Parquet lacquering

Any parquet, regardless of its value or quality, sooner or later loses its original shine. This is because the lacquering layer covering it is worn out over time, covered with scratches and chips.

The varnish not only gives the wood a shine, but also favorably emphasizes its texture, protects against the aggressive effects of moisture and chemical detergents. Therefore, the service life of parquet floors, devoid of such protection, is significantly reduced. To "reanimate" the parquet coating, you will need to re-varnish it.

Materials and tools for varnishing

Before proceeding with varnishing, it will be necessary to prepare the necessary tools and paints for the work. To carry out painting work you will need the following.

• Roller. It can be both synthetic and natural. The main condition - the length of the "fur coat" pile should be 8-10 mm, which is best suited for applying liquid varnish.
• High quality wide brushnot leaving stripes and hairs on the painted surface.
• Roll-out bath.
• Sander.
• A vacuum cleaner for cleaning dust after grinding.
• Airbrush. It is useful for applying liquid paints and varnishes to large areas of floors.

How to choose a varnish

Particular attention should be paid to the choice of funds. The composition should be exactly parquet, that is, resistant to abrasion and interacting well with wood.

In any modern building supermarket you can find a wide range of parquet varnishes from various manufacturers. They are produced on different bases, on which their operational properties depend.

• Water based. The so-called household series. Designed for painting floors in residential buildings with low traffic intensity.
• Alkyd. Another type of household series that has one minus is a pronounced chemical smell.
• Polyurethane. The composition of the increased wear resistance class, suitable even for painting parquet floors, even in public buildings: educational, administrative, shopping and entertainment, etc.
• Acrylic. They are safe for humans, because they do not contain harmful chemicals.

REFERENCE. Varnishes can be transparent and tinted, giving the tree a certain color: under the oak, under the nut, wenge.

In this case, they are an analogue of stain. After preparing all the necessary tools and buying the right varnish, you can get to work.

Preparation for applying the varnish coat

Before varnishing, prepare the working space and the floors themselves. It is strongly discouraged to apply varnish to an unprepared surface.

Room preparation

Before you start work, you should take out all the extra items and furniture from the room. Nothing should interfere with the varnish for a single reception. In order not to wait until one half dries, and begin work on the other.

IMPORTANT! Recommended air temperature in the room should be in the range from +15 to +25 ° С, and humidity not higher than 60%.

With high humidity, the floor will dry for too long, and the quality of the paint will be lower. therefore the room should be well ventilated before work, thereby reducing humidity.

Looping

The parquet surface before restoration should be carefully cleaned of old varnish and wax polish. All this significantly reduces the adhesion of the applied varnish to the tree, and it will simply peel off over the next year.

To clean the floors, the parquet is scrapped using a special scraper or a grinder with large grain. All dirt and old paintwork must be removed in the looping procedure.. As a result, only a clean, wooden parquet surface should remain.

Cycling is a rather dusty job, so it needs to be carried out in a well-ventilated area. For example, with open balcony doors and windows, if weather permits. Otherwise Respiratory protection. The dust remaining after the cleaning of the parquet is removed using a powerful vacuum cleaner, and then wet cleaning is also carried out.

Primer

Further floors should be carefully inspected for chips or deep cracks. They are putty putty on wood with a spatula. Then the surface of the parquet must be painted with a primer. Its purpose is to improve the adhesion of the varnish to the painted surface, so that the varnish lays more evenly and lasts longer on the floor.

For primers, special formulations designed for working with wood should be purchased. There are also primers for concrete and iron on sale: these types for processing parquet floors will not work.

IMPORTANT! Varnishes and primers with different chemical compositions can come into "conflict" with each other.

As a result, the varnish, instead of lying firmly on the tree, will exfoliate, peel off and become covered with whitish spots. therefore It is recommended to select varnishes and soil compositions of the same chemical composition, and even better - of the same manufacturing company.

How to varnish parquet correctly

To obtain a strong and durable coating will require the application of several layers of varnish. Depending on the consistency of their composition, there can be up to 5 or even 7. Here you should not be lazy and try to save. Too thin a protective layer will quickly be erased, and all the work already next year will have to be repeated again.

Methods of applying the composition

It can be applied in several ways.

With a brush

The varnish is best applied with wide strokes in the form of the Latin letter U. The composition in this case lies quite smoothly.

The only drawback of this method is that the bristle of the brush lifts the wood fibers as it were. therefore obligatory intermediate sanding between the application of different layers.

The roller

It is better apply varnish crosswise. So the floors are better and more uniformly stained, there are no untouched spots and stripes.

Atomizer

It is used when you need to cover large areas.for example, lobbies and corridors of public buildings, stages and auditoriums.

It is characterized by increased consumption of paints and varnishes, as well as the need to organize the protection of walls and windows from sprayed paints and varnishes.

Spatula

Thick varnish can be applied to the floors with a wide metal spatula, S-shaped movements of the hand. However, if you do not have any specific experience with this tool, it is better to choose a different technology.

Grinding

Average each layer of varnish dries from 1 to 3 days, depending on the humidity in the room and composition.

After the first layer has completely dried, intermediate grinding will be required. It is necessary to remove the wood fibers "raised" by brush or roller. Cleaning is done either manually, with sandpaper, or using an electric grinder.

At the end of grinding, remove the dust formed with a vacuum cleaner, wipe the parquet with a damp cloth and proceed with the application of the second layer.

Useful Tips

Parquet lacquering is a rather delicate procedure and requires knowledge of the “behavior” of paints and varnishes.

• Under no circumstances should drying be accelerated with a fan or heat gun. This can lead to blisters, spots and cloudiness on the varnished surface.
• When choosing chemical-based varnishes, it should be borne in mind that after drying, its color will become 1-2 tones darker due to a chemical reaction with wood.
• An exception is aquatic species that do not change their shade during the drying process.