When it comes to the finish on your hardwood floors, you have two options. You can pick a shiny finish that will make your floors gleam or a matte finish, which lacks the shininess but looks just as lovely.
If you choose the latter and want a matte polyurethane finish on your hardwood floors, you have several options, from topcoats to methods that dull the shiny finish without harming your floors.
Why Choose a Matte Finish?
A hardwood floor is beautiful, no matter the finish. However, when picking a finish, there are several reasons to choose matte over shiny, including:
You Have Plenty of Foot Traffic
If you have hardwood floors in high traffic areas of your home, like the living room, foyer, and dining room, you likely want a matte finish.
Why? A shiny, polished finish will show every footprint and scuff, marring the shine and making the floor look dirty, even when it’s not. A matte finish, on the other hand, keeps these scuffs and footprints hidden.
Keeping Your Floor Shiny Takes a Lot of Work
Shiny hardwood floors require quite a bit of upkeep. You may find yourself constantly running around, wiping up footprints to keep the floor shiny. In addition, you’ll need to mop and polish the floor regularly to keep that gleaming finish. If this sounds like a lot of work, a matte finish might just be your best option.
You Want the Wood To Speak for Itself
Hardwood floors have character. The grain, color, and minor imperfections of real hardwood planks provide your flooring with plenty of interesting characteristics. When you have a shiny finish on that floor, all that your guests see is the lovely gleam of the finish. They don’t notice the wood and all of the character beneath it.
With a matte finish, the wood’s characteristics are allowed to show, and you can appreciate the wood for everything it is. The lack of shininess makes the wood something worth showing off.
Now that you know some of the reasons to choose a matte polyurethane finish over a shiny one, it’s time to learn how to apply that finish.
Choosing a Matte Topcoat
With several different options to choose from, picking a matte topcoat is the easiest way to get a matte polyurethane finish on your hardwood floors. Some of the options to consider include:
Matte Topcoat
As the name implies, a matte polyurethane topcoat is just that – completely matte. It isn’t shiny at all and will create a perfect finish on top of your hardwood flooring, providing plenty of protection without detracting from the look of the wood.
Since this topcoat (and others) are clear, they allow the wood’s natural color or the stain you chose to shine through.
Satin Topcoat
This option has a slight sheen that’s nothing compared to semi-gloss and full-gloss topcoats. A satin topcoat falls somewhere on the matte spectrum. It’s a good option for people who want the look of a matte floor, but with a slight sheen that draws attention to the hardwood planks.
If you aren’t quite ready to commit to a completely matte floor, then a satin topcoat is your best bet.
Oil or Water-Based Polyurethane Topcoat?
On top of choosing between matte and satin topcoats, you also have to pick whether you want oil or water-based polyurethane. While both have their advantages and disadvantages, there is one crucial difference. Oil-based polyurethane tends to have a yellowish tone to it, thus changing the color of your floors slightly. Water-based polyurethane is entirely clear, so it won’t alter the color of your stain or wood.
Oil-based polyurethane requires plenty of ventilation when you’re applying it. You’ll also need additional supplies to clean your brushes, rollers, and paint trays since oil-based polyurethane isn’t water-soluble. You can’t clean it with simple soap and water. However, this type of topcoat does level itself, making application easy, and it lasts for quite some time.
Water-based polyurethane is easier to clean up since you can use soap and water to clean your painting and application supplies. It still requires some ventilation, but not nearly as much as the oil-based variety. It won’t level itself during the application process, so you’ll need to be careful when applying the topcoat, and it won’t stand up to the wear and tear of oil-based polyurethane.
Making the decision comes down to several factors, so choose wisely when picking between oil-based and water-based polyurethane.
Applying a Matte Topcoat
Now that you’ve chosen your topcoat, it’s time to apply it. You’ll need to go through several different steps, from gathering your supplies to applying the topcoat.
Step One: Gather Your Supplies
To apply a matte topcoat, you’ll need several supplies, including a paintbrush and paint roller, a paint tray, and rags for cleanup. You’ll also need to clean the floor, so include a mop, bucket, and hardwood floor cleaner on your list.
Step Two: Prepping the Surface and Room
Remove all of the furniture from the room, including the curtains, if they reach the floor. Then, sweep the floor to remove any debris, and wash the floor thoroughly, allowing it to dry before proceeding.
If you have an existing topcoat on the floor, you may need to sand the wood to remove it. This should occur before you clean the floor and after you take all furniture out of the space. Don’t forget to open the windows for ventilation purposes.
Step Three: Applying the Topcoat
Using thin, even coats, apply the topcoat to your floor, starting in an inner corner and working your way outward, towards the door or entrance to the room. Once the topcoat is applied, allow plenty of time to dry before walking on it and placing your furniture back in the room.
Other Methods of Obtaining a Matte Finish
If you don’t feel like refinishing your hardwood floors, you can use several other methods to get the desired matte finish. Some slightly easier options include:
Using Tung Oil
Start with sandpaper. Rub the sandpaper over the floor to scuff up the gloss or semi-gloss finish that’s already on your wood floors. Then, place some tung oil on a rag and rub it into the floor until the rag is dry. Make sure to work with the grain of the wood and allow the oil to dry overnight.
Rub Furniture Polish or Wax onto the Floor
Another option doesn’t require sandpaper at all. Instead, rub furniture polish or floor wax onto the floor, dulling its shiny finish. Once it dries, you’ll be left with a lovely matte floor, just like you wanted.
Final Thoughts
No matter why you want a matte finish on your hardwood floors, there are several easy methods that you can use to obtain one. The good news is that you don’t need to be an expert to get the job done!
Sources:
How to Get a Matte Finish With Polyurethane | Hunker
