Expertise for trade professionals

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Expertise for trade professionals

Extensive information and current expertise within the wood trade

Extensive information about the latest professional knowledge about wood and natural enemies of wood. Protects wood against water and makes it durable. Benefit now from our expertise.

An understandably popular material

Wood, the material of nature

Premium protection based on nature’s example

Trees already have the best natural wood preservation possible - the bark. This protects the wood against drying out and especially against diverse weathering factors like the sun, wind, rain, frost and heat. All the important nutrients that the tree needs to grow and flourish are supplied via the roots. Thanks to this supply system, the life of the wood is protected for centuries and forms an environment and shelter for humans and animals. With its products, Remmers has set itself one goal: to give the construction wood the same optimum protection in the form of advanced paint systems, wood stains and primers. With its almost unlimited variety of colors and structures, the wood gives shape to this completely new range of wood protection systems for the professional in a unique way.

The natural enemies of wood

Moisture UV rays Algae and blue stain Rot and wood-damaging insects

Moisture
Outdoor wood is permanently exposed to moisture: Rain, dew, condensation etc. increases the moisture level, and evaporation decreases it. The consequence: Cracks in the surface. Moisture that penetrates the wood through these cracks or by means of diffusion needs to leave the wood again, otherwise waterlogging occurs below the surface, which is a breeding ground for blue stain and wood-damaging rot.

Dimensional stability is cruicial for windows, doors and facade carpentry. High-solid stains are used here. Moisture absorption is prevented with this treatment and the wooden elements no longer change in size due to expansion and contraction, so that windows and doors always open and close properly.

With so-called non-dimensionally stable components, e.g. paneling, fences and garden sheds, it is not possible to completely rule out the possibility of moisture penetration e.g. via the end-grain woods or due to cracks. It is important to use and impregnation stain at this point so that the wood can continue to breathe (vapour open) and the moisture can leave the wood again.

UV rays

The sun not only affects the temperature of the wood surfac, but the UV rays also penetrates into the wood. In combination with rain, it can change the colour of the unprotected wood in a few weeks or months, i.e. the wood appears silver-grey. The wood surface then also has fine wood fibres that stand upright on the surface, causing the wood to lose its strength. These often undesirable colour and surface changes can be prevented when wood is treated with a pigmented paint or stain. For the first time, MSL-40 and Aqua MSL-45 in transparent UV+ allow the application of a transparent coating to wood used outdoors that, thanks to the highly effective UV blocker, delays the greying effect.

Algae
These lower organisms ensure green discolouration and an optical impairment of wood outdoors, in particular in wooded or forested areas. HSL-30, MSL-40 and Aqua HSL-35 are algicides and prevent premature green discolouration. Other water-based coatings from this range can also be mixed with Protect MKT1 algicide.

Blue stain
Blue stain is a so-called wood staining fungi and is visible as black-blue discolouration. Blue stain does not destroy the wood, it only impairs its appearance. However blue stain paves the way for wood-damaging fungi (rot), because it perforates the cell walls and facilitates better water absorption in the wood (capillarity).

Rot
Rot is the most dangerous form of damaging fungi. It destroys the structure of the wood. The wood loses its stability: It becomes rotten.

Wood-damaging insects
In addition to the wood staining and destroying fungi, parasitic animal infestations also attack the wood. For instance,the house longhorn beetle is one of the most dangerous wood-damaging insects in moderate climates and is particularly prevalent in soft wood. It lays its eggs in existing cracks and the grubs like to eat the outer layers. The damage caused by other wood-damaging insects also follows a similar scheme: The insect lays the egg in or on the wood. The grub hatches from the egg - the grub is the actual destroyer of the wood.

Durability of wood types

Wood refinement? When is additional wood preservation needed?

Depending on the durability of the wood type that is used, a decision can be made about the necessity for a chemical wood preservative for wood that is used outdoors. A finish with biocide-free products is usually enough for ‘very durable’ and ‘durable’ woods. ‘Moderate’ to ‘non-durable’ woods also require a chemical wood preservative, e.g. to protect against blue stain and rot. The wood types are only classified based on the heartwood. However, usually, conventional woods also contain some sap wood that is not generally classified as durable. These kinds of woods should therefore not be used outdoors without a chemical wood preservative.

Structural wood protection

As a result, damage by moisture no longer has a chance

Constant moisture load is the main cause of discolouration and wood-affecting fungi. To exclude this as well as possible, wooden components must be placed outside in such a way that contact with water is prevented as much as possible. If this is not possible, ensure that the wood can dry again quickly. Also exclude load from standing water. Measures for structural wood protection are, for example, spacious roof overhangs, no direct contact with the ground (prevent splashing water), sloping surfaces, rounded edges and covering of horizontal parts. For even better protection, the wood can, if desired, be treated before it is finished with a decorative layer with an officially approved wood preservative (eg Wood Protect).

