Special Pre-colouring

Photo – DevoNatural®

Everyone seems to be talking about pre-colouring these days, but what is it exactly? We skimmed the market with that question to look for more information. Initially, the Internet provided little guidance, but thankfully we got some help from producer Blanchon, which provided answers to a number of pressing questions. A definition

In answer to the question as to what pre-colouring is exactly, we heard loudly and clearly that it is the operation which brings about a shade, colour, patina, or an effect. This pre-colouring can be applied to both basically sanded parquet and, on the other hand, parquet which has been ‘prepared’. That ‘preparation’ includes, for instance, the creation of scratches. All that is designed to imitate the look of old parquet to

ensure that you get parquet which appears to have ‘suffered’ from the ravages of time.

Our interviewee told us: ‘Colouring is possible in several ways, in one or more operations and with one or more products. Think here of wood shade, colour shade, tinted oil, distressing agents (sometimes also called positive shades), and natural or synthetic chemical products. For this latter category, we can refer to one of the oldest, namely ammonia. Ammonia yields a shade of brown with tannic acid on the oak or metal salts. And so, the field is very extensive. There are some so called ‘old formulas’, ‘safe values’, and ‘technical innovations’ alongside each other so that it is possible to launch innovative decors which follow the trend. In some cases, as with colouring with a tinted oil, the colouring and finishing are done at the same time.’

Benefits of pre-colouring

Pre-colouring a wooden floor has to offer more than just yielding a colour. And so, we want to know what the main benefits of it are. ‘As we’ve said, pre-colouring can create a different look; the most commonly used wood is oak, whereby you can multiply the adornments and effects ad infinitum. For instance, producers can offer their customers collections which stand out. With pre-colouring, parquet manufacturers can meet the wishes of customers who are looking for a parquet floor which is “that little bit different”.’

Ecological demands

Ecology has been a hot item for many years and is becoming increasingly important. How do manufacturers cope with those growing environmental demands?

‘Most decoration products which are used on site (and, to be absolutely clear, we mean stains, colours, or distressing agents) are in a watery phase and are not harmful to human beings or the environment. Ammonia is rarely used nowadays because it yields uncertain results and the hazard is just as big as the smell. At the same time, the industry has also just about eliminated all hazardous chemicals in favour of water-based products.’

‘How do you process colouring products gradually in practice? In this case, we have to specify how the stain or other product is brought into contact with the wood in each case to obtain the required look. The floor is always sanded fairly finely and finished with a 120 or 150 grain. Once the dust has been removed carefully, the colouring product is applied in accordance with the maker’s recommendations, so the product may or may not be polished. Basic pre-colouring can be done in one hour, but special effects (e.g. distressing, patina, or reactive) need rather more time. Usually, they can be covered after one night of drying and don’t emit any odour. That latter point is important because end customers won’t put up with it any more. After the recommended drying time, the selected finish is applied. This is a seal, oil and sometimes wax.’

Two special features

Finally, we heard about two special features: ‘Firstly, you can experiment with the complementarity or the contrast of a wood shade and a tinted oil. In addition, there is a new and complementary trend, which comprises decorated, tinted, and distressed floors being sealed with tinted oils. The end customer has a low maintenance and ‘pimped’ parquet floor and the floor fitter can apply an original decoration quickly and easily. It hardly needs to be said that this trend is charming lovers of original parquet floors.’ An overview

Bona

Bona has lots of products for colouring wooden floors. For instance, Bona Craft Oil 2K, a 2-component parquet oil based on vegetable oils, ensures rapid drying and long-lasting protection. It is the ideal finish for sometimes troublesome wood sorts like kambala, afzelia, and walnut. It’s also suitable for use on smoked oak and steamed beech. Bona Craft Oil 2K ensures a particularly fresh, waterproof, and stain-proof surface. It can be supplied as standard in 19 modern colours (including the two new colours added to the already broad range of colours). The colours can be mixed with each other endlessly. Moreover, it’s also possible to create extra colour shades with products from the same assortment, namely Bona Mix Colour, Bona Nordic Tone, and Bona Rich Tone. Bona Craft Oil 2K can serve as a finish, but it can also be finished (only) with Bona Traffic parquet lacquers.

