Wood is an excellent practical material used in construction. It has a beautiful appearance, environmentally friendly and very warm. However, the tree requires proper care, because untreated wood is very often covered with cracks and fungi, after which it rots rather quickly. Wood enamel is used as one of the most convenient and practical materials for protecting this building material.
The use of paint in construction and repair work is one of the most popular options for finishing work, including when finishing wooden surfaces. What is the great advantage of this material - you can apply it yourself, without resorting to the services of construction teams. To do this, you need to know what paint to choose when finishing a particular material, as well as understand how it is applied to the surface.
Composition and types of paints
The enamel for wood must include the following elements:
- Base - a substance that binds all the constituent elements of the paint, which forms a protective film on the surface aftercompletely dry.
- Pigment is the color component of any paint. How tightly wood enamel will cover the surface depends on its quantity and quality.
- Filler that will add shine and strength. Chalk, talc, mica, dolomite are commonly used as fillers.
- Various additives: hardeners, thickeners, wood protection elements against fungus, fire-resistant extinguishers.
When choosing high-quality wood enamel, be sure to consider the place of its application. If there is a need to apply paint on the facade parts of buildings, fences, etc., then it cannot be used for interior work, because it will not withstand the effects of external environmental factors. For interior decoration in rooms, the following paints can be used: alkyd, acrylic, water-dispersion, polyurethane and oil.
Alkyd
They include alkyd varnish, which is based on a dense resin solution, to which glycerin, vegetable oils and rosin are added. Various components are also added to improve the properties of the paint. The resulting composition is diluted with a solvent.
This paint dries for quite a long time (at least a couple of days), but it perfectly retains its color and protective qualities, and is quite durable. Alkyd enamel for wood can also be used for outdoor work. Among its main advantages, the following can be distinguished: it is durable, has water-repellent properties, is much cheaper than other types of paints, perfectly protects wood from fungus androtting, hard to mechanical stress. The best place to apply alkyd enamel is a wooden floor. The choice of such paints in hardware stores is huge, so before buying, you need to carefully study the recommendations for their use in order to choose the best option.
One of the best alkyd enamels is PF-115. It is weatherproof, wear-resistant, has a variety of matte and glossy colors, suitable for interior and exterior use. Among the minuses of PF-115, the duration of drying can be noted - about a day. In addition, this paint contains some harmful substances.
Acrylic
This type of wood enamel is advantageous in terms of low cost. This is the cheapest type of paint, despite the fact that their quality is not inferior to any other type. They are also very practical: they tolerate the effects of external environmental factors well, dry quickly, and have a shelf life of at least three years. When applied to a surface, acrylic creates a dense coating that can withstand mechanical stress.
These paints are quite waterproof, reliably protect the wood from rotting and destruction, can be tinted with pigment in almost any color that does not fade under the influence of sunlight. Modern technologies make it possible to constantly improve the quality of acrylic paint through the use of new polymers. If it is necessary to use acrylic water-dispersion paint, it is necessary to pay attention to the indicators of the level of its whiteness and hiding power. The higher the levelwhiteness declared by the manufacturer, the purer and better the pigment that is added to such paint.
According to the degree of whiteness, the paint can be super-white, white, milky. Coverage characterizes the number of coats of paint that must be applied to completely hide the treated surface. Accordingly, the lower this indicator, the lower the paint consumption in the work. If it is necessary to use paint to protect a wooden surface, it must be ensured that it is intended for working with wood.
Flaws
If you point out the shortcomings of such paint, then the following can be noted:
- When tinting with a dye, it is necessary to take into account the volume of paint immediately for the entire area of the treated surface, because when tinting the subsequent volume it will be very difficult to get the desired shade.
- Streaks of paint that form at the time of application must be removed immediately, otherwise you will have to use a special solvent.
- Do not leave the paint container open as it dries very quickly and may become unusable.
Water-dispersion
The basis for diluting such paint is water, respectively, water-dispersion paints are the most environmentally friendly and safe. Their basis is resin or oil.
The paint itself is produced in the form of a liquid paste, which is diluted with water immediately before use to the desired consistency. After applicationon the treated surface, water evaporates from the paint, the base hardens and acquires its protective properties.
Benefits
The advantages of water-based enamel for wood are as follows:
- safety (dries quickly, only water evaporates);
- fire safety;
- easy to operate;
- has a significant service life (10 years or more);
- water resistant;
- this enamel for wood is odorless (this plus is especially evident when covering large surfaces or working for a long time during the day).