Application information for modern, water-based products

Water-based wood coatings are widely used today. An optimum result can be achieved if the following points are taken into account:

General handling and application
In the case of larger building projects with several packages, bear in mind that the colour and viscosity of charges may vary. To rule this out, the entire material can be mixed with each other or steps need to be taken to ensure that different batches are not used on the same surface.
Always check the shelf-life date before storing paints and stains. Depending on the product, an unopened original package can be stored for approx. two years. Under optimum conditions (15 °C, dry and dark) packages may be kept for longer.
Stir the material well from the bottom to the top. There must be no specks, flakes or particles in the material. The material should be homogeneous. Coatings that have been subjected to frost once, can be recognised as such.
Water-based coatings dry quickly. To prevent marks and stains, water-based coatings should be processed board-by-board or plank-by-plank.
Wear suitable eye and skin protection when applying by brush or roller.
Active sunstances and other compenents, with the exception of the solvent (e.g. Water) have no gaseous phase. Due to the mist and the associated aerosols in spray applications, eye and skin protection and also respiratory protection must be worn as stated in the respective Material Safety Data Sheet.
Suitable tools and cleaning
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It is recommended using an acrylic brush with synthetic bristles for water-based coating substances. They have the advantage of not abosrbing water and therefore can abosrb that paint well. Ensure that the handle is rustproof. Before use, we recommend washing the brush with water to remove production-related impurities or loose hairs.
Suitable rollers are always those that can pick up and release enough material to create the necessary film thickness. We recommend microfibre rollers with 5 - 8 mm pile length for water-based coatings.
In principle, wood protection systems can always be cleaned with their own solvent (water for water-based products). You can find more information in the Technical Data Sheets.
For an optimum cleaning result, warm water should be used with a small amount of washing-up detergent, if necessary in connection with our cleaning concentrate Aqua RK-898 (Art. No. 3868).
Ambient and drying conditions
Water-based coating materials should always be processed between 15 - 25 °C. Observe the technical code of practice!
It is important that the subsurface, colour and air have this temperature and that the temperature must be maintained until parts are completely dry.
Please always remember that water-based products can dry very quickly. It is therefore not recommended processing materials above a temperature of 25°C and in direct sunlight.
If the given temperatures are undercut, this could cause film and adhesion problems that facilitate premature weathering.
On new wood, the wood moisture of non-precision components and parts with limited dimensional stability must be maximum 18%, for precision parts between 11 - 15%. If the surface of the wood feels damp, do not apply a coating. Deficient penetration and absorption of the subsurface will have a negative impact on the durability of the coating.
Adhesion to old paintwork
Before processing water-based coating substances, an adhesion test must be carried out on the old paintwork. Old paintwork that contains oils can inhibit adhesion due to the high percentage of linseed oil, and facilitate premature weathering.
Adhesion test: A scratch sample needs to be carried out to check the adhesion of a repair coating on a sample surface. If the coating comes away in large parts when scratched with a knife or fingernail, it can be assumed that the adhesion is insufficient. Better results can be achieved here by sanding or priming (e.g. with Aqua AG-26-All Primer). As the surface is damaged by this test, it should be carried out at a hidden place (e.g. below fittings or at areas that will be hidden later).
Sanding
The following always applies: Sanding the subsurface improves adhesion, even on newly planed wood. This helps to improve the durability of the surface through to the preservation coating. Old coatings that form a film should always be sanded with a grain of P 100 - 150.
Smooth sanding is always necessary before the last work step to prevent sanding-through.
Thinning
Remmers paints and stains are always ready for use. A first coating can be thinned (for water-based coatings with water), if the subsurface is highly absorbent. For instance, weathered surfaces or rough-sawn wood. Thinning may also make sense if the ambient conditions (e.g. wind, sun) can lead to film-building coatings becoming dry before they have flowed properly. The information on the respective technical code of practice must be observed for thinning. Longer storage times and packages that have been opened for a long time can increase the viscosity (by evaporation of the solvent) and make thinning necessary.
Technical coatings (with an insulating effect or biocide ingredients) should not be thinned because lower concentration levels jeopardises the corresponding protection, e.g. Aqua IG-15, Aqua HSL-35/m, Aqua AG-26 and Aqua VL-66/sm.
Insulating effect
Ingredient-rich woods (e.g. pine, larch, tropical woods) can bleed yellow. Even products with insulating properties cannot always prevent this to 100%. Water-based coatings never offer protection against bleeding of substances in the wood. Only specifically declared intermediate coatings effectively protect bleeding. (e.g. Remmers Aqua AG-26-All Primer or Aqua VL-66/sm-Ventilack 3in1)
Important: In case of technical coatings (with an insulating effect), the stated consumption levels and drying times should always be observed to guarantee optimum protection.