test matte wood floor finishes
The last years consumers prefer their wood flooring to appear as natural and matte as possible. That is why today almost all manufacturers of floor finishes also produce matte varnishes and lacquers.
There are a lot of promises: from "matte", "extra matte" and "supermatte" to "ultramatte" and "invisible".
The Dutch professional flooring magazine "Mobilia" compared 26 matte floor varnishes of almost all European manufacturers. It was interesting to see wether the promises would survive an independant comparison.
Items on this page:
What is gloss?
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matte wood floor varnish / lacquer what is gloss skylt, top matt, duo matt - test results
Gloss is an optical term that describes a surface's ability to reflect light. A glossy surface directly reflects light and has a high gloss value. A matte surface absorbs and diffuses light and has a low gloss value.
The gloss value is always related to the viewing angle, for example 60° or 85°. As far as floorings are concerned the gloss value at a viewing angle of 60° describes the visual aspect of a surface as seen from a standing position or from nearby. The gloss value at a viewing angle of 85° describes the visual aspect of a surface as seen from a sitting position or from further away.
Manuacturers of varnishes mostly only mention the gloss value at 60°. Though a gloss value at 60° gives a good indication, for a matte varnish the gloss value at 85° is more important. It is very disturbing when a matte floor if looked at from a lazy chair or from some distance gets more and more glossy. In that respect the test from Mobilia shows big differences between the brands.
Below some examples of wooden floors finished with SKYLT and DUO MATT.
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test results
matte wood floor varnish / lacquer what is gloss skylt, top matt, duo matt - test results
In 2001 Rigo Special Coatings introduced the polyurethane wood floor varnish RigoStep TOP MATT. At that moment Top Matt was the mattest parquet and wood floor finish on the market and also the first matte finish that met all other demands.
With the introduction of RigoStep SKYLT at the end of 2003 Rigo Special Coatings went through a magic barrier. With a gloss of less than 5 gloss units SKYLT is just as matte as unfinished wood. And while SKYLT has a slight bleaching effect also the color of the wood hardly changes. Therefore a wood floor finished with SKYLT appears to be untreated and has the genuine "natural look".
In The Netherlands we don't need to advertise SKYLT. Architects and consumers see SKYLT in buildings or in the homes of friends or relatives and ask for SKYLT at their local floor store.
Angle | 60° | |||
Gloss unfinished wood (maple) | 4 | |||
1 | RigoStep | Skylt | 2K | 4 |
2 | RigoStep | Top Matt | 1K | 12 |
3 | Blanchon | Huile Parquet * | 1K | 14 |
4 | Dr Schutz | CC- Exclusive Topcoat extramatt | 2K | 15 |
5 | Eukula Strato | 442 extra mat | 2K | 16 |
6 | Floorservice | Aqua Parketlak mat | 1K | 16 |
7 | Hermadix | mat | 1K | 19 |
8 | Dr Schutz | CC X-tra Strong extramat | 1K | 19 |
9 | Floorservice | Aqua Parketlak plus zijdemat | 1K | 20 |
10 | Pallmann | Pall-X 96 matt | 1K | 21 |
11 | Leha | Topfit PU102 extra mat | 2K | 22 |
12 | Bona | Traffic mat | 2K | 22 |
13 | Eukula Strato | 372 mat | 1K | 23 |
14 | SLC | HPX mat | 2K | 23 |
15 | Blanchon | Star Plus mat | 1K | 24 |
16 | SLC | HP mat | 1K | 26 |
17 | Blanchon | Intensiv mat | 2K | 26 |
18 | Bona | Mega mat | 1K | 29 |
