What makes Synteko NATURAL unique?
For many years most timber floors in Australia have been finished with high gloss solvent based polyurethane or oil based surface seals requiring a sacrificial wax coat, which is maintenance intensive. These types of floor finish scratch, show wear and tear, aggressively oxidise and have high VOC’s, which are detrimental to the environment. Customers selecting timber floor finishes have become more discerning, demanding more of a natural look in their floors that complements the natural beauty of wood. Hence, gloss levels have been reduced to a satin and even more to a matte look. There is an ever-increasing demand for natural looking floor finishes.
Swedish hardwood penetrating oils such, as Synteko Natural, will provide the most natural look of any wood floor finish. Prior to the use of various polyurethanes, surface seals or similar surface finishes, the hard oil was the traditional finish of choice. In Europe, where this traditional natural look has been in demand for many years, this type of oil finish accounts for almost all commercial wood floors finishes and a high percentage of domestic applications. In addition flooring customers in the USA are increasingly adopting this natural look as a credible alternative to traditional surface finishes. Since this oil finish actually penetrates and becomes a part of the surface of a wood floor, it is not nearly as sensitive to scratches and wear and tear as a surface coating or hard wax.
Synteko Natural oil, which is 100% VOC free, penetrates into the surface of the wood. As this oil cures and hardens in the top layer of wood fibers it forms an integral part of the timber floor resulting in a protective surface that is not only part of the wood floor but achieves a very high wear resistant finish. One walks on the timber and not the coating. A distinguishing feature of Synteko Natural compared to other penetrating and surface oil is that it has approximately 100% solids. This results in a very high quality floor finish that is also friendly to the environment.
Solids are defined as anything that is left on the floor after the coating has dried and cured. Solids are expressed as a percentage of weight, a coating with 90% solids will have only 10% of the product evaporate into the atmosphere. Simply, the higher the solids, the more coating will have been left on the floor after it dries. Therefore the higher a solids content is, it will influence the durability of the coating.
Therefore, Synteko Natural oil finish provides very good protection, is easy to maintain and, if done properly, will prevent a wood floor from ever having to be re-sanded. No additional protective coatings are required such as hard waxes to ensure the longevity of this natural floor finish.
The level of wear can range from household pets to having thousands of people a week walking across a floor in a commercial establishment. In addition Synteko Natural oil finished floors can be spot treated where needed, or spot repaired if necessary, instead of having to be fully sanded and refinished. This means that normal wear and tear, small scratches, indentations etc. are not visible as on timber floors finished with polyurethane, surface oils and hard wax oil finishes which are maintenance intensive. In addition, Synteko Natural oil allows the timber to breathe, as there is no film build on the surface and no risk of any edge bonding.
Another unique feature of Natural Oil is the ability to accentuate the wood grain by adding a tinting paste to the high solid floor oil. This will add colour to the floor while simultaneously maintaining all the positive benefits and excellent properties of the oil. Synteko have a range of colours ranging from white to black. For example by applying the white-pigmented oil to the floor one will create a limed affect without hiding the natural beauty of the timber.
Maintenance is simple. Wash the floor regularly with Synteko Soap diluted with warm water. Synteko Soap contains lanolin oil (a natural product), which feeds the timber whilst leaving an invisible film on the surface of the floor for added protection. Periodically Synteko Recover should be buffed into the surface to rejuvenate the floor finish.