Why do experienced specialists coat wood with oil instead of varnish?

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Experienced experts recommend using oil instead of varnish to coat wood products. In what cases is it worth listening to them and how to apply oil to wood? Read more in this article.

Oil variants

In modern realities, natural, but more often artificial, oily substances are used to produce materials with excellent quality indicators. According to their characteristics, there are several types of oils that are considered one of the best:

Soy;
Sunflower;
Talova;
Linen.

It doesn’t matter which type of the above oils you prefer. They all provide excellent wear resistance and hardness to the wood when applied.

How to treat a wooden staircase

Regardless of what type of wood is chosen, the protection of the internal wooden stairs can be ensured in two ways, using oil or varnish. Before choosing one of the methods, it is worth familiarizing yourself with their characteristics, since each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages, as well as properties that give the surface of the stairs not always the expected effect.

In order for the staircase to be admired for many years and to be the calling card of any home, especially if it is in a presentable part, the wood must be properly protected.

In what cases should the oil be used?

Not every tree should be treated with oil, but there are a number of cases where oil simply cannot be avoided:

Wood from exotic wood species necessarily needs to be coated.
Provided that wood processing is carried out in rooms with constant changes in temperature and humidity.
When the heating is at a parquet angle, it needs to be treated. This is due to the fact that parquet itself is made from a capricious type of wood. It is extremely sensitive to changes in indoor air humidity.
Wood treated with oil does not absorb moisture and, as a result, does not rot. Therefore, it is necessary to process material that will later be used in open areas: gazebos, verandas, canopies. When treated with oil, such wood will last for many years, which cannot be said about varnish. It should be applied annually.
You can also treat tiles that are exposed to constant contact with water: in bathhouses, swimming pools, bathrooms.
To give a darker shade. When oil is applied to the surface of wood, it darkens one tone. Depending on the number of layers applied to the surface, the tone of the wood changes. So, to get a shade one shade darker, you just need to apply the oil to the surface once. When applying 2-3 layers, the shade turns out darker.

Service life of wooden structures treated with impregnations and other means

The first question that worries everyone even at the stage of purchasing the first set of wood products is how long it will last.

It is practically impossible to answer this question unambiguously and accurately: service life always depends on strict adherence to the instructions. In addition, it is difficult to predict the operating conditions of your specific wooden structure.

Here it is necessary to explain where real, and not unfounded, guarantees of the durability of paint and varnish products come from. To be able to officially declare a certain period, the manufacturer must order an expensive and long-term study from an independent laboratory.

Laboratories are physically unable to reproduce the effects on treated wood of real atmospheric conditions, time and mechanical influences, so products are tested in so-called artificial aging chambers, where impacts are created even more severe on the product than would be the case under real conditions. Based on the research results, the manufacturer is issued a test certificate. For example, a test report issued by an independent laboratory confirms the durability of the Belinka Base + Toplasur complex for 10 years, but it is likely that such a coating will last even longer in real conditions.

However, durability research takes a long time. So you shouldn’t trust a brand that appeared on the market a year ago and claims a “25-year guarantee.”

How to care

It is easy to care for the treated surface. To do this, just mix the chemically active substance and water in certain proportions. Apply to a cloth, squeeze it thoroughly and wipe the treated surface. Once it dries, you will be surprised at the renewed surface.

AlinaAuthor of the article

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Comments (19)

