Furniture trend in 2010

The furniture model 

At this time most of the furniture product is already a fashion product. Although people buy furniture product is still considering the function of the products, but the model furniture is very decisive factor in consideration people to choose furniture product. Therefore, the model is a very important factor in competition in the furniture business right now. As well as the modes of other products, fashion trends in furniture products are also highly influenced by the social conditions of society at that same time. Currently with the world economy slow down, so not many new models is propose in the market, the furniture business more restraint to stick with models that they have while studying the situation to get the right opportunity to release new models. Yet of course there are some new models are offered for this year, because after all, the market will always grow and need the right products to fill in. The new models that are offered this time tend more to the simpler product. Many people today have had a lot of thought from big pressure for their alive, since that they would prefer models that simpler, more minimalist and ease in handling and keep his ability to fulfill its function as a household product.

For inspiration on some furniture models you can find in can see some furniture styles at: top 10 furniture model in the last decade

Environmental issues in the furniture trends 

The other thing need to be to note in this year's trend is the environmental issues. Issue of the world about global warming and carbon emissions will greatly influence the buying behavior of peoples. As well as for products or other industries, the furniture industries will also be affected by these environmental issues. At this year and in the future there will be the stronger pull of the furniture industry to use materials that is more environmental friendly. Therefore, the future will more and more demand on the furniture industry to use certificated wood, to proof that the wood are from plantations or a sustainable forest. People do not like to use the product that from illegal logging that will destroyed the forest. Therefore, the use of certified wood is one of the trends of furniture products that will be followed by more worlds’ furniture business.

Also, issues concerning environmental health and safety will also be very important; because of this there will more requirements for furniture products to use more environmentally friendly and release less toxic emission gas. The tend of uses Water based coating or materials or other finishing material that emit low VOC and environmental friendly is going to be stronger in the future.
Actually, the issue of environment has raised some time ago, some furniture business has begun offering products that are environmentally friendly, including also show evidence that the product is made from materials derived from sustainable natural resources. And the trend seems to be followed by more furniture business players in the future.

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Wax for wood finish

Wax will produce very natural look finish

 

Wax finish is very similar with the oil finish, is one of the traditional finishing materials that could produce the finishing nice looks; very natural, soft appearance, smooth surface. It can be applied with a simple method. Compared with oil finish, wax material has higher viscosity, so it can be applied with a little thicker than the oil finish. As with oil finish, wax finish can not provide protection to the wood surface underneath. The protection of wax even less compare with oil finish, because the wax can not penetrate and wet the layer of wood like the oil finish does.

As with the oil finish, the wax layer can not build film layer, he will not give protection to the underneath surface from the water, air, and heat or solvent. But wax will be able to produce a smooth surface and subtle, since that it will help avoid the scratches caused by friction on the surface.

Wax application using rag

The wax application is like oil application, with wipe, brush and then even with a brush or rag to get even layer on the surface. Wax will fill and coloring the pores and grain of wood and will produce a natural and attractive appearance that can not be replaced by other finishing material. The wax color which is usually very little will make the resulting appearance becomes very soft and natural and can not be replaced by stain or glaze application. Because of his characteristic appearance that is very unique, this finishing is still loved by some peoples. 

Wax material are made from a type of wasp, the same material that use to make candle usually has a brown base color, but by mixing with pigments it can be made with various colors. Now there is a wax supplier that provides wax in various colors like: green, black and even white or red color.

One of the disadvantages of wax finish is that we can not fully control the finish color. The final color highly depends on the base color of the unfinished wood. If the base colors of the wood vary so the final finishing color will vary also. Therefore, to produce an even final finishing color, it is necessary get the even wood base color. 

Now some peoples do a combination of wax finis with the use of stain and sealer. Finishing step is as follow:

1. Stain (sap stain and equalizer to uniform the base color of the wood)
   
2. Thin sealer
3. Wax
   

This finishing process could produce a more uniform color finish, but with a wax finish looked. Equalizer stain and sap stain is used to even the wood base color to make the final color obtained will be more uniform. Sealer is applied over the stain to protect the stain so as not wiped off in the wax application. This sealer application should not be too thick, because too thick will form a film layer and the finishing result will be no longer look natural. The sealer normally used is the nitrocellulose as the easiest and simplest clear coat, but other type of sealer is also can be used, as long as not too thick to avoid the film layer build.

