WOOD: WARMTH AND RESISTANCE
Parquet and wooden floorboards are amongst the oldest floor covering: oak, beech, pine, fir, exotic species. Today, we are seeing new materials emerging (cork, bamboo) and floating parquet.
Excellent thermal insulation, wood is resistant to marking and to wear. Waxing has been in use for a long time for parquet. The maintenance constraints associated with wax, as well as development in chemicals has led to progress in concepts of protection: solvent varnishes, emulsions, water based varnishes, oils, etc…

ORIGIN OF THE PROBLEMS
1° - Nature of the material. Wood is, by its very nature, a capillary material, sensitive to hygrometric changes. The shore hardness varies according to the species.
2° - Thickness of wood which can be sanded. On sheets of parquet with sections of 27mm held together by a tongue and groove (majority of cases), only a few millimetres can be sanded, without risk of making the groove fragile to the point of “fragmenting” the parquet. Illustration below.

The amount that may be sanded corresponds to thickness A	The thickness of the groove after several sandings (in B) is sufficient, the parquet does not “fragment”.	The thickness of the remaining groove is insufficient, the wood gives, the groove distorts over the whole length of the sheet. The parquet “fragments” and has to be replaced.

SOLUTIONS
If sanding does not represent a major difficulty, the choice of the best compromise for protection must bring together: aesthetics, ease of maintenance, hardness of the protection, ease of removing residue of the latter.

1° - Grease solutions
a) : Natural : Solutions combining oil and wax. The oil impregnates the material, the wax protects the surface. The wax and oil can be used separately, particularly for oil on naturally greasy wood such as teak. These types of treatment are generally carried out warm in order to facilitate penetration.
Advantages : Natural and warm aspect, pleasant odour, easy to maintain.
Disadvantages : Frequent maintenance. On the first application, these waxes take a long time to dry completely (15 days). Low resistance to chemical damage.
b) Synthetics : Treatment philosophy is identical to that shown above. The solvent component shortens the drying time and eases maintenance.
Application : Homes, olde worlde shops

2° - Solvent varnishes.
There are varnishes with properties to respond to all types of requirements: homes, high volume of traffic, sport, etc….

Advantages : Solvent varnishes have the benefit of being hard and resistant to abrasion as well as chemical damage, resulting in easy maintenance which can be carried out less frequently.
Disadvantages : Old varnish must be removed by sanding. Sanding of the residual varnish requires returning the wood to its natural state.
Applications : Premises with high volumes of traffic, homes.

3° - Emulsions : Products which generally have an acrylic polymer base, in aqueous phase.

Advantages : Removal by chemical scouring, therefore no sanding, ease of application, odourless, quick drying, high chemical resistance.
Disadvantages : Less resistant than solvent varnish.
Applications:Given its ease of application and its low maintenance costs, emulsion is an excellent compromise for surfaces with large volumes of traffic which receives frequent maintenance as a matter of course.

4° - Vitrifiers : Polyurethane polymer based products in the aqueous phase. Very technical products.

Advantages : All the advantages of emulsion. Odourless, requires no scouring or sanding, great ease of maintenance, etc….
Disadvantages :Slightly less resistant than the hardest solvents.
Applications : All premises, all environments.

Summary :the best compromise at present.

BASIC SYSTEM® controls all the protection procedures and products listed above. Your BASIC SYSTEM® adviser will help you find the protection compromise which is best suited to your needs, your specifications and your budget.