For hundreds of years, their original beauty has been kept and admired by the highly artistic parquet floors of the Kremlin and Moscow noble estates, palaces of St. Petersburg and Versailles – unique creations of talented architects and serf masters. Times and epochs change people’s tastes, but humanity has not created a more refined and noble floor than wooden, be it a laconic deck board or an exquisite parquet ornament. And if the pride of the Hermitage is the parquet of the St. George Hall was created from 16 rare species of wood, then modern architects and designers use more than 60 species in the interiors. Choosing this unsurpassed material, you need to know exactly what to cover the wooden floor, so that it is durable and for many years retained its natural beauty.
Content
- Functions of protective coatings
- Varnishes for wooden floors
- Oil: beautiful and durable
- Wax for floor protection, wood oil treatment
Functions of protective coatings
The wood in the interior creates a special comfortable microclimate in the house, it exudes a delicate aroma, its texture is pleasant to the touch, relieves stress and a person surrounded by a tree dissolves in his natural environment.
In the traditions of all peoples, wood remains the most popular material for the floor, due to its best characteristics:
- High strength and reliability;
- Excellent thermal insulation;
- Accessibility – renewable natural material;
- Antistatic;
- Antiallergenicity;
- The ability to quickly replace damaged floor areas.
The main advantage of wood – its natural origin gives rise to its main disadvantages:
- Low noise isolation
- High hygroscopicity;
- Soft structure, prone to abrasion, dents and scratches during operation;
- Change in shape and linear dimensions with temperature and humidity differences;
- Combustibility;
- Subject to decay;
- Struck by insects and rodents.
Coatings protect the wooden floor from the damaging effects of the environment, increase wear resistance, maintain the natural texture and color of wood
All wooden floors, regardless of what kind of wood they are made of, are to one degree or another endowed with the listed disadvantages and need constant additional protection. To protect the wooden floor from the damaging effects of the environment, increase durability, support the natural texture and color, three types of special coatings are used, based on natural and synthetic substances:
- Lucky
- Oils;
- Waxes.
The protective decorative coating, correctly selected for the type of wood and the operating conditions of the floor, increases its wear resistance, can “ignite” wood species that are dull in color but beautiful in texture. With the help of paint and varnish coating it is even possible to “turn” familiar and inexpensive wood species into an exotic dark chocolate “wenge” or into frankly purple “amaranth”.
Varnishes for wooden floors
Modern varnish for a wooden floor protects wood well from mold and insect fungi, gives it shine, enhances the effect and brightness of its natural texture. By chemical composition, varnish is a solution of solid natural resins or synthetic polymers in solvents. As solvents, liquid resins, vegetable and essential oils, ethyl or methyl alcohols, water are used. Depending on the solvent, varnishes are:
- Turpentine;
- Oil;
- Alcohol;
- Water.
The solid base of the varnish can be natural resins, as well as synthetic polymers polyurethane, polyurethane-acrylate copolymers, urethaneised artificial resins.
Varnishes based on polyurethane and organic solvents enhance the natural color of wood, its hue becomes deeper and more saturated, and eventually darkens and becomes a yellowish tint, which is not always desirable. The coating of this type of varnish immediately after drying fully gains maximum strength and is ready for use.
The modern varnish for the wooden floor protects the wood well from mold and insect fungi, gives it shine, enhances the effect and brightness of its natural texture
Water-dispersion varnishes based on modified polyurethane dispersions, in contrast, maintain the natural color and structure of the wood without changing it over time. The water-dispersion varnish coating gains maximum strength for a long time and it is possible to wash such a floor only ten days after applying varnish.
Important: The strength of the coating based on water-soluble varnishes is not only not inferior to the strength of organic varnish coatings, but often surpasses them in hardness.
When applied to carefully cleaned and prepared wood, varnishes form a strong protective decorative film on its surface, penetrating deeper into the material to a depth of not more than 2 mm and not changing its structure. If desired, the varnish coating of the floor can be completely removed from the surface by cycling and any other composition can be applied to it..
Varnishes are not used as a coating for a wooden floor in the following cases:
- The wood is treated with drying oil or other oil-containing compounds;
- In rooms with high humidity or in contact with water;
- On open spaces: porch, verandas, terraces, arbors.
Oil: beautiful and durable
Oil coatings as a reliable protective agent for a wooden floor have long been widely used by architects and parquet masters, and the luxurious parquet floors of palaces of the 18th-19th centuries that have survived to this day are the best confirmation of their effectiveness.
Modern oil products for coating a wooden floor contain natural soybean, sunflower or linseed oils, synthetic polyurethane polymers, and sometimes hard waxes – a set of substances that perfectly preserve wood and significantly increase its wear resistance. Oil-treated wood becomes resistant to changes in environmental humidity, it does not dry out and does not swell, but it can no longer be varnished.
The oil-treated floor becomes wear-resistant, durable and at the same time looks natural
Using oil coatings, you can preserve the natural color of wood or change it in a wide range from whitish and yellowish-reddish tones to deep brown and even black.
In contrast to varnishes, oils deeply penetrate the wood, passing through the pores and creating only a very thin protective film on its surface. As a result, the floor treated with the oil composition becomes wear-resistant, durable and at the same time looks natural. If pure natural oil is used as a protective coating on the floor, then a wax layer is applied to fix the effect..
Modern oil compositions for wooden floors containing polyurethane and wax, initially have all the necessary hardening characteristics. In addition, they can create a glossy, matte or silky matte surface..
Important: the degree of penetration of the oil composition deep into the wood depends on the concentration of the oil fraction in the solvent. The lower the oil concentration, the deeper the layer of wood it impregnates and vice versa.
Oils can not be used to cover a wooden floor in the following cases:
- In conditions of frequent changes in temperature and humidity;
- As a finish coating in heating systems “warm floor”.
Floor Wax
A wax composition for protecting a wooden floor is a mixture of beeswax, linseed oil and a small amount of other additives in different proportions, depending on the manufacturer’s formulation.
Waxed floors are moisture resistant but not protected against abrasion and mechanical damage.
Waxed floors are distinguished by a noble silky-matte shimmer, a pronounced wood texture and a light golden hue. They are moisture resistant, but not protected from abrasion and mechanical damage, they require constant professional expensive maintenance. Waxes are rarely used as protective coatings on wooden floors..
Wooden floors are perfectly combined with all interior styles, filling it with special charm and comfort. If you choose the right coating agent and apply it without breaking technology, then the wooden floor will delight you with its exquisite beauty for a long time.
