What is the most durable finish?......
This is the million dollar question and every manufacturer will claim to have the best product on the market. Some products are definitely more durable than others. I grew up in the Boston area and used MCU since 1960. This was before OMU came to market. MCU was definitely the toughest solvent borne product for many years. As with most other solvent products this all changed with the VOC laws. All products lost solvent which allowed them to flow, level and dry properly.
MCU was best in gloss and poor when semi and satin came along. When I worked at Glitsa in the mid 80's and became president in 1991 I became convinced that Swedish finishes, like Glitsa, Synteko and others, were the best in that region. These products have been the leader in certain areas of the country since the mid 50's when they came from Sweden. Neither MCU nor OMU were used in the Northwest at that time and acid cure was not used in the Northeast. Neither were used in the Southern states which was OMU or wax.
What made acid cure better than MCU was that they worked well over oil stains which MCU did not and satin and semi were as durable as gloss. They were much more decorator friendly but MCU was still harder.
Waterborne products came/come in acrylics, urethanes and blends of acrylic and urethane. The toughest of these are the all or mostly urethane products. Then came single component or self crosslinking; aziridine crosslinkers, for many years the toughest; and now isocyanate crosslinked which appear to be currently the toughest available. There is also carbodiimide crosslinking which is safer than the other two but not quite as tough.
Now this is where it gets tougher. The type of urethane resin and acrylic resin used in all these products differ. They are VERY similar but different. "No one has anything special." It is the blending and formulating of the resins and other additives that make these ingredients work differently, dry differently and look different. For example, Street Shoe works best at 600-800 feet per gallon while Bona wants Traffic put on at 340 feet per gallon, which I do not think can be done. They will look different on the floor. If you add enough of one it will look like the other and probably wear exactly the same length of time. I am quite familiar with Street Shoe since I was Product Manager at Basic when this product came to market around 1990.
The technology in aziridine products is older than that of the isocyanate products like Traffic, Idro 2K, Best, Neptune, Marathon, X-terra and many others. There is not much difference. These are like using Tylenol or Motrin, or Bufferin or Aleve for your headache. Which one works best "for you"?
One thing I personally am convinced of is that most waterbornes will outwear OMU in long term durability but the waterborne products lose their sheen faster and look like a dull plexiglas window after a while. But…. they do NOT wear through easily. They are tough but may need to be recoated more often. This does frustrate some customers. Maintenance is very important. Improved sheen levels will be the next waterborne technology to come along...it will be micro scratch resistance.
Sorry for the vague explanation on durability but most finishes work. It is a matter of what works best for you and what have you and your friends found stands up the best long term.
Most of this information about solvent products will depend upon where you are in the U.S.. Last January much of the northeast had VOC go down to 350 which is tough to flow, level and dry. California will change again in July 06 and go down to 275 VOC which may not work at all so, all that will work will be waterborne. Stains will be changing also and the VOC’s will go down.
How you sell your work and the maintenance information you provide for your customers will determine how successful your jobs will be regardless of what finish you use. “Unrealistic expectations” are what do in most contractors and consumers. Give the customer a cleaning kit, floor protectors and instructions. Explain how to use them and suggest when to recoat. Armed with information the customer will know what to expect. Our industry and your reputation will be better for it.
Bill
This is the million dollar question and every manufacturer will claim to have the best product on the market. Some products are definitely more durable than others. I grew up in the Boston area and used MCU since 1960. This was before OMU came to market. MCU was definitely the toughest solvent borne product for many years. As with most other solvent products this all changed with the VOC laws. All products lost solvent which allowed them to flow, level and dry properly.
MCU was best in gloss and poor when semi and satin came along. When I worked at Glitsa in the mid 80's and became president in 1991 I became convinced that Swedish finishes, like Glitsa, Synteko and others, were the best in that region. These products have been the leader in certain areas of the country since the mid 50's when they came from Sweden. Neither MCU nor OMU were used in the Northwest at that time and acid cure was not used in the Northeast. Neither were used in the Southern states which was OMU or wax.
What made acid cure better than MCU was that they worked well over oil stains which MCU did not and satin and semi were as durable as gloss. They were much more decorator friendly but MCU was still harder.
Waterborne products came/come in acrylics, urethanes and blends of acrylic and urethane. The toughest of these are the all or mostly urethane products. Then came single component or self crosslinking; aziridine crosslinkers, for many years the toughest; and now isocyanate crosslinked which appear to be currently the toughest available. There is also carbodiimide crosslinking which is safer than the other two but not quite as tough.
Now this is where it gets tougher. The type of urethane resin and acrylic resin used in all these products differ. They are VERY similar but different. "No one has anything special." It is the blending and formulating of the resins and other additives that make these ingredients work differently, dry differently and look different. For example, Street Shoe works best at 600-800 feet per gallon while Bona wants Traffic put on at 340 feet per gallon, which I do not think can be done. They will look different on the floor. If you add enough of one it will look like the other and probably wear exactly the same length of time. I am quite familiar with Street Shoe since I was Product Manager at Basic when this product came to market around 1990.
The technology in aziridine products is older than that of the isocyanate products like Traffic, Idro 2K, Best, Neptune, Marathon, X-terra and many others. There is not much difference. These are like using Tylenol or Motrin, or Bufferin or Aleve for your headache. Which one works best "for you"?
One thing I personally am convinced of is that most waterbornes will outwear OMU in long term durability but the waterborne products lose their sheen faster and look like a dull plexiglas window after a while. But…. they do NOT wear through easily. They are tough but may need to be recoated more often. This does frustrate some customers. Maintenance is very important. Improved sheen levels will be the next waterborne technology to come along...it will be micro scratch resistance.
Sorry for the vague explanation on durability but most finishes work. It is a matter of what works best for you and what have you and your friends found stands up the best long term.
Most of this information about solvent products will depend upon where you are in the U.S.. Last January much of the northeast had VOC go down to 350 which is tough to flow, level and dry. California will change again in July 06 and go down to 275 VOC which may not work at all so, all that will work will be waterborne. Stains will be changing also and the VOC’s will go down.
How you sell your work and the maintenance information you provide for your customers will determine how successful your jobs will be regardless of what finish you use. “Unrealistic expectations” are what do in most contractors and consumers. Give the customer a cleaning kit, floor protectors and instructions. Explain how to use them and suggest when to recoat. Armed with information the customer will know what to expect. Our industry and your reputation will be better for it.
Bill
<< Home