The main disadvantage of this paint is the requirements for storage conditions. Without fail, water-dispersion paints must be stored at a temperature not lower than 0 ºС.
Polyurethane
They are based on a substance that provides such paints with a significant density and viscosity, an excellent protective basis for the treated wooden surface. The color spectrum of such paints is quite wide. The main positive qualities include: moisture resistance, the ability to withstand chemical and mechanical stress, significant temperature changes, non-toxicity and fire-fighting properties. Polyurethane paints must be diluted with solvent before application.
Oiled
These are paints that have a long life and are resistant to moisture. However, they have a strong odor and a long drying time.
Choosing colors for rooms
Before you paint the wooden base in the room, you need tomake sure that the applied paint will not have a further effect on the human body, and its composition will allow cleaning in rooms without marks on painted surfaces. When choosing a good enamel for wood, consider the following:
- Wooden floors, interior doors, corners and skirting boards are usually painted with environmentally friendly water-based paints.
- The walls of a house built of wooden beams are recommended to be painted with acrylic paints. It will hide all the roughness and unevenness of the material, and due to its properties it will keep the room dry and warm.
- A child's room is best painted with easy-to-remove acrylic paints. When choosing a manufacturer, you need to pay attention so that the enamel does not contain chemical elements that can affect the child's body. As a rule, such paints are marked with special symbols.
- Acrylic paints are the best choice for painting kitchens and bathrooms, because they most reliably protect the surface from the appearance of fungi and rot. For the kitchen, it is advisable to choose a paint that will allow you to wash off grease and dirt.
- When painting the walls in the corridor, acrylic-latex paints that are resistant to mechanical and chemical influences are usually used.
- If there are outbuildings in the house, they are usually painted with inexpensive acrylic paints.
Also, do not forget that before applying paint, the tree must be treated with antiseptic agents that will protect the materialfrom pests and fungi from the inside.
Which manufacturers to choose?
Wood enamels for outdoor and indoor use, which are presented in hardware stores, are produced by a sufficiently large number of both domestic and foreign manufacturers. All these enamels are quite good, but the most serious manufacturers that have proven themselves from the best side are German and Finnish companies.
- The Finnish company Tikkurila is the most popular. It is one of the best paint manufacturers in the world with over 100 years of experience. Produces both facade paint and interior paint. Enamel for wood "Tikkurila" is distinguished by color and wear resistance, perfectly withstands wet cleaning with the use of detergents.
- Zobe is a German manufacturer of paints for interior woodworking. The company manufactures high-quality products that can withstand both sudden changes in temperature and exposure to sunlight.
- Remmers GmbH is a leading German manufacturer of water-based paints with high mechanical and weather resistance. It is characterized by high drying speed.
- Among domestic manufacturers, we can note the company LZ "Rainbow". The most famous is FORWOOD paint with a service life of 5-6 years, odorless, contains antiseptic additives. The drying time of quick-drying enamel is up to 1 hour.
- The Optimist company is a major manufacturer of inexpensive acrylic paints for paintingtree. Its main feature is low consumption and high quality of base cover.
- Drevoplast is another manufacturer of enamel for interior finishing of wooden surfaces. At its core, it contains special elements, alkyds, which provide excellent application and surface protection from environmental factors. Once applied, forms a surface resembling liquid plastic.
Applying technology
Technology for applying paint is standard: you can use brushes, roller, spray. Painting is carried out strictly along the fibers of the tree. It is worth considering that each subsequent layer of paint is applied only after the previous one has completely dried. Spray enamels for wood are also popular. Shake the can well before use and then slowly apply an even layer.
Conclusion
In general, we can say that any of the above paints is perfect for processing walls, floors, ceilings. Also, when applying paint, it should be borne in mind that too bright tones in large quantities can have a bad effect on the visual perception of the room. At the same time, you can try to mix brighter tones of paints with dark ones, if, of course, the paints are homogeneous in composition, and achieve bold and unexpected results. It should be borne in mind that it is better to always paint rooms with insufficient illumination in bright and light colors.
If the issue of repairing a house, apartment or recreation area is on the agenda, then you can safely use paintfor finishing, because modern technologies allow the production of environmentally friendly paints that dry almost instantly, have no smell and are easy to use.