Oil finish for wood furniture

Oil finish

Oil finish on teak wood furniture

Oil for finishing the wood is consider as a traditional finishing material. it may be the oldest finishing material used by the human. It already used widely when other finishing materials such as: shellac or wax are unknown yet. In a few decades ago, in about 18^th century, finishing with oil is very popular, may be because there is no other finishing materials for transparent finish . At that time the spraying equipment was not available yet, so the finishing application is only done with rag and brush.

The oil for wood finish, usually is derived from the seeds of plants that is known as linseed oil. The oil can produce a natural wood looked with enhance the beauty of the wood grain and pores. Now some people still like this finish finish since his unique appearance. This finishing produces a distinctive appearance that can not be completely imitated by modern finishing materials. There are many names to the oil finish such as: Tung oil, Danish oil, teak oil, etc. Tung oil is refer from the oil that is made from extracted the seeds of a tung plant which is well known in china, so also known as china oil. Danish oil is brand name, the oil finish is mixed with varnish to increase his finishing quality. Teak oil is quite popular since it widely used to finish teak wood.

Oil finish is usually brown or clear. To produce a certain wood colors it can be mixed with a pigment. The pigment is usually inorganic pigments. 
Now there are also several manufacturer of oil finish which provides the oil finish in a variety  colors that can be selected in accordance with the desired finishing color. 

 Oil is applied with rag

The advantages of oil finish are:

• Produces a very natural appearance, enhancing the beauty and uniqueness of the wood.
  

• Can be applied with a very simple way, just wipe, dip, washed, or brushed then wiped and smoothed with a brush or rag. It does not need a special equipment such as spray gun, and special room to do the finishing process.
  

The oil will be absorbed by the wood and go to fill the pores of the wood. It will create a very natural look, showing the beauty of wood pores and grain pattern. The oil finish that is widely used now is the teak oil, an oil finish to be applied to the teak wood furniture. Teak wood which is basically considered as a naturally strong and durable wood even for outdoor uses is leveraged to be stronger and nicer with the teak oil applications. With the application of teak oil, then the appearance of the beauty and uniqueness of the teak wood pores and grains can appear in maximum results. The teak oil application will add the strength to the teak wood by react to the wood to make stronger and durable wood.

Oil finish is not really form a film layer on the surface, no matter how many times you apply, the oil will only wet the surface and goes into the pores and grain. Therefore, oil finished can not provide protection to the wood underneath. It can not form the gloss of the finish resulted. The finishing appearance would be very natural, slim with a very low gloss. If the high gloss is needed, it can be buffed, but the results obtained are also very limited. 

The disadvantages of the oil finish:

• Almost provide no protection to the wood layer underneath

• Does not form a layer film and cannot create gloss.

• Results of coloring are very limited; the resulting color highly depends on color and appearance the unfinished wood underneath.

Compressor and its calculation for furniture finishing

Compressor is the important equipment in the finishing room. Compressor as the machine to provide the compressed air is a basic equipment in the finishing room. The compressed air is the main power in the finishing processes; for atomization in the spray gun, and power supply for mechanic equipment to handle finishing materials such as: pump and agitator. The mechanical equipment such as: sanding machines, screw drivers, drill, should also powered with the compressed air, when the equipment is used in the finishing room. Therefore, the compressor is standard equipment which must be available in a modern finishing room.
 

When we start to build a finishing room and decide to buy a compressor we must consider the budget we must prepare. Compressor is a big device and requires big money to purchase. Therefore the selection of compressor must be done carefully so that it could really be useful and appropriate for our needs. There are many brands and types of compressors which are usually equipped with a technical service that can assist us in determining the choice of a type of compressor most suitable for us. But after all we must know the basic knowledge of the compressor so we can make better decision in choosing a compressor. 

 piston compressor

Compressor types 

According to the air compression, there are 2 types of compressors: screw compressor and piston compressor. Piston compressor is the compressor which is using a piston that moves forward and backward for compress the air to achieve the desired air pressure. This compressor is more suited to support the work which require small quantities volume of compressed air. The piston compressor price is relatively cheap compared with screw compressor. But if the big volume and continuous compressed air is needed, this compressor is not suitable since his efficiency and durability is relatively low.
The second type is a screw compressor. This compressor uses a screw to pressure the air inlet to produce a certain pressure of compressed air. This compressor has better endurance and efficiency than the piston compressor, but it is more expensive. The screw compressor is not much available in small sizes. Screw compressors are normally used in a furniture factory, especially for big furniture factories that need a continuous compressed air pressure in large amount. 

