The Unusual Story Behind a Remarkable New product

rI'IHOUSANDS OF lumber and building r materials dealers around the nation are setting up displays these days for a new line of products that have a fascinatiog and little-known background, and which work in an extremely unusual way.

It's a story of an English development moving first to South Africa, then to other lands, and finally to the United Statesand of a builder-developed in California who heard about it on his "ham" radio and made it available in this country.

Because we so rarely learn the background of unusual companies and products that we sell, the editors of. Calilornia Lurnber Merchanr thought you'd be interested in this story-one which extendso in a way, from St. Augustine's chair to the most modern hotel or office building.

St. Augustine's chair is a small English relic over 1300 years old. Several years :ibbB, museum curator€ noticed the wood was disintegrating. Experimentally, they applied Watco Danish Oil Finish and PreServer-which combines a special-and to date inimitable formula--with a principle

World-wifu selling f, lrom a bam radio

of "polymerization" or hardening that may be as much as 12,000 years old.

Watco performs five functions at the same time-it primes, seals, hardens, preserves and finishes. Through polymerization, it actually hardens the wood by at least 25o/o. Its application to St. Augustine's chair worked. Deterioration was stopped-and the life of the chair has been extended.

In Los Angeles, a church used Watco on the floor of its recreation hall. The floor was splintering as youngsters (including some handicapped lads with braces on their shoes) played basketball and other gemes. Now the foor is so hardened that it never splinters-and attendants say it is more beautiful than ever before, much easier to care foro and virtually skid-free, This same multi-function Watco product has been given still broader application throughout the 4,000-sguare-mile county of Los Angeles. There are over 60 gymnasiums throughout the county under the supervision of the Department of Parks and Recreation.

These gymnasiums are in use every day by scores of children and teenagers. And the gymnasium floors take virtually unlimited punishment from basketball and volley ball games, dances, and other group activities involving both youngsters and adults.

Hazards to the floors take a variety of forms: scufiing from street shoes, chairs and table legs; staining from foods, soft drinks and water; and even scarring from lighted cigarettes.

Starting some eight years ago, following an initial successful test, the county's gymnasium floors were refinished with Watco Danish Oil Finish. Today, only hours are needed to recondition a 6,000-square-foot basketball floor-compared with the several days required before the product was

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