Patent Application
20180215950
People often wish to refinish cabinetry, furniture, and other decorative surfaces. For example, the finishes may become worn, or they may simply be outdated. Sometimes, where the surface is wood, the surface may be stripped and/or sanded down and a new finish may be applied. Such a process may be labor intensive and messy. In some cases, the surface may be merely a veneer or laminate, and the only refinishing possible may be to paint or to place a new laminate layer. Faux finish paint systems are expensive, and they require multiple steps and professional application to create a simulated wood finish. Due to these limitations, people often choose to replace their cabinetry, furniture, etc., rather than go through the expense and hassle of refinishing.
Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, with emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
The present disclosure relates to a liquefied wood coating that may be used as a stainable primer. Creating a stained wood finish on a bare, non-wood surface or a painted surface may be difficult and expensive. It may involve stripping a painted surface down to the original wood surface and refinishing. Non-wood surfaces may require professional faux finishes or expensive manufacturing laminating processes to create a wood finish on a non-wood surface. The coating described herein allows anyone to brush, spray, roll on, drip on, or otherwise apply a layer of liquefied wood that, when dry, allows the user to apply any available wood stain, creating the look of a real wood finish.
The liquefied wood coating described herein may be applied via a single step process that is easy to use for the average non-professional user. It is cost effective and provides a real wood stainable surface for most clean and hard surfaces. By contrast, faux finish paint systems create a simulated, near wood appearance by layering many different paints and glazes to give a wood-like appearance, not a real wood coating. Faux finish paint systems are difficult to use and require many steps to complete the process. The liquefied wood coating described herein dries quickly and creates a wood layer that can be stained with any commercially available stain. The components of the liquefied wood coating will next be described.
The components of the liquefied wood coating include a micronized wood powder and a blend of two different resins: (1) an extremely high performance, non-elastomeric adhesive resin that dries very hard with high stick qualities and (2) an elastomeric resin to provide flexibility. The resin blend has a small particle size with a low demand for co-solvent. For example, an acrylic resin may be used for the hard resin, and an elastomeric vinyl acrylic resin may be used for the flexible resin. The blend of the two different resins provides high adhesion plus flexibility. For example, a formulation of 15-35% vinyl acrylic resin and 5-20% acrylic resin may be selected by weight. The proportion of resins is selected to provide high enough adhesion while still allowing for absorption into the wood particles. Higher resin content translates into a lower absorbability.
In various embodiments, the hardness of the liquefied wood coating that has been applied and dried may be quantified using the ASTM D3363 Standard Test Method for Film Hardness by Pencil Test, thereby producing a result of “HB” (softer) to “H” (harder). In various embodiments, the adhesion of the liquefied wood coating that has been applied to a previously painted surface and has dried may be quantified using the ASTM D3359 Standard Test Methods for Measuring Adhesion by Tape Test, specifically using the crosshatch adhesion method, thereby producing a result of “3B” (slight separation of the surface) to “5B” (no failure). In various embodiments, the flexibility of the liquefied wood coating that has been applied to a metal surface and has dried may be quantified using ASTM D522 Standard Test Methods for Mandrel Bend Test, specifically the conical mandrel method, which may produce a result of no failure. In various embodiments, the minimum film forming temperature may be less than zero.
The liquefied wood coating may also include normal paint fillers, which can include a lacquer base, a naphtha base, or a water base. For example, lacquer may be avoided in houses for safety reasons, but otherwise it is quick to dry compared to water. In one embodiment, the liquefied wood coating may be formulated as a caulk. The caulk may be formulated in an elastomeric acrylic with a proper blend of wood powder to create an environment that would accept stain.
The micronized wood powder comprises fine wood particles. The wood particles used in the liquefied wood coating are preferably smaller than 200 mesh. In some instances, the wood particles may be selected to be smaller than 400 to 1500 mesh. It is understood that the wood particles used in the liquefied wood coating may be a blend of different particle sizes. That is to say, when incorporating 200 mesh wood particles into the liquefied wood coating, there may be some wood particles of greater size than 200 mesh in the mixture, but the mixture substantially comprises particles smaller than 200 mesh. In varying the size of the wood particles, properties of the liquefied wood coating may also change.
The wood particles may be from various wood species. For example, oak, maple, walnut, pine, spruce, eucalyptus, walnut shell, almond, almond shell, balsa, pecan, pecan shell, ash, mahogany, and other wood species may be used. Different woods may have slightly different properties. In some cases, the wood particles used in the liquefied wood coating may comprise a blend of woods from different species. The color of the liquefied wood coating may be described as a generic wood color. Small percentages of pigments (e.g., between 1% and 4% of pre-dispersed pigments (waterborne pigments for waterborne systems and industrial solvent pigments for solvent-based systems) may be added to produce different wood colors. However, it is noted that a light wood color will allow for a choice of stain colors.
The liquefied wood coating described herein will bond to almost any solid surface. Such surfaces may include, but are not limited to, wood, medium density fiberboard (MDF), particleboard, gypsum board, plastic, fiberglass, glass, fiber cement board, vinyl composition tile, metal, ceramic, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) trim, masonry, leather, a previously stained surface, a previously painted surface, and other surfaces. When dried, the liquefied wood coating does not come off unless scraped off.
The thickness of the coating depends on the amount of absorption. In one embodiment, applying the liquefied wood coating results in a 0.5-3 mil thickness wood composition upon the surface to which it is applied. This wood composition also has filler properties and can level out minor imperfections in the surface. For example, the wood composition can fill imperfections by using multiple coats. This wood composition absorbs stain into the wood like real wood. The dried wood coating can accept other coatings besides stain, including paint, polyurethane, and other coatings. Thus, the dried wood coating may be used as a primer for paint, etc., due to its opacity and filler properties. Upon drying, 50-60% by weight of the coating may remain on the surface.
Different applicators may give different surface results. For example, applying the liquefied wood coating with a paintbrush may result in brush strokes that mimic real wood grain when stain is applied. In some cases, scuffing of the dried surface may be used to mimic wood grain. If a sprayer is used, there will be no brush strokes and hence a grainless appearance. Thus, the finished appearance may be varied depending on the method of application.
A method of use will next be described with reference to
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims.
This application is a division of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/601,932, entitled “LIQUEFIED WOOD COATING,” and filed on Jan. 21, 2015, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/939,051, filed on Feb. 12, 2014, which are incorporated herein in their entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61939051 | Feb 2014 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 14601932 | Jan 2015 | US |
| Child | 15938530 | US |
