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Pre-colouring: what’s on the market?
PRE-COLOURING DOES NOT PROTECT CHEMICAL PROCESSES AND PAINT PRODUCTS
Photo – Pallmann
The term ‘pre-colouring’ clearly explains itself. It means applying a colour prior to the actual treatment of the wood. That treatment comes in the shape of oil, lacquer, or a wax finish which should protect the wood from wear and tear and external influences. In the previous edition we made it clear that colour oil is the major exception. Colour oil colours and protects. And so, in this article we consider stains and some chemical operations which change the colour of the wood. What is noticeable is that, apart from traditional wood shades, a whole range of contemporary and often youthful colours are ‘seeing the light of day’.
Wood sorts and colour You certainly need a good dose of expertise to recognise wood sorts. In the days when only pine, beech, and oak were available, the job was fairly easy, but that’s not so today. Worldwide there are associations
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whose core business is to identify wood sorts. Colour obviously plays a part in that.
Organisations The International Association of Wood Anatomists (IAWA) was set up soon after 1930. This is an association of people working on wood anatomy (in the broadest sense of the term) to foster wood knowledge at micro level. Four times a year, this scientific association issues its IAWA Journal with articles of discussions on wood anatomy themes. A database called Inside Wood has also been set up under the auspices of this association. This database can be used to determine the identity of a wood by means of micro-features. This does require a lot of preliminary knowledge. There is also the Dutch Association of Wood Collectors (NEHOSOC, formed in 1947). This association promotes the collection of wood samples and organises study days with talks and practical exercises on wood anatomy. The Association journal is
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