Environmental impact of Sikkens wood finish and Filter 7?
Simon
posted on 11-10-06
Having paid a visit to my local FSC sourced hardwood window maker, I wondered if anyone can tell me whether the finishes he uses are environmental abominations or, in your collective eyes, fairly acceptable?
He gives the wood two coats of Sikkens (a stain, I believe) and the a coat of Filter 7 (apparently, this prevents UV from damaging the Sikkens).
He claims this is an extremely long lasting finish, which merely requires a wipe with a damp cloth once a year. Says he's never had any wood go darkened with this particular treatment.
Thoughts please, ladies and gents!
Ian
posted on 11-10-06
Well he can't be putting it on oak, because I've never seen it last more than a year. It's not pleasant stuff to get on your skin
and having to redo the same job again and again can't be very sustainable whatever chemicals it is made of. I certainly will never
use it again on oak. Unfortunately some of my customers want this
look and I have been experimenting with the eco-finishes without any conclusive results as yet, other than that one of the one-coat systems performed no better with three than the Sikkens (but no worse). On a barn conversion I worked on another joinery outfit
supplied and fitted some flawless (American oak I think) oak casement windows which were professionally finished with the Sikkens, and the client had them redone the following year. Please note that this may not apply to other timbers, as I have no experience of using it on them.
Tony
posted on 11-10-06
Any finish will be degraded by UV light. It will slowly change the chemical structures of whatever organic compounds that it is made from. How long has he been wiping it for and is it in the shade?
Once on these paints are fairly inert and in that sense safe in service. Making them and to a lesser extent putting them on are the dangerous bits as well as eventual disposal.
Biff
posted on 11-10-06
'Sikkens' is not so much a surface treatment as the brand name of coatings made by Akzo Nobel, one of the worlds biggest paint manufacturers. Wiert Willem Sikkens was the founder of the Dutch company that started the business in the 18th century. So you'll have to find out just which of the hundreds of Sikkens products it is and then look up the technical data sheet to find out how eco-friendly, or not, it is.
Me, I'd just stick to linseed oil and enjoy the wood developing its character with age.
Ian
posted on 11-10-06
The one which seems the most popular here is the Cetol Filter 7, 009
light oak stain. I think it was called Novatop before, similarly used with a basecoat.
Biff
posted on 12-10-06
Cetol Filter 7 is, according to the Data Sheet at:
Alkyd resin surface treatments mostly have a rather low vapour permeability so will reduce the ability of the timber to dry out. A durable timber is less likely to rot if it is left untreated or only coated with a highly vapour permeable oil such as linseed.
Simon, when you say 'FSC sourced hardwood' does this mean an unidentified species from what remains of the tropical rainforests that someone, somewhere claimed to have a licence from some government to cut down, or does it mean English oak?
