Comfort Zone for Wood Finishes

Comfort Zone for Wood Finishes     

 Just as humans don’t like to be cold, so it is with wood coating materials.  The Technical Data Sheets for most finish products recommend application temperatures in the order of 18 to 20C.  Chemists tell us that “below 14C, nothing much happens with catalyzed material”.  So to get full value from your coatings, it really pays to get as close to ideal conditions as you can.  Easier said than done in many situations!  And remember, temperature applies not only to the coating material, but also to the substrate and the ambient air temperature.  Material that is stored in un-heated locations can take a long time to get up to temperature-this particularly applies to containers of finish that are stored on concrete slab floors.  So when you find yourself complaining about the cold this winter, give a thought to your finishing materials; they are probably feeling the cold as much as you are!