Hardwood help,looking for a matt finish floor, oil or Poly, Help?

6 years ago

I have been researching this for two years now, decision must be made, we are redoing our Kitchen so now is the time to redo the floors.
About 950 square feet, I love the look of the Provenza Pompeli Lipari, have been reading about people loving and hating their oiled floors, I don’t know if it’s the color they picked or the finish. I certainly don’t want to have to worry about every drop of water or oil from the cooktop, or someone walking thru with wet boots, we live in Mn. The consultant at Prosource where I picked up the samples warned me against oil floors. I also picked up Castle Rookwood rustic, and Paramount old town old mission which is a solid that is so matt it looks like oil, that really appeals to me, we will probably only be in this house another 5 to 7 years so also thinking of resale at this point. Any advice, thoughts, regret, or good decisions that you have would be welcomed and appreciated as my indecisiveness is making me insane

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SJ McCarthy

6 years ago

Ok....here's the *issues with matte poly - they are SUPER HARD to live with!!!!! They are even HARDER TO LIVE WITH if you choose a DARK FLOOR! Ohhhh dear. As handsome as the Pompeii Lipari is, it will be HELL to live with.

And here's why: dark floors NATURALLY show dust (human skin cells make up 90% of all indoor dust; and most skin sluffs of LIGHT GRAY....). And your colour choice is dark. It is not a mid tone. It will read as "dark" in any space other than a box with windows on all 4 sides.

So the DARK wood you have chosen will show dust (light gray film over everything) on a DAILY basis. Yes. Daily.

Now for the matte finish. Matte finish is duller than SKIN OILS. Which means bare feet AND stocking feet will leave behind visible OIL MARKS. So will hand prints. And knee prints (even through blue jeans). And elbow prints (even through t-shirt material). And if animals are in the picture, dog's pads have plenty of oil on them....which will show up on the matte finish.

Your beautiful floors will be a constant source of frustration. These are things a sale's person will not tell you. The dark floors are hard to live with. Period. Matte finished floors are hard to live with. Period. A dark floor finished in a matte will be HELL to live with. End of story.

Personally I would look at a lighter floor (two steps lighter) with a satin finish. Satin is a close cousin to matte. It gives the same appearance as matte but without the oily prints. Splashed cooking oil will show up....but that is a GOOD thing! You want to be able to see the oil so that you can clean it up - it is a hazard on the floor. The skin oils will BLEND IN with satin. They are the same sheen level.

The extreme colours (white or almost white; black or dark) are very hard to live with. The extreme gloss levels (matte or super matte; gloss or super gloss) are hard to live with. That's why MOST PEOPLE compromise and work with a mid-tone floor (two steps lighter than your choice) and satin or semi-gloss finishes.

These compromises suit 90% of homeowners better than the extreme options. The extreme options SHOULD COME with their own LIVE-IN house keeper!

Good luck. I would keep looking.

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Comments (9)

kabochy
Original Author
6 years ago
In my post I forgot to mention my friend has had the Provenza Lipari in here entire upstairs including the kitchen and 4 spastic dogs, can’t see a scratch, she lives on a hobby farm, as do I, she loves her floor and every time I see it it looks beautiful she’s had it over 2 years now.
I know it’s dark and the price has gone up since she bought it, it’s about 11 a sq foot now. I have dark wood in my bar and I could mop that every day. Trying to find some decision I can make, afford, live with and not regret everyday of my life.
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I'm guessing the matte is the problem. Not the finish (or is minimal). I would ask for a patch of satin and semi-gloss. Pallmann makes a colour enhancing sealer: http://www.pallmann.us/products/product-search/details/pall-x-color-16916/ Also check to see if they used the MAGIC OIL....it is a hardwax oil finish that is very dull. The satin/semi-gloss will help you feel better about the depth of colour. The colour enhancing sealer will add that little bit of gold tone that will LOOK like an oil based poly....but is used underneath the water based finishes. I would get the installer to add a patch of the colour enhancer to a patch and then the satin and the semi-gloss added to it. You can then choose the sheen/gloss level and WHETHER OR NOT you want the colour enhancer or not. The colour enhancer is NOT used with the Magic Oil. It is only used with the polyurethanes.
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jenjenfoofoo
5 years ago
I would love to hear more on this, as I am making the same decision for a home in Colorado (live in MN now). We’ve got the choice down to 2: one has an oil finish, the other a UV matte poly finish. Really struggling for the very same reasons and just as indecisive! Hope more people chime in.
PRO
Oak & Broad
5 years ago
jenjenfoofoo , UV matte poly will be much more durable and you wont need to add oil every year or two.
kabochy
Original Author
4 years ago
So I finally went with Hurst Hardwood European Oak with a Matt finish, It’s been in a year now and I absolutely love it, doesn’t scratch cleans up easily, just wears beautifully. If I could have gone a bit lighter it would not show so many crumbs in the kitchen. I am planning on going lighter in the upstairs hallway and bedrooms as you cannot see the floors from the main level and our stairs match the main level.
kabochy
Original Author
4 years ago
Sorry I don’t know how that first picture got on there and I can’t see to remove it🤔
kabochy
Original Author
4 years ago
And I missed the living room, but you get the idea😆
Christie Boyer
11 months ago
Did you use oil-based matte finish poly or water-based poly? I am trying to decide what to use and am leaning toward oil-based matte poly since I had a terrible experience in my last house with stains and the finish getting ruined by everyday kinds of spills that would never hurt my oil poly floors I have now. I would love your input! Thanks!
nysmith
last month
@kabochy, your floors are beautiful! Could you tell me which color these are? Is it the Cordoba? How have they continued to hold up for you the past few years?

Hardwood help,looking for a matt finish floor, oil or Poly, Help?

SJ McCarthy

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Hardwood help,looking for a matt finish floor, oil or Poly, Help?

SJ McCarthy

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kabochyOriginal Author

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