Hardwax oil or lacquer for hotel floors?

We focus on extra matt lacquer. For hotel guest rooms and public areas it's the easier choice: it resists spills, needs only cleaning, and at 3 to 7% gloss still reads as natural timber. Hardwax oil suits places where staff will re-oil and the bare-timber feel matters most. The bigger risk is mixing both in one building.

How they compare

	Hardwax oil	Lacquer
How it works	Soaks into the timber and hardens in the surface	Forms a hard film on the surface
Look	Low sheen. The grain feels like bare timber	Extra matt reads close to oil. Higher gloss looks coated
Spills and stains	Needs wiping quickly. Liquids can mark a floor that isn't maintained	Resists liquids well
Day-to-day care	Cleaning, plus re-oiling from time to time, more often in busy areas	Cleaning only
Repairs	Worn spots can be re-oiled locally without sanding	Damage through the film usually means sanding and recoating a board or area
Suits	Lodges and residences where staff will maintain it	Guest rooms, corridors and public areas

The bigger problem: mixing coatings

On most projects the floor is oiled by one supplier, while doors, panels and joinery arrive lacquered by others.

Oil and lacquer return light differently and age differently. Surfaces that sat together on the sample board drift apart once the building is in use, and housekeeping ends up with a different care routine for every surface.

What we do

Our standard is an extra matt lacquer, applied at the mill to every timber surface on the project at one gloss level. It comes from years of supplying hotels, lodges and residences through Forté, our sister company, where it has proved the finish that stays looking right with the least upkeep.

Floors, panels, doors and joinery arrive finished. There's nothing to coat on site, and housekeeping gets one care guide for the whole building. See how we carry one finish across every surface.

Questions

Can oiled and lacquered timber sit in the same room?

They can, but they'll read as different products and age differently. One coating across every surface avoids it.

Does extra matt lacquer look like oil?

An extra matt film finish can read close to an oiled look, while keeping the film's resistance to spills.

How should a hotel care for prefinished floors?

Follow the care guide for the coating on the project. With one coating across every surface, there's one guide for floors, panels, doors and joinery.

Choosing a finish for a hotel?

Send the finish schedule. We'll recommend one coating and gloss level for every timber surface and send samples.

Send your brief