It’s funny how so many questions are repeatedly asked of us
covering the same topics. Over the last couple of months, we have been asked
about UV inhibitors being added to lacquer on 5 separate occasions. So this
month we thought we might address that issue again.
We would love to be able to offer all our clients a fool
proof system to stop both lacquer and timber changing colour but unfortunately
no such system exists. Whilst we at Simmonds Polishing use the best quality
lacquers available on the market and as such pay a premium for those lacquers,
even the best quality lacquers cannot withstand the effects of UV rays on the
timber substrate:
We are often asked about timber fading and changing colour,
particularly when installed in a sunny position and how this problem can be
mitigated.
What you need to understand is that this is often a twofold
problem. Firstly, the timber may have changed colour when exposed to excessive
sunlight but also the clear lacquer may also be changing colour.
Cheaper quality lacquers are often made from lower quality
resins which can turn yellow very quickly. We have seen some of these lacquers
change within weeks of being applied to joinery. So the first thing you need to
do is insist that your applicator uses the best quality lacquers available.
Different species of timber change colour at different
rates and little can be done to avoid this other than apply clear lacquers onto
the timber with UV inhibitors mixed into the lacquer. Here is where the misunderstandings
often occur.
You see the addition of a UV inhibitor to the lacquer is
not a long term fix. UV inhibitors are designed to absorb ultra violet light
and stop them penetrating down into the timber, but in doing so the UV
inhibitors actually slowly deteriorate until eventually they stop working. The
more UV light the finish is exposed to the quicker the UV inhibitors will
deteriorate.
This is not an exact science as it is almost impossible to
determine how much UV light the joinery has been exposed to and for how long.
All you can really do is use the best quality lacquer available and use a UV
inhibitor.
Timber changing colour over time is a natural process that
modern lacquers still cannot stop. You can slow the process down but you can’t
stop it altogether. It must be accepted as a natural part of the ageing process
of timber.
