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Wood Preservatives

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Adding wood preservatives to wood can drastically change the effect of wood decay on wood. Normally, when wood with no preservatives is submerged in water, it only takes a couple of days for the wood to decay (exact amount can vary depending on the original integrity of the wood). When preservatives are added, the time period is increased but not prevented. It can take anywhere from a week to a month or more depending on the type of wood preservative (Hendricks, Hoffman, Powell, 2011). When selecting the best wood preservatives to prevent wood decay, it is crucial to know if it is interior or exterior, be able to compare and contrast the different selections, the history of the wood preservatives, and what the preservatives are made to …show more content…

It is important to know how up-to-date it is and what it was originally made for. Shellac was used in India from 100-44 b.c. to protect the surfaces of homes and temples. Paint (both interior and exterior) dates back as far as the cavemen. It was used to decorate surfaces, protect walls from weather, and to improve lighting and heating effects for better working conditions (Wood Preservatives, 2003). Although lacquer is constantly changing today, we can trace its roots all the way to the Japanese about 2,000 years ago. It was used to decorate wood for drawing and carving in the wood (Wood Preservatives, 2003). Varnish roots can be traced all the way back to ancient Egypt. It was used to decorate and preserve artifacts in the Egyptian tombs (Wood Preservatives, 2003). Stain has no direct roots to where it was first made. All we know today was that it was a more recent invention that has many ingredients of other preservatives and its main use is to change the color of the wood (Wood Preservatives, 2003). Enamel is another preservative that we do not know the roots of for sure. All that we know is that enamel is extremely durable and can be the main preservative that protects wood (Wood Preservatives, 2003). Linseed oil is made from flax seeds that can be found right here in America. Linseed oil was actually made as a paint but later became known as a wood preservative (Hendricks, Hoffman, and Powell, 2011). The final wood preservative is polyurethane. Polyurethane has many different chemical recipes, each and every one doing something different than the last. With that, it is impossible to trace each and every recipe back to its roots. What we do know is that polyurethane is a very hard clear coating that can cover wood and protect is from wood decay (Wood Preservatives, 2003). To summarize, knowing the history of wood

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