White Cork flooring and Loba Water based polyurethane
White Cork Flooring and White wood floors are becoming more and more popular. The trend away from dark floors towards whites and grays continues. White cork flooring are gaining in popularity as an alternative to porcelain or ceramic tiles. Dark floor still has its fans but the white or gray floor is the active trendsetter.
With white cork flooring come the inevitable scratches. And those scratches will appear “orange” in colour. Why? Because the colour is only on the surface. Like all hardwood flooring, the surface colour of the product is only on the surface. Cork has a tendency to scratch which makes the white cork flooring more vulnerable to “visible” scratches. A person looking for ‘perfect white’ will be heavily disappointed if that perfect white turns out to have orange scratches. We recommend using a high end scratch resistant polyurethane to toughen up the finish.
All cork floors that are finished in polyurethane will scratch. The natural colours and mid-tone stains will hide these scratches whereas white cork flooring and dark cork allow the scratches to appear more visible. There is a remedy for this. Applying a high-wearing finish after the floor has been installed is an excellent way to add “scratch and dent resistance” while maintaining the cork to the highest standards.
Loba 2K Supra AT is a ceramic infused water based polyurethane with very low VOC content. It out performs Bona Traffic by 360% (Taber Abrasion test). The ceramic finish is an excellent investment when working with colours that will show more visible scratches then their natural colour counterpart.
Some factories have gone straight to these high-end finishes and added a premium price tag to the product. High wearing finishes can cost $7-$13/sf through reputable retailers. Forna is sticking to the regular polyurethane factory finish to help achieve an affordable price point. Discerning customers will purchase the additional protection of the Loba 2K Supra AT for as little as $0.30/sf per coat. To achieve the anti-scratch properties necessary for white cork flooring or dark cork, two coats of this beautiful product are required. That means for as little as $0.60/sf extra, you can have a high-wearing white cork floor for roughly 1/2 the price of our famous competitors.
Loba 2K Supra AT adds a velvety richness to the cork without compromising the natural softness that cork lovers come to expect from their flooring choice. The toughness of the 2K Supra AT is surpassed by only by its beauty. Professionals and homeowners alike have contacted Forna to compliment the magnificent finish they achieved with the Loba 2K Supra AT.