Special
Combined lacquer and oil finishes: how do we do this and who has these products?
SANDING IS ESSENTIAL OIL GIVES THE WOOD A NICE DEEP NATURAL SHADE
Photo – Ciranova
Can you apply a lacquer finish to an oil-based product? The answer to this question is quite simple: Yes, you can. We should add here that you do need to take care and pay particular attention to the preliminary sanding. Therefore, this is more or less a job for the real expert. You might already have guessed that sanding is essential for a perfect end result with such an application. The fact is that sanding is particularly important if you opt for a coloured version of an oil-based primer. It is advisable to start with some rough sanding with a belt sander and an edge sander. You do this to remove old finish coats, unevenness, and damage. Let’s explain more closely why you can’t treat an oiled floor with a lacquer without the necessary preparation. Consider on the one hand
the properties of oil and the properties of lacquer on the other. Oil, as the name implies, has an oil base, whilst lacquer usually possesses a water base. As all wood specialists know, it’s not so easy to combine a greasy base with a waterborne lacquer, simply because oil and water repel each other. And so, never apply a lacquer directly to an oiled wooden floor and remember the sanding tip given above. The same also applies to hard wax oil. Indeed, hard wax oil has a seal layer of wax onto which the waterborne lacquer cannot ‘grip’.
Sanding Generally speaking, wooden floors are then sanded up to and including grain P 100. After sanding the floor and removing all the dust, you then apply the oil-based primer with a buffing machine fitted with a pad. This makes it easy to apply the primer very rigidly and without streaks. This is a great advantage, certainly for coloured versions.
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Floor Forum International 119
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