply. This means you’ll need to look for professional hardwood refinishing near you if you opt for a moisture-cured urethane finish.
6. Best Hardwood Finish for Historic Homes: Penetrating Oil Sealer
Although newer finishes make most of the old approaches obsolete, many owners of older homes still love the penetrating oil sealer. This traditional product typically uses tung oil, which absorbs well into wood and gives a low-gloss shine.
Oil sealer serves as a simple DIY project for patient people. It takes as much as one to two days to dry between coats. It’s not as durable as modern options, which means you may need to touch it up every two to three years.
7. Most Environmentally-Friendly Hardwood Finish: Hard Wax Oil
Hardwax oil is one of the more environmentally-friendly hardwood floor finishes. This type of finish is made from vegetable oils and waxes, which helps it to achieve low to no sheen. It’s also durable, and comes with a wide variety of color possibilities. Homeowners who enjoy a little DIY work can benefit from the ease of maintenance on this type of finish. Another perk of hard wax oil finish is its low—and in some cases, non-existent—VOC levels.
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