That's how it seems to me, although I do not undestand why it shouuld be so (engineered floor has the same wood for the top layer and they both should/could be finished the same way). Do you have any insight into this?
Depends on the finish. Prefinished hardwood holds up as well as engineered, which both hold up better than sanding and finishing in your home. In the home, polyurethane is used. At the factory, many use an aluminum oxide base. This is what sandpaper is made from, which removes the polyurethane. Hope this helps.
All engineered floors are not made with the same materials. If the top surface is wood then it would be no different than regular wood floors for scratch resistance. There are many engineered floors that have a hard surface where you could literally drag a heavy piece of furniture across it with ease and have no scratches. You can even rub the edge of a quarter on the surface and the grooves of the quarter would wear off and not damage the floor. These types of floors have a surface like formica which is what older kitchen tops were made of. But new technology has allowed these surfaces to look like wood. You just have to go to a store to see the differences in all of the different types of floors available.
