like new wood for years.”
According to Ferrara, rich dark wood-tones such as dark walnut and ebony
continue to be popular for furniture,
cabinets and floors. “Chocolate, recently
‘the new black’ in fashion, is emerging
as the new go to color for decorators and
designers,” she added.
“Color is a crucial issue in the wood
industry,” said Paniccia. “Pigmented
coatings, including gloss lacquers,
remain very important for the coating
of furniture. In addition, the level of performance delivered by coating products
is becoming increasingly important for
clients. For this reason, in our R&D lab
we have an entire area dedicated to conducting chemical/physical tests on our
coatings once they have been applied.
We feel it is fundamental to receive
feedback during the development of
new products, so that we can accurately
calibrate the performance of the dry
coating film.”
GREENER TECHNOLOGIES
AND THE SWITCH TO WATERBORNE
Another key issue for the wood coatings market is the switch to greener
technologies. “Good environmental
practices are increasingly important
in this category,” said Mike Kozlowski, director of marketing,
Thompson’s Water Seal brand. “The
Thompson’s Company is committed
to providing consumers with a wide
range of superior quality exterior
waterproofing protection and cleaning products that help extend the life
of wood decks and similar surfaces.
In R&D, we strive to develop, manufacture and market longer-lasting,
high performance products by sourcing ingredients and developing technologies such as low-VOC, water-based technologies for improved air
quality. The Thompson’s Water Seal
line provides low-VOC products to
meet any regulatory need.”
The switch to greener technologies,
plus tightening VOC regulations
have led wood coatings companies to
develop a number of water-based
products. According to Kozlowski,
Thompson’s Water Seal brand anticipated this market trend and invested
significantly in product development
in this area. “For instance, our
Thompson’s Water Seal Advanced
Waterproofers, a water-based line of
clear and tinted wood protectors, are
the result of almost two decades of
research, and we ultimately secured
a patent on that formula,” he said.
“Thompson’s Water Seal Advanced
Wood Protector scores extremely
high on the ASTM standards for
waterproofing, and no competitive
product equals our scores. We now
offer a water-based counterpart to all
of our oil-based coatings, including
clears, toners and stains, and all of
our water-based coatings pass ASTM
standards for water-repellency.”
In regard to the demand for waterborne products, Minwax has been at
this for quite some time, producing
innovative water-based products that
are easy to apply, low odor and quick
drying with efficacy of their oil-based
counterparts. “Minwax was on the crest
of the wave of demand for waterborne
products early on, having introduced
Minwax Polycrylic Finish, a water-based protective clear finish more than
18 years ago,” said Ferrara.
Since then, Minwax has continued to
steadily expand its water-based offerings. “Most recently, recognizing that
time-stressed consumers wanted a
Photo: Cabot Corp.
product that would dramatically simplify the wood finishing process, save
time and make cleanup a breeze,
Minwax has introduced water-based
WoodSheen,” said Ferrara. “This rubbing stain and finish, in a water-based
gel formula, applies easily with a cloth
and dries in one hour.”
Cabot’s R&D efforts have been
focusing on offering more product
alternatives that include waterborne
Photo: Thompson’s Water Seal
The deck is coated with Thompson’s Water
Seal Deck and House Solid Latex Stain in
Cedartone. The green chairs are treated with
Thompson’s Water Seal Deck and House
Semi-Transparent Latex Stain in Evergreen.