The compressor capacity. 

To choosing the right compressor, we must calculate compressed air requirement needed. The air pressure needed is calculated based to the volume of compressed air needed by each tools and equipments in the finishing room. The volume compressed air needed from every tool can be seen from the specifications of tool used.  When we buy an air powered device, there are specifications written in there, including the compressed air volume and air pressure needed to make the device can function properly. From the tools used for the finishing process and the specifications of each devices, the total requirement of compressed air can be calculated and then from here we can determine the compressor capacity we need.

When we buy a compressor, we must know that the capacity of compressed air needed is the capacity of compressed air outlet from the compressor, not the capacity of the inlet capacity. The definition of inlet capacity compressor is the amount of inlet air entering and sucked by the compressor, while the outlet capacity is the amount of compressed air generated by the compressor when compressor is working. Outlet capacity is the inlet capacity of the compressor time by the compressor efficiency. So the outlet capacity is the real volume of compressed air generated by the compressor when he operates, and that's what we need from the compressor.

Here is the consumption of compressed air for some equipments in the finishing room:

Equipment	Volume air pressure need	Air pressure
Air gun	200-300 liter/minute	4-6 bar
Air spray gun	100-250 liter/minute	3-4 bar
HVLP spray gun	250-600 liter/minute	2-3 bar
Diaphragm pump	50-100 liter/minute	3-4 bar
Pail agitator	500-600 liter/minute	4-6 bar
Drum agitator	600-800 liter/minute	4-6 bar
Airless pump	20-50 liter/minute	4-6 bar

 Note:
conversion factor:

1 cfm. = 28,3 liter/minute

1 bar = 14.7 psi

The consumption of air pressure and the air pressure needed in the table above is just for guide. The exact amount is depend on the specification of every equipment that depend on the type, size and brand of the equipment and condition of the machine.

Compressor and piping in the finishing room

Compressor

Compressed air is an important thing in the finishing room. The compressed air is a source of energy needed to the material finishing atomization in the spraying process. The compressed air is also used as an energy source to drive the tools and equipment in rooms such as: sanding machines, pumps and agitator for the finishing materials and other mechanic tools. The using of electric power should be avoided or at least minimized because the risk of sparking. Finishing materials such as thinner, coating, glaze and sealer or lacquer dust are very inflammable. The emergence of the spark in the finishing room will lead to the occurrence of fire in the finishing room.

The compressed air needed in the finishing process must be free from dust, water, oil or grease or other chemicals that can contaminate the finishing materials in the application. The compressed air is the air from the room that is sucked and compressed by compressor to a certain pressure. The pressure of the air  that is needed to atomized finishing material and powered the finishing tool is about 4 – 6 bar (1 bar is equal to 14,7 psi.). The room air which is suck and compressed by the compressor is always dirty; contains water vapor and dust or other dirt. While the air needed to supply the finishing tools must be clean from water, oil or other dirt. Water vapor will condense in the air pipeline when it is cooled. The water that out in the finishing equipment will disrupt the process of finishing since it contaminate the finishing material. Since that, a proper air filter and piping system is needed to get a clean compressed air.

Piping system

The air filter is need to be mounted in the air circulation to ensure that the compressed air is clean.  

Piping system is needed to well distribute of compressed air into the finishing room. Piping system must be properly designed to reduce the possibility of water discharge during the finishing process done. In the piping systems should be provided a place to collect water from water vapor that condenses that called drain valve. The drain vale is need to be open when it fulled with water to release the water in there. Usually we need to oped the drain valve every morning , before start to do finishing work. Also need to be noted that for the air filter will be ineffective if the air was still hot, so air filters should be installed at a distance of at least 25ft (7.5m) from the compressor, when air is cold enough and mostly the water vapor has condensed.

