Waterborne Flooring Finish
This information reflects our best understanding of product composition in 2016.
Waterborne finishes are one component, site-applied products, commonly used to provide protection to an installed floor including resilient floors such as vinyl sheet and tile, terrazzo, ceramic and stone tiles, and concrete. These finishes are...
Waterborne finishes are one component, site-applied products, commonly used to provide protection to an installed floor including resilient floors such as vinyl sheet and tile, terrazzo, ceramic and stone tiles, and concrete. These finishes are made up of largely water, as the name implies, and are typically characterized as an acrylic emulsion. Waterborne acrylic emulsions may also be applied as finishes on wood surfaces, however, they should not be confused with the one and two part polyurethane finishes more commonly used to finish wood prodcuts. In addition to the water and acrylic polymers that comprise the majority of the product, additional additives such as coalescent solvents, plastizicers, wax thickeners, wetting agents, surfactants, antifoaming agents, and preservatives are also common in waterborne acrylic finishes. The finish is typically applied as a thin film and cures via coalescing: "droplets of finish move closer together and interlock as the water evaporates." Most products require three or more coats to achieve the desired performance and are periodically stripped and reapplied to maintain the finish.