Floor Lacquer Sheen level....Which one should I choose ?

Hello and Welcome to another WFR Blog Post.


Today's wise words are all about one of the fundamental choices clients need to make at the initial contractor site visit stage of the Wood Floor Sanding and Sealing process.


The question being "What lacquer sheen level should I choose ?"  


There really is no textbook answer here, every client has slightly different needs and their project is a little different to everyone else's project....Some people like a very flat Matt finish to their wood floors, some people like a satin or semi gloss finish, and a few people like a high gloss finish, bear in mind all the finishes will look great but its about choosing the look which will best suit the individual clients needs.


Semi Gloss or Satin [they are virtually both the same]  is the finish we apply most of, in percentage terms we will use approx 80% semi gloss, 10% matt or ultra matt and around 10% gloss on our projects, semi gloss is not too shiny nor too flat and is the ideal finish for many clients.


Ultra Matt is becoming increasingly popular, the sheen level of this product is around 9% so it is very matt in appearance and if you didn't know any better you would think it's an oiled finish...but you have the ease of maintainance of a lacquer and the aesthetic appearance of Oil, it's win-win for many clients these days.


Gloss finishes aren't for everyone here in the UK, but in the US gloss finishes are huge and most refinished wood floors will have a Gloss finish. Up until a couple of years ago I didn't really like Gloss, but I did a project where the client specified a high gloss finish and the finished article looked absolutely tremendous....so I changed my mind.


In summary I would advise doing your homework before you specify a lacquered finish with your contractor, ask to see some of your contractors finished projects via a portfolio or on their website, or ask them to do a small test area for you so you can see for yourself how a particular sheen level will work in your particular environment, don't be afraid to ask.....if they want your business chances are they will do it for you without any problem.


hope this helps......Thanks for reading.


We have multiple wood floor sanding galleries on our website with many different species of wood and lacquer finishes available for you to peruse.....check us out :-)