Most prefinished oak floors leave the factory under one of two finish systems. Clear UV protects the oak with a clear topcoat and adds no stain. Color UV puts a color stain beneath the same kind of UV topcoat. On a specification sheet the difference is one word. On the floor it is larger: one shows the oak as it is, the other sets a tone over it. This article compares the two, explains what each one shows and softens, and sets out how to specify and approve the choice.
Where the two systems sit
Our Specify page offers four finish routes. Clear UV and Color UV are the two plain prefinished routes.
| Finish system | What it is | What sets the color |
|---|---|---|
| Unfinished | Sanded and supplied ready for site-applied finishing | The finisher, on site |
| Clear UV | Natural oak protected with a clear UV topcoat, no added stain | The oak itself |
| Color UV | Color stain beneath a protective UV topcoat | The stain, chosen or matched |
| Color and Effect UV | Color stain combined with an effect such as smoke, wash or a two-tone reaction | The stain and the effect |
Both run on our UV finishing line, with the topcoat applied at a controlled film weight and UV-cured in line. The difference is the stain. With Clear UV there is none, so the color you see is the oak’s own. Our article on UV-cured finishes applied in line describes the line itself.
What Clear UV shows
Clear UV is the lightest, most direct expression of French White Oak. It hides very little, which is its purpose and the thing to plan for.
- The oak’s own tone. The floor reads as the wood reads: its natural color, with the warmth or coolness of the particular timber.
- Board-to-board variation. Nothing evens out the difference between one board and the next. Before production, face-layer oak is sorted by grain and color, and under a clear finish that sorting shows directly on the floor.
- Grade, at full strength. Knots, color movement and filled features read exactly as graded.
- Grain figure. Rift and quarter lines, plain sawn arches and ray fleck all show clearly.
- Change over time. Like any wood, oak changes color with exposure to light, and a clear finish leaves that visible.
What Color UV changes
Color UV adds a stain before the topcoat. The stain sets the tone, and the topcoat sets the sheen and protects the color. The tone can come from our library of 211 colors in 7 collections, or be developed against your own physical board, fan deck reference or photograph.
A stain does more than shift the color:
- It softens contrast between boards. A stain narrows the visible difference between lighter and darker boards. The deeper the color, the stronger that effect.
- It works with the grain. Open grain tends to take more color than the dense wood around it, so the grain can read more strongly under a stain than under a clear coat.
- It can react to features. Filled knots and other natural features can take stain differently from the surrounding wood. Check them on the sample, especially in Natural and Rustic grades.
Even a pale stain can give a “natural” floor that is calmer, lighter or cooler than raw oak, which Clear UV cannot do.
Side by side
| Point | Clear UV | Color UV |
|---|---|---|
| Source of color | The oak itself | Stain from the library or matched to a reference |
| Board-to-board variation | Fully visible | Softened, more so as the color deepens |
| Effect of grade | Strongest | Still visible, with less contrast |
| Grain | Reads as the wood’s natural figure | Can read stronger where stain settles in the grain |
| Texture | Shows as relief and shadow | Shows as relief plus color held in the grain |
| Sheen options | Matte, Extra Matte, Ultra Matte | Matte, Extra Matte, Ultra Matte |
| Production reference | Approved master panel | Approved master panel |
Grade under each system
Grade is judged on raw wood but seen through the finish. Under Clear UV, Premium or Select gives a calm, quiet floor, and Rustic gives the most character the oak can show. Under Color UV, particularly in mid and darker tones, Natural or Rustic reads calmer than under a clear coat. Our guide to oak flooring grades explains each grade.
Texture and sheen
Both systems are available across the five textures, from Smooth to Wire Brushed with Cross Marks. Texture is worked into the wood before finishing, and it behaves differently under each system.
- Under Clear UV, brushing adds touch and shadow. The color difference you see comes from light and relief, not from color settling in the grain.
- Under Color UV, brushing opens the grain and the stain settles into it, so deeper brushing usually means more contrast between grain and surface.
Sheen also changes how each system reads. A lower sheen scatters more light and makes the surface look closer to raw wood. Clear UV at Ultra Matte is the combination that comes closest to unfinished oak while still being factory finished. With Color UV, a higher sheen makes the same stain read slightly richer and darker, so color and sheen should be approved together.
Consistency across the lot and on reorders
For both systems, the approved physical sample becomes the master reference. Color inspection checks boards against the master panel, surface inspection checks texture and sheen across the lot, and repeat orders are checked against the same master.
What holds the color steady differs. With Clear UV, the color comes from the timber, so consistency rests mainly on grade and on how the face oak is sorted. With Color UV, the stain adds a controlled tone that narrows the visible difference between boards and between deliveries, often the deciding point for a multi-phase project or a private-label color.
Which one fits the project
| The project wants | Usually fits |
|---|---|
| Oak that looks like oak, with nothing added | Clear UV |
| Rift and quarter grain or a Premium face shown at its clearest | Clear UV |
| A defined tone from a design scheme or a library code | Color UV |
| A calm floor in Natural or Rustic grade | Color UV |
| A private-label color held across reorders | Color UV |
| More depth and tonal variation than a flat stain | Color and Effect UV |
| A finish applied on site | Unfinished |
For smoked, washed and two-tone looks, see Color and Effect UV finishes.
How to write it into the specification
Name the finish system as its own line, separate from color, sheen and texture. For example:
- “Finish system: Clear UV. Sheen: Ultra Matte. Texture: Light Wire Brushed. Grade: Select.”
- “Finish system: Color UV. Color: library code, or our physical reference. Sheen: Extra Matte. Texture: Medium Wire Brushed. Grade: Natural.”
If you choose a library color, ask for the finish system to be stated in the quotation. “Natural finish” alone leaves open whether the buyer means Clear UV or a pale Color UV.
Approving on a sample
- Ask for samples made with the intended production finish, in the grade, texture and sheen you will order.
- If you are undecided, compare both systems on the same grade and texture, side by side.
- Review several boards, not one. Under Clear UV in particular, the range between boards is the floor.
- Look at them in the project’s light, from a low angle as well as from above.
- Write the finish system on the approval, together with color, sheen, texture and grade.
The reasons for each step are covered in why color is approved on a physical sample.
Working with Vu Uy Wood
Vu Uy Wood manufactures solid and engineered French White Oak flooring to buyer specification in Song Than 3 Industrial Park, Ho Chi Minh City, and has done so since 2006. Clear UV and Color UV are both applied and cured on our own UV finishing line, and the approved sample becomes the master reference for the production lot and for repeat orders. You can shortlist tones in the color library, then set the finish system, sheen and texture on the Specify page. We normally reply within one working day.