Can you recommend a hardwood flooring product that is scratch resistant? What will not show skratches as much and be the most durable? What type of wood species should we go with? Finish? Commercial grade? No laminate please.
Jennifer

You are going to have a hard time finding wood floor that is scratch resistant. But there are a few things to keep in mind.
It sounds like you are installing a new floor. I would not recommend pre-finished hardwood because if, or should I say when, it gets scratched it's harder to refinish. When you're finishing the floor oil based polyurethane will be more durable than water based. Also more coats will boost durability. 3 coats are good, 4 great. In my opinion a satin finish hides scratches better than gloss. Also I think a lighter wood species like a white oak would hide scratches best and it's very hard and durable.

thanks for your input....would you suggest an even harder wood species like Brazian Cherry or Brazilian Walnut? Would that make much difference?

Clip the nails often. AO finish or ceramic prefinished. I hear there is AO on the market for site finished floors now.

Nice thing about prefinished is you can replace planks if they get a bad scratch. Touch-up sticks are also available. Scratch resistant is everywhere, scratch proof is one you'll never find.

What is AO finish?? Forgive me, I'm an Interior Designer looking for a client, not an installer.

Aluminum Oxide

Your walking on the finish not the wood, is what I tell ppl. Indentation is another story.

What is the toughest/ BEST finish (most durable) for hardwood floors....anything new?? How many coats can we do....is it the more, the better??
How many is too many???
Thanks!

IMO a good quality pre-finished hardwood , like Anderson, is going to be more scratch resistant than any sight finished floor, with their finishing technology. I dont know if this is an option, but I would consider a product such as Vintage Virginia,( Handscraped, low luster aluminum oxide finish, some what rustic / character ). This type of floor will withstand and hide hairline scratching best.

In the short term, a good prefinished floor like Kahrs or Mirage will be more scratch resistant than a field finished floor. However, it isn't bullet proof and will scratch before long.

So for longevity, I would recommend using oak or harder unfinished wood. Oak is going to stand up just fine , it's really the finish that will be abused if anything . Brazilian cherry is quite a lot harder but isn't necessary so I suggest not choosing anything softer than Oak like ash,pine,American cherry. And with some planned buffing and re coating,you'll likely never have any problems with the actual wood flooring.

As for finishes, moisture cure urethane is the toughest but it's drawbacks are how unbelievably horrible it smells and how easily it can be ignited by electrical sources in the house like refrigerators ,thermostats, etc. So I do not work with it.

A waterborne finish that is nearly as hard as moisture cure is Traffic by Bonakemi. And I use it for customers that are willing to pay for the most durable finish I can offer.It is a top coat material and is designed to work over Bonakemi's water based sealers or their oil based sealers or can be applied directly over Bonakemi stains.

What keeps me using Bonakemi's traffic over other waterbonrne finishes is how incredibly tough it is, that it can be applied much heavier than other water based finishes without bubbling.I haven't worked with any other waterborne finish that can be laid on the floor so heavy and come out perfect. So for houses with dogs or for businesses with a lot of foot traffic, I usually spec out one coat of sealer and three to four coats of Bonakemi Traffic. It is an expensive finish but is worth it in my opinion.

As for the question of" how many coats is too many ?" , well it depends on the material chosen and how much time you allow for coats to dry. I would never put more than 3 to 4 coats of oil based urethane on consecutively without allowing for additional days for dry time. WIth a good waterborne finish. I would feel safe applying 4 to 5 in a row. And 4 or 5 coats of a good finish like traffic would keep a busy restaurant looking good for at least a few years before needing buffing and re coating.

Who IS this guy?

No kidding just answer the question

A spammer that wanted to post a website, they are gone

I wate so much time on them

Keith

I recently replaced a pre-finished hardwood floor with real hardwood. I know it takes a lot more work to finish and keep up on, but I just don't like my house to look cheap. I have 3 dogs, and the new floor holds up better with scratches. I would see little scratches all the time in the old, cheap floor, but now I rarely see them. I think it was mentioned above, but you have to take your time and finish it the right way. When it comes to your home, do it right! (Note, I didn't do this myself I paid someone).