Blanchon

Blanchon offers a full range of colour, decoration, and distressing products for parquet and woodwork, with two ranges of colouring agents, one range of distressing products, and various reagents for specific effects on parquet. Aquateinte 2K is a water-based and 2-component stain, which remains perfectly stable in the light and has been created and developed specially for parquet floors. This product, which is easy to apply, comes with six wood shades and six shades from pure white to deep black. There is also Wood Stain (‘Teinte à bois’). This fast-drying and odourless product is ideal for small rooms and is available in 12 wood shades, white, black, and five in grey. Wood Distressing (Vieillisseur Bois) yields an exceptional ‘distressed wood’ effect by highlighting the grain of all wood types. This product has 10 shades, including five shades of grey. Blanchon stresses that this entire range must be given a suitable finish to guarantee the solidarity and durability of the chosen and obtained effect. In addition, it can also be a supplement (e.g. with oil wax shade on distressed wood). Finally, they also mention Oil-Wax (‘Huile-Cire’) and Solid'Oil™.

Ciranova

Ciranova is the reference when it comes to color your wooden floor with water-based color stains for on-site use or industrial application. Reactive Stains interact chemically with the natural tannins inside the wood and this interface creates very unique finishes. There are endless possibilities in combination with coloured oils. (reaction time +/- 6 hours). Aquastain is a new water-based pigment stain based on micro pigments for staining all types of wood for indoor use. Aquastain provides a uniform coloring that accentuates the woodgrain. (drying times +/- 3 to 4 hours). After drying, the stains can be finished with oil or waterborne finishes, such as our new PLUS RANGE to achieve an invisible finish and natural appearance. It is also possible to finish the stains with our coloured Hardwaxoils, creating unique finishes and endless possibilities.

DevoNatural®

For pre-colouring parquet and wooden floors, Devomat offers clients two lines of products: DevoNatural® Easy Colour (a vegetable colour stain) and DevoNatural® Reactive (a reactive distress product with smoked effect for ‘oak’ parquet and wooden floors). In addition, DevoNatural® Floor Paint is a covering universal water-dilutable adhesion primer based on vegetables. It can be applied to various substrates such as wood, stone, concrete, synthetics, etc. DevoNatural® Floor Paint serves as a covering primer and can be finished further with any DevoNatural® varnish. Since the launch of DevoNatural® Easy Colour, Devomat has noticed that, despite the convenience of the product, more floors are once again being coloured. There is a growing demand for unique colour combinations e.g. the floor is distressed with DevoNatural® Reactive and then finished with a coloured DevoNatural® High Solid Oil. For DevoNatural® Easy Colour Devomat also offers the option of creating customised colours. Both product lines can be applied on site, in the workshop, or in the factory. DevoNatural® Easy Colour gives a deeper colour to the entire floor, whilst a colour oil will highlight mainly the grain and only to a lesser extent the surface. DevoNatural® Reactive is a reactive product and cannot be compared to a colour oil or another colouring product. The distressing effect depends on the tannic acid content and thereby differs from plank to plank. This gives a unique look to each parquet floor. Both products can be finished with any DevoNatural® finish product (lacquers, oils, or beeswax).

Osmo

Osmo Oil Stain: one product – two colour intensities Osmo Oil Stain is a richly coloured wood stain that can be layered to create various colour intensities without any visible transitions. One coat applied with a brush, roller or trowel and buffed achieves a transparent look showing the natural wood grain. A second coat intensifies the colour. For applications on flooring, a final top coat with Osmo Polyx®-Oil is required to protect the pigments against wear. Available in warm browns, trend greys, white and black. Oils enhance the colour and grain of the wood. Oil Stain 3519 Neutral counteracts this effect resulting a raw wood look.

Tover

If you can pre-colour on site, you are given the possibility of fully renovating your floor, simply changing the colour of wood; in that case the major difficulty for a parquet fitter is to avoid overlaps and roller marks. With Belle Epoque, Tover's water-based stain, you won't get any problems, as you can apply it with a roller and later even out the colour with a buffing machine. In addition, Belle Epoque does not react with the wood tannin and shows a constant and homogeneous aged effect regardless of the wood species on which it is used. As a protective layer, it can be overcoated with all Tover neutral or coloured oils to achieve countless two-tone effects. Innovation at the service of creativity.