Durability is one of the first things buyers ask about, and two things decide it: the wear layer that protects the surface, and the AC rating that classifies how much traffic a floor can take. Here's what they mean, and how MILAT SPC is built. Every MILAT floor is rated up to AC5.
What is the wear layer?
The wear layer is a clear protective layer above the printed design. It shields the decorative layer from abrasion, scuffs and daily foot traffic. On a MILAT floor, the wear layer sits beneath a 2X UV coating that filters UV light and keeps the design from fading — together they protect the look of the floor over time.
What does the AC rating mean?
The AC (Abrasion Class) rating grades a floor's resistance to wear on a scale from AC1 to AC5. Higher numbers mean more durability and heavier permitted traffic:
| AC class | Typical use |
|---|---|
| AC1 | Light residential (bedrooms) |
| AC2 | General residential |
| AC3 | Heavy residential / light commercial |
| AC4 | General commercial |
| AC5 | Heavy commercial traffic |
Why AC5 matters
AC5 is the highest common wear class, rated for heavy commercial traffic — which means it comfortably handles the busiest homes as well. MILAT rates its floors up to AC5, so the same durability that suits a retail floor or hospitality lobby also protects a busy family home.
Wear rating is only part of the story
A high AC rating works best alongside the rest of the construction. MILAT SPC pairs its wear layer and 2X UV coating with a 100% waterproof rigid core, an Embossed In Register surface and an IXPE acoustic layer — so the floor is durable, waterproof, realistic and quiet.
Matching the rating to the space
The rating question is really a traffic question. A guest bedroom sees soft slippers a few times a day; a shop entrance sees grit-loaded shoes from open to close. Between those extremes sit kitchens, hallways, offices and rental units, each with its own honest requirement. Overspecifying costs little and buys margin for surprises, like a home that later gets a dog or a spare room that becomes an office. Underspecifying is the mistake you only discover after the furniture is in. When two rooms share one continuous floor, specify the whole run for the busier of the two.
| Space | Sensible target |
|---|---|
| Bedrooms, low-traffic residential | Mid-range residential rating |
| Kitchens, hallways, family homes | Upper residential or light commercial |
| Rentals, offices, retail | Commercial rating |
| Heavy commercial, busy entrances | AC5 class |
Mil, millimetre and the thickness trap
Wear layers are quoted in mils in some markets and millimetres in others, and the two get confused constantly. A mil is a thousandth of an inch, not a millimetre, so a 20 mil wear layer is roughly half a millimetre. When comparing offers, convert everything to one unit before judging anything. Also watch for total plank thickness being used as a stand-in for durability: a thick plank with a thin wear layer is still a thin wear layer walking distance from failure in a busy corridor.
The coating above the wear layer
The transparent wear layer takes the abrasion, but the UV-cured coating on top of it decides how the floor looks while it wears. A good coating resists micro-scratching, keeps sheen even, shrugs off stains and blocks the dulling effect of sunlight. This is why two floors with identical wear layer thicknesses can look years apart after the same traffic. MILAT applies a 2X UV coating over the wear layer precisely because the coating is the first defence and the last thing your eye forgives.
Habits that stretch a wear layer's life
Most wear is not walking; it is grit being ground underfoot. Remove the grit and the wear layer can outlast the room's decor. The habits are boring and effective.
- Entrance mats at every external door, washed regularly
- Felt pads under chair and table legs, checked twice a year
- Dry sweep or vacuum before any wet cleaning, so grit is not dragged around
- Neutral cleaner only; harsh chemicals attack the coating, not the dirt
- Hard castor chairs on a mat, or swapped for soft castors
How buyers verify the claim
A rating on a datasheet is a claim until a document backs it. Serious suppliers can show test reports from recognised laboratories tying the abrasion class to the actual product, and their CE Declarations of Performance name the specification being sold. Ask for the report, check the product name on it matches your quotation, and be wary of a supplier who offers every rating at every thickness from the same brochure. Real production has a defined range; MILAT publishes wear ratings up to AC5 because that is what the line is built and tested to deliver.
One further check costs nothing: put the physical sample under a coin scratch and a shoe scuff, then wipe it. Marketing cannot fake how a surface behaves in your own hand, and five minutes with a sample tells you whether the datasheet and the plank are describing the same product.
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