Transportation in the finishing room

In a finishing room, there are a lot of work need to be done. Finishing process such as: spraying, sanding, brushing, etc. are the process that need to be done properly.  The working process and furniture products are need a room to take a place. The product are need to be moved and brought from one place to another when the process is done. To facilitate the finishing process we need a transport equipment to carry and move products in the finishing room. Transportation equipment is becoming more necessary because after a product is sprayed he will be wet by the finishing materials and should not be touched until the finishing layer dry. 
There are many transportation equipments that can be use to help and support the finishing process, from simple equipment such as: turn table, chart, and rack up to an automatic conveyor line for large scale production.

Turntable

The turntable is an instrument of the most simple yet effective enough to help the process of spraying on furniture product, especially for small but with many items. Turntable is a table with a shaft underneath that make the table can be easily rotated in all directions. This turntable is very useful to assist the spraying process. The staff that need to be sprayed is put on the table and than it can be easily rotated while it is being sprayed. The turntable can be rotated so the sprayer does not need to move around the stuff. He can stay in his place and focus in spraying action.
After the whole surfaces are sprayed, then the products can be taken and placed into a rack to wait it dry.

turn table

Rack

Rack is a place to put the goods in the finishing process, especially for small items. After the goods were sprayed with a finishing material, then usually he needs time to let his finishing coat dry. For items that are small and many, rack is the best choice. Rack can hold many items, with less room.

Rack

Trolley or chart.

The turntable was very helpful at the time of the spraying process, but it does not help to move the goods that have been sprayed. While the product with wet finish layer need a tool to move it to the drying room. The tool that can be used to better assist the finishing process is a trolley or chart. The chart is equipped with wheels and designed to be easily pulled and rotated in all directions. Goods to be sprayed is placed above trolley and brought in front of spray booth for spraying. After spraying the finished goods can be directly moved and taken to a drying room, without touching the surface of the wet stuff by finishing materials.
Trolley is also more flexible because it can be used to put things bigger. Items such as chairs, cabinets, or tables can be placed on the shelf without any problems. The trolley sizes is be able to be designed depend on the product size.

Chart

Finishing line.

To do finishing process in a large volume production, especially in the big furniture factories there are many automatic transportation (finishing conveyor line) available. There are various types of finishing line that can be used for the furniture industry. Selection type of conveyor is based primarily on the finishing process will be done. The calculation of the length of conveyor and conveyor speed is based entirely on the finishing process and the time required each finishing process is done. There are 2 times that need to be calculated, the drying time is the time that needed to let the paint to be dry and the processing time is the time needed to do the process finishing. In the finishing line, the finishing process runs continuously step by step. The products placed on the chart or hung on a hanger which automatically moves through the spray booth, ovens, and the stages where the finishing process is done. Each process of finishing such as spraying, sanding, wiping, brushing, highlighting and others all worked in their places by the operators.

How to sand sealer and lacquer in finishing process

Sanding is very important in the finishing process for wood furniture. A good and appropriate sanding is always required in the finishing process either in the preparation of unfinished products, and also at the finishing process. The explanation about the sanding to the unfinished product can be read at our previous article: how to sand the unfinished wood furniture. And in this article we want to discuss about the sanding process in the finishing process.
Sanding in the finishing process is the sanding to the wash coat, base coat, paint, sealer, lacquer, coating and other finish material that built film layer. Most modern finishing is the coating and they are applied by spray gun. The finishing process to build the film layer always needs proper sanding to make a smooth and even finishing surface. The good sanding is also needed in the finishing process when the material application is done by brushing or wiping such as in the application of shellac or varnish.

Unless the final top coat, every layer of clear coating (sealer and lacquer) always needs a good sanding before go to the next process. An inappropriate sanding will cause problems in the finishing qualities such as: orange peel, rough, uneven gloss or adhesion problems in the finishing layer. Sanding for sealer and lacquer should be done by using stearated sandpaper (sandpaper which is equipped with a sanding agent). Sanding agent in this paper can reduce the heat arising from friction between the clear coating and sandpaper and help to avoid the finishing material stick to the sandpaper (clogging). The clogged sandpaper is high risk to create deep scratches on the surface finishing. 
 
