Pros of Waterborne Polyurethane for Floor Finish

Waterborne polyurethane has emerged as the most widely used finishing material for hardwood floors in residential, commercial, and industrial buildings and passive houses.

So, What’s Polyurethane?

Polyurethane is fundamentally a thin liquid coat that’s either sprayed or brushed on a surface to protect it from damage caused by consistent exposure to heat, vapor, and other harmful elements in the air. Polyurethane also improves the overall look of the wood and imparts a golden tone to it. While its generally compared with shellacs, lacquers, and varnishes, it is primarily a polymer coating prepared in the industries. Polyurethane is mainly used in interior applications as it builds a strong protective layer while allowing the original texture of the surface to show through.

Waterborne Polyurethane Finishes

As the name suggests, these finishes don’t use any solvents for carrying other polyurethane solids. The only base used in waterborne polyurethane floor finishes is the water itself.

This type of finish offers a rapid application time because it dries quickly. It may look milky white in the container but becomes transparent and clear upon drying. They don’t have any specific odor and can easily be cleaned up using warm water and soap.

Why You Should Use a Waterborne Polyurethane Finish

Sustainability

If you want to protect the environment from hazardous elements and VOCs (volatile organic compounds), you’d surely choose water-based polyurethane instead of their oil-based or solvent-based counterparts.

VOCs give off several noxious and toxic fumes that aren’t just harmful to your kids and yourself but may also damage the health of the pets.

Water is a natural and eco-friendly alternative and doesn’t cause the environmental damage caused by petroleum solvents. If you operate a company, you’ll have peace of mind that your employees are safe and aren’t exposed to any harmful elements that may affect their health. It also helps you keep up your employees’ productivity.

Allergy

If you don’t like dealing with or have any aversion, allergy to, or distaste for using the messy and odorous solvents, you can simply choose the waterborne polyurethane as they’re odorless and comparatively less messy. They also offer seamless and quick application and quick clean-up afterward.

Thin Flexible Coating

If you’re looking for high protection yet a flexible and thin coating, then waterborne coatings are just the right option for you. Solvent-based or Oil-based finishes are considerably thicker and consume more time in the application and cleaning. However, if you want some build, you may have to apply more than one coat of the waterborne finish.

Faster Application

As you may already know, water dries fast and features a thin consistency as water solutions are considerably easier to use as compared to the thicker ones, which may even require you to use some additives and thinners, you can get this type of finishing on urgent bases and make your residential or commercial setup look presentable in a short time. You can get the job done within a few hours and bring the room back to its original shape in a short time.

Unlike the oil-based finishes (which may take more than a month to dry up!), the waterborne furnishes become ready for high-level traffic in a considerably shorter time.

However, if you’ve undertaken the furnishing project yourself, slow drying time may offer you a greater margin for mistakes and may give you a long time to correct them.

Notable Pros of Water-Based Polyurethane

• Offer seamless application as they’re odorless.
• They’re completely clear, and you can easily clean up a floor covered with waterborne polyurethane using water.
• When you apply a few coats of waterborne polyether, it provides a flexible finish to the hardwood floor

Cons

• For a hard shell look, you may need to apply more coats
• While they’re known for their durability, some people think that waterborne finishes are less durable against scratches
• When re-applying, you may find it difficult to see where the product was applied earlier.

Leading Water Based Polyurethane Supplier in the US

If you’re looking for a reliable company that you can trust and partner up with for purchasing premium quality waterborne polyurethane, you’re at the right place.