Like I said, if they did the janka test with a finish then it would skew the numbers, higher I'm sure.

My better half likes the Lauzon Red Birch - a lot - so I guess we will have to prepare for the dents. Hey - we can always refinish when the kids move out - that would be in year 2050 - if we ever get them out of the house!

As for the hardness debate - if the finish just sits on the surface, it is way too thin to be strong enough to distribute a point load. I do not know how thick the finish is on pre-finished flooring, but I am guessing maybe .002" - .003" tops.

Picture a lady with high heels stepping on a marshmallow coated with tinfoil. The aluminum is way harder than underlying marshmallow, but it can't distribute the force of a point load because it is structurally not strong enough due to its thinness. Hope I'm not losing you with my Engineering talk! You may get a marginal increase in dent resistance, but not much. Maybe not the best analogy - but if the finish just sits on the surface, this is how I would see it.

On the other side, however, if the finish actually soaks into the cellular structure of the wood and somehow stiffens the structure by filling the voids and hardening when it cures, then I could see Ernesto's point that the finish makes the wood much stronger and improves dent resistance.

My educated guess is that the finish sits on the surface.

My opinion - worth the price charged.

Point well taken Don!

Don and Ernesto,
Unless we are talking about forced impregnation, the premise is a false one.

Let us remember the solids content of the finish. It is usually less than 20 %

Wood fiber gets saturated with the delivery agent leaving a paultry amount of solids behind after evaporation of said agent.

CHU

p.s. Acrylic impregnation will make oak seem as hard as glass. That, however, is not germane to this particular discussion.