Igor August 28, 2022 at 06:17 pm
Yes, the comments are “super”. Okay girls and women, but men. Or are there only boys here who did not serve in the SA. Any barracks always had wooden floors, and these floors were rubbed with mastic once a week, since they were soaked in oil. As for the varnish, it needs to be applied in at least 3 layers, which, by the way, are very difficult to remove later. Hence the conclusion - for floors and parquet, the best remedy is oil.
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Anatoly 25 Aug 2022 at 15:45
Drying oil is the best.
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Alex August 22, 2022 at 0:22 am
nonsense especially about tiles
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Summer resident August 18, 2022 at 03:27 pm
There is nothing better than working out! Unless of course we are talking about construction.
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Mitrofan 08 Aug 2022 at 23:01
Surely it could have been done simply without insulting the author!!!
many smart but young people know that lavender oil of rose petals and many different types and with different scents has been and will probably be used by people for steam rooms and by people who respect themselves!!! and craftsmen are paid decent rewards for processing lining, blockhouse, row house, and any wood in steam rooms! oils\except essential ones, of course\have the property of emitting a pleasant smell that lasts for years, so the author quite adequately and thoroughly outlined the noticed property of natural oils\incense\whose oils emphasize the texture of wood and this is a fact.
The grammatical errors in the text are not so noticeable with the rudeness and complete nonsense of the commentators, but they offer you the opportunity to smear them with lard and not with lard, what does lock boots and wood have to do with it??? Alifa is generally the last century and who is Alifa’s husband forms the film GORTOPOV’S WOODPECKERS!!!! respect to the author
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Igor 02 Aug 2022 at 16:14
Following your advice, I soaked the cutting board in linseed oil, it dried in about two hours, it looks good, and a beautiful wood grain appears. I use the remaining oil in cooking. Great.
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Proclus July 27, 2022 at 10:25 am
It's just funny to read the comments. For most people, oil is something that doesn't dry out. Look for Borma or Osmo oil. You can choose by color, shine, hardness. After finishing with oil, the wood turns out to be alive. Everything that is written in the article is complete crap.
Read also: How to properly sand the interior walls of a timber house
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Evshenii July 18, 2022 at 10:17 pm
Why does the author of the article not know the Russian language and shoves commas into all the holes as he sees fit?
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Nina July 17, 2022 at 10:03 pm
When it rains, oil and water, especially on the tiles, form such an emulsion that, dear mother, the skating rink is resting.
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Natalya July 15, 2022 at 2:25 pm
If there are gross errors in the text, I think that such a text can not be read and the author cannot be trusted.
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junior July 13, 2022 at 01:07 pm
Marasmus. The boards will dry out in years. if they dry out at all. Our grandfathers smeared oil on the pillars at the junction between earth and air.
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Tatyana July 13, 2022 at 12:20
I've never heard more crap. unless you just smear the wires with butter so that the radio waves stick well to the receiver! Especially for ALINA_THERE IS Drying Oil for such purposes. study chemistry.
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Nikolay July 14, 2022 at 6:08 pm
Tatyana, Flaxseed oil is used in artistic paints. Have you ever seen paint on paintings smeared somewhere at exhibitions? So don't write crap if you don't know the question. You can lubricate your tarpaulin boots with butter - they won’t dry out, but they will become rotten.
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Stanislav July 12, 2022 at 11:46 am
Is it possible to process boards with oil?
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Anatoly July 18, 2022 at 03:38 pm
Nothing can be processed in the steam room.
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Anatoly July 18, 2022 at 03:40 pm
except the back side of the floor
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Read also: Wood species: appearance, properties and scope of application (75 photos). Which are they divided into and which are classified as dark breeds?

Flaws

The main disadvantage is considered to be constant care. About three to four times a year you will have to saturate the surface with oil. Without constant treatment, the condition of wooden surfaces can greatly deteriorate. But after the next treatment, all visible scratches and other flaws will disappear.

To coat the surface with oil, the wood must be sanded thoroughly. Only after this can you begin surface treatment. Upon completion of the work, you will have to be patient, because the oil takes a very long time to dry.

Wooden floors coated with oil have almost no shine

Wood varnishes for exterior/interior use - types, differences and scope of application

The main function of wood oil and varnish

...there will be protection from external influences. The main difference will be that the paint and varnish material forms a film on the surface of the wood, and the film will determine the visual effect of the paint and varnish composition, and it can be glossy, matte, semi-matte and semi-gloss. It turns out that the protection of products made of wood with a varnish composition is carried out only on the outside. However, the protective film obtained through the use of varnish will visually convey traces of abrasion and damage.

The varnish may contain many synthetic components:

Ethanol, benzene.
Chlorinated paraffin.
Phtholates and phosphates of various alcohols.
Alkyd and epoxy resins.
Drying oil, which is obtained from different types of oils.

Alkyd wood varnish is one of the most popular varnishes used for wood treatment. It is based on alkyd resins, fatty acids and vegetable oils. By the way, alkyds prevent gluing. The varnish is perfectly capable of withstanding temperature changes and heating up to +250 degrees, and can also be used for heated wooden or parquet floors. The most common name for this composition is yacht varnish for exterior woodwork.

Polymerization period after application

It will range from 12 to 24 hours or more. By the way, the varnish itself has a pungent odor and is quite toxic. When used indoors, use special respiratory and eye protection. Alkyd resin solvents, when evaporated, can act as a strong irritant to the mucous membranes of the mouth, eyes and nose, and can cause chemical burns. To avoid “wrinkling” of the varnish film after it has dried 100%, it is recommended to adhere to a consumption rate of no more than 0.12 kg per 1 m2.