Scraped Finish vs. Matte Flooring

Hand Scraping

• Hand-scraped flooring planks have been given a worn look by craftspeople who use hand tools to distress the wood. Different techniques are used to produce textures that range from subtle highlighting of the wood grain to dramatic alteration of the plank's surface. The more aggressive finishes are created with tools such as planers, scrapers and chisels that cut and gouge the wood, while steel brushes are used to create a more understated rough surface. The highest quality -- and most expensive -- hand-scraped products are made by craftspeople with extensive experience who carefully finish each plank.

Machine Distressing

• Less expensive scraped flooring is sometimes produced by manufacturers who use unskilled finishers, but most inexpensive distressed flooring is actually manufactured using machines that give the planks an aged look. This type of flooring features a distressed finish that is cut or pressed into the surface of the wood during the milling process. The process is much less labor intensive than hand scraping, so machine-distressed flooring is cheaper than hand-scraped planks, but the machine-applied texture is not as varied and individual as that on hand-crafted planks.

Matte Finishes

• Finishes applied to wood floors after installation are intended to protect the wood, either by penetrating into its pores to protect it from moisture and wear or by creating a hard barrier on the surface of the wood to protect against water, scratches and dents. Finishing products create a surface that has varying degrees of reflectivity depending on the chemical composition of the finish. Gloss finishes typically reflect up to 85 percent of the light that strikes them, while matte finishes may reflect as little as 15 percent. Because they closely mimic the natural look of an aged wood floor and don't mask the details of the flooring's texture, matte finishes are especially appropriate for use on scraped flooring.

Advantages of Matte Finishes

• Not only does a matte finish look much like the natural finish of aged wood, it is also more forgiving of dirt, dust and footprints, which show up much more markedly on a shiny floor. Glossy finishes also require more careful sanding during the application process, and they will show wear from use more quickly than matte finishes will.