Wood finishing

A worker sprays a urethane finish onto a timber

Wood finishing refers to the process of refining or protecting a wooden surface, especially in the production of furniture where typically it represents between 5 and 30% of manufacturing costs.[1][2]

Finishing is the final step of the manufacturing process that gives wood surfaces desirable characteristics, including enhanced appearance and increased resistance to moisture and other environmental agents. Finishing can also make wood easier to clean[3] and keep it sanitized, sealing pores that can be breeding grounds for bacteria. Finishing can also influence other wood properties, for example tonal qualities of musical instruments and hardness of flooring.[4][5] In addition, finishing provides a way of giving low-value woods the appearance of ones that are expensive and difficult to obtain.

  1. ^ Whaler, J.H. (1972). Furniture finishing textbook. Nashville: Production Publishing Company. p. 3.
  2. ^ Cox, Robert M. (2003). Building an industrial wood finish. Madison: Forest Products Society. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-892529-30-5.
  3. ^ Gibbia, S.W. (1981). Wood finishing and refinishing. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-442-24708-9.
  4. ^ Jaić, Milan, and Tanja Palija. "The impact of the top coating on the mechanical properties of lacquered wood surfaces." Glasnik Sumarskog fakulteta
  5. ^ Bongova, M.; Urgela, Stanislav (1999-01-01). "Surface coating influence on elastic properties of spruce wood by means of holographic vibration mode visualization". 11th Slovak-Czech-Polish Optical Conference on Wave and Quantum Aspects of Contemporary Optics. 3820: 103–110. Bibcode:1999SPIE.3820..103B. doi:10.1117/12.353047. S2CID 136371456. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)