The grade sandpaper used is range from 240 to 400 (USA standard) depending on the type of clear coating is used. To sand the clear coating that dry only by evaporation of his solvent then the sanding process is more simple, because the clear coating layer underneath will resolve when coated with another sealer or lacquer. They are the shellac, varnish and lacquer. The nitrocellulose clear coating is the easiest material in term of sanding process. It is fast dry coating and does not need a perfect sanding. The top coating layer will wet and resolve its underneath layer and bend together. The small sanding mark will resolved and the even smooth film finish will be obtained. The sanding with 240 grade sandpaper or 280 at the sealer is usually enough to produce the smooth finish film layer.

But the better sanding is needed for application of the "chemical reaction coating" since the film will not resolved by solvent. The polyurethane, acid curing, catalyzed lacquer, precatalyzed, water based coating are need the sanding with fine sandpaper to make a smooth and even surface. If there any deep and big sand mark they will be appeared at the final finish layer. The fine (grade 400 or 380) sandpaper is needed to avoid the sand marks appearing in film finished. The water based is not catalyzed clear coating, but it require good sanding process since the water based coating new layer won,t dissolve its underneath layer.

The task of sanding has a slightly different between the first sealer and the second sealer or top coat. In the first sealer while film layer is still thin, then sanding is intended to cut the wood fibers that is raised and stiffed by the sealer application. Therefore when we sand it must be ensured that the sealer is already dry, to make sure that all the wood fibers are stiff and can be cut off with the sanding process. For the purpose of easier cutting the wood fibers we can use a wash coat as the fist sealer. With the application of a wash coat (thin sealer), then most wood fibers will be stiffen and dried faster, and then with a simple scuff sanding mostly the wood fibers are cut off. Since wash coat is a thin layer it dries faster and then easier to be sanded than a thick layer of sealer. After the most of wood fibers are cut off, then a smooth surface finish can be obtained faster.

Sanding on the second sealer or top coat layer is intended to make the film became more even and to give good bond with the top layer. the sanding is also need to be done well to clean the orange peel or uneven surface. The sanding is must be done when the film layer is dry. The wet clear coating film tends to stick to the sandpaper (clogging) and it is very risk to cause deep sanding scratches on the film layer. When the thick enough film layer has been already built, the sanding machine can be used to accelerate the sanding process, especially the flat surface. But however it must be be done carefully to avoid the sand through (too much sanding until cut off the finishing layer).
To sanding the uneven shape, such as carving, curved shapes, profiles, rod form, the sanding should be done with a more flexible abrasives like: scotch brite, sponge sanding or steel wool.

sanding with sandpaper by hand

Sanding the sealer on flat surfaces with sanding machine

Sanding the sealer on carved surfaces using scotch brite

Triangle color theory for wood finishing

triangle color diagram

How to use the triangle color theory for wood finishing

Color is an important element in the finishing process. The color is one thing that always be viewed by the furniture buyers. The reason why people want to finish his furniture is because he expects a specific color for his furniture. That way the color is very important in the finishing process. The coloring in a finishing process is done by stain application. The selection of the stain and the application need to be done correctly to produce the right color.

One tool that can be used to simplify the color selection is to with the color triangle theory. In or previous article we already write an article about how to use the triangle color theory for mix color. Now I will try to explain how to use the triangle theory to choose stain in the wood finishing with transparent color. Transparent color is finishing with the final color is still showing the basic color of the substrate. Transparent color is much preferred for finishing to the wood furniture, because it will show the beauty of the wood grains and pores, the unique value of wooden furniture. For this finish, the final color is obtained from the color mixing from the wood base color and the stain used. Then it requires the proper selection stain to obtain the right final color.

The most widely color used for transparent finishing is brown. However there are a lot of brown color, such as reddish brown, dark brown, light brown, yellowish brown, etc.
To finish on a light-colored wood (white) the stain color is about the same color to the desired final color. But the fact is each type of wood has a certain basic colors, for example: mahogany wood has a red color, oak has green brown color, pine has yellow color, etc. The wood always has a basic color that is already there, what we can do is to choose the appropriate color stain that will blend with the wood color to produce the desired final finishing color.

To help the selection stain we can use the law in the triangle color theory : "mixing