Wood is a wonderful, versatile building material that has been used for thousands of years to construct everything from walls and floors of the family home to the furniture and cabinetry that fill it. In order to keep wood functioning at its best and most beautiful, it needs to be protected from abrasion, chemicals, moisture, UV radiation, weathering, and attack from microbes such as fungi and mould. This is the job of a wood coating. With such a wide range of substrates (hardwood, softwood, MDF, aged wood, or green wood) and applications (exterior, interior, furniture, building, residential, industrial) it is no surprise that wood coating is a billion won industry with a glut of players and products.
WOOD COATING TYPES:
• Varnish - A varnish is a transparent protective finish that dries hard and usually glossy (though they can be matte or semi-gloss). The basic components of varnish are a drying oil, resins, and a solvent, and the resin can be acrylic, oil, polyurethane, epoxy, and others.
• Lacquer - Lacquer is a form of finish in which the resin is dissolved in a solvent (unlike shellac which uses alcohol). It is harder than shellac, and is used to give a clear or colored shiny, glossy finish for furniture.
• Stain - Consists of dyes or pigments dissolved in a vehicle with a small amount of binder. When applied it soaks into the wood substrate and, depending on whether it is transparent or opaque, accentuates the wood grain or flatten out the wood with a colour.
Wood coatings for more than regular beauty and protection:
Wood coatings are not just about protecting the substrate while letting the beauty of the wood shine through. With technologies improving all the time, it is possible to powder coat wood substrates now, as well as protecting them from fire or making a deck anti slip. Below is more information on these specialty wood coatings.
• Powder coating wood –
Powder coating is the process of using electrostatic charge to cause a dry powder to adhere to a substrate and then baking and curing the powder in an oven. The resulting coating is immensely durable and attractive, as well as being environmentally friendly due to the lack of solvent. Powder coating wood is now gaining widespread popularity, particularly for coating furniture.
• Intumescent/fire retardant paint for wood –
Fire is one of the greatest dangers for wood. There are two coatings that act as passive fire protection measures for wooden substrates: intumescent and fire retardant coatings. Intumescent coatings swell up in the presence of extreme heat, forming a protective layer of char between the wood and the fire. Fire retardant paints work by releasing flame-damping gases to prevent ignition.
• Anti-skid paint for wood –
Wood surfaces can be very slippery when wet, whether decking, stairs, ramps, or walkways. Anti-skid paint works through the inclusion of a non-slip aggregate or by creating a rough surface that provides more grip in wet or dry conditions.