19 | Leha | Classic HPU 895 extra mat | 1K | 39 |
20 | Nanosol | Elite 15 extra mat | 1K | 41 |
Kijkhoek | 85° | |||
Gloss unfinished wood (maple) | 4 | |||
1 | RigoStep | Skylt | 2K | 5 |
2 | RigoStep | Top Matt | 1K | 24 |
3 | Blanchon | Huile Parquet * | 1K | 26 |
4 | Eukula Strato | 372 mat | 1K | 38 |
5 | Eukula Strato | 442 extra mat | 2K | 39 |
6 | Floorservice | Aqua Parketlak mat | 1K | 41 |
7 | Dr Schutz | CC- Exclusive Topcoat extramatt | 2K | 42 |
8 | Hermadix | mat | 1K | 42 |
9 | Floorservice | Aqua Parketlak plus zijdemat | 1K | 43 |
10 | Bona | Traffic mat | 2K | 43 |
11 | Pallmann | Pall-X 96 matt | 1K | 44 |
12 | Leha | Topfit PU102 extra mat | 2K | 47 |
13 | SLC | HP mat | 1K | 47 |
14 | Dr Schutz | CC X-tra Strong extramat | 1K | 48 |
15 | Blanchon | Star Plus mat | 1K | 48 |
16 | SLC | HPX mat | 2K | 51 |
17 | Leha | Classic HPU 895 extra mat | 1K | 57 |
18 | Blanchon | Intensiv mat | 2K | 60 |
19 | Nanosol | Elite 15 extra mat | 1K | 62 |
20 | Bona | Mega mat | 1K | 68 |
The photo above of a cork floor in a museum illustrates the sheen effect.
From closeby (angle 60°) the view on the cork structure is clear, but looking from a distance (angle 85°) the finish gets glossy. This is called a sheen effect.
To avoid a sheen effect, it is important to choose a finish that also has a low gloss at an angle of 85°,
like our RigoStep finishes The floor on the photo above was not finished with RigoStep. In the meantime this American manufacturer uses a matt RigoStep cork varnish
results second test
In the beginning of 2005 also RigoStep DUO MATT came available. DUO MATT (10 gloss units at 60° and 20 gloss units at 85°) is meant for high traffic floors such as low-glare floorings in public buildings, but is also available to consumers who only want the best and are willing to pay a premium.
Contrary to SKYLT, which provides the look of unfinished wood, DUO MATT, like TOP MATT, brings to life the full wood color - but with a distinctive matte look. DUO MATT was tested in a second test in which Mobilia compared six special finishes.
Gloss values at a
60° angle as measured by "Mobilia".
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Angle |
60o |
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Gloss unfinished wood (maple) |
4 |
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1 |
RigoStep |
Duo Matt |
2K |
10 |
2 |
Leha |
Twintone Finish |
2K |
12 |
3 |
Berger-Seidle |
Aqua Oil Kombi |
2K |
14 |
4 |
Leha |
Topfit PU102 extra mat |
2K |
17 |
5 |
SLC |
Oil-Balsam HPX |
1K |
21 |
6 |
SLC |
Oil-Pur HP |
1K |
40 |
Gloss values at a
85° angle as measured by "Mobilia".
Angle 85o Gloss unfinished wood (maple) 4 1 RigoStep Duo Matt 2K 20 2 Leha Twintone Finish 2K 30 3 Leha Topfit PU102 extra mat 2K 34 4 SLC Oil-Balsam HPX 2K 42 5 Berger-Seidle Aqua Oil Kombi 1K 43 6 SLC Oil-Pur HP 1K 55
For a matt wood floor varnish or wood floor lacquer the results at an angle of 85° are the most important. As you can see the runner up in the test already is 50% more glossy than our DUO MATT.
Full test results (in Dutch):
Mobilia 1 - testresultaten 20 matte parketlakken
Mobilia 2 - testresultaten 6 oliegebaseerde afwerkingssystemen
Website: www.mobiliavloeren.nl
More information:
RigoStep SKYLT looks amazingly natural.
After finishing with SKYLT surfaces look almost the same as before finishing.
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matte wood floor varnish / lacquer what is gloss skylt, top matt, duo matt - test results
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