Interactions of Coating and Wood Flooring Surface System Properties

Parquet flooring is one of the most common types of flooring, the surface of which can be covered with various coatings. To avoid possible damage to the parquet during use, it is necessary to test the surfaces before installation according to various non-standard and standard protocols. The present study provides an overview of the interactions between the properties of selected waterborne coatings (solids content, hardness, resistance to cracking, tensile strength) and the properties of oak wood flooring surfaces (dry film thickness, coating adhesion, resistance to scratching, impact, abrasion and cold liquids). The tests conducted showed that the performance of the surface systems was highly dependent on the coating formulations, as they were either one- or two-component systems. Although no major differences in surface resistance to cold liquids were found, there was a correlation between coating thickness, hardness and tensile strength. The harder coatings had higher tensile strengths and lower elongations. The coatings with higher tensile strength and better hardness achieved better adhesion properties. The coatings that exhibited ductile behavior showed the worst scratch resistance. A statistically significant relationship was found between the higher resistance of the flooring systems to impact stress and the improved abrasion resistance. The obtained results provide potential end users of surface coatings with valuable information on the quality that can be expected in wood flooring.