Aquadecks saturator
Preamble: to protect or not?
Observation: unprotected wood, subject to climatic aggressions and the abrasion of life, ages, becomes dirty, gray, flakes and can go as far as cracking. Hygrometric variations, rain, UV, repeated passages, in the case of a terrace, are responsible. Exposure and geographic location will also have a strong influence on premature aging or not.
The answer is therefore clear: it is necessary to protect to ensure good durability of the support.
Before thinking of protecting it was necessary to act to prepare, that is to say: let it deglaze if the wood was new / clean it if it was dirty, clogged / strip it if necessary. Once deglazed, clean and free of any coating residues, the supports can move on to the protection chapter. Depending on the nature of the wood, the choice of finish varies: soft, hard, exotic woods, each with its own specificities and needs.
Info point: about wood species
- Soft woods such as pine, Douglas fir, larch or spruce: they are less hard, less dense and more porous than other deciduous or exotic species. They require a particularly rich and nourishing care that combines well with the structure of the wood to ensure optimal and lasting protection.
- Hardwoods and exotics: they suggest that they are hard and therefore resistant and made to last forever, but like all other species, without protection they will grey, tarnish, stain, deform and sometimes even crack. With their very fine or closed pores, these dense woods do not allow products to penetrate. A product with excellent penetrating qualities is therefore needed to counter this density.
Protection action – the options: oil, stain or saturator, what are the benefits?
- Oils: intended for cladding they provide a beautiful finish but which will often darken in the wood under the effect of UV rays and risk clogging it. Maintenance is then more complicated.
- Stain: acclaimed in the mountains for their resistance to climatic conditions, they nevertheless provide a film-forming finish that risks flaking over time, requiring stripping for maintenance.
Namely: do not put a stain on a terrace, it would degrade too quickly.
- Saturators: they are suitable for all situations (cladding and terraces) and deeply nourish the wood by impregnation, with the application of successive layers which saturate the wood without leaving a film on the outside. Maintenance is simple.
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Focus Owatrol: continuation of the terrace project + staircase in North Carolina pine
On this Carolina pine decking previously de-oiled and stabilized*, a sufficiently nourishing product was needed to impregnate and properly protect the relatively porous wood in depth. In addition, it had to be allowed to withstand the intensive use of the terrace and the stairs.
Durieu therefore recommended a saturator from its wood range for: its impregnation qualities, not leaving a film on the surface and limiting the risk of abrasion. The choice was made on AQUADECKS, one of the aqueous phase saturators of the Owatrol range with exceptional penetrating qualities.
*AQUANETT oil remover and NET-TROL oil remover/stabilizer.
AQUADECKS: a concentrate of efficiency in a universal saturator compatible with all woods.
High quality resins and increased UV resistance that prevent the wood from graying over time.
Oils combined with resins that deeply impregnate and provide long-lasting protection from the inside without leaving a film on the surface, thus greatly limiting the risk of flaking.
The plus: hydrophobic particles which significantly reduce the harmful effects of water on the wood, thus preventing the boards from cracking under the effects of hygrometric variations and oleophobic agents which prevent the particles of fat from clinging and allow the support to better resist stains and those of grease in particular.
Last but not least: the “Owatrol saturator” vaccine effect. Once in the support, the wood keeps the saturator memory card in the mass, allowing simple and easy maintenance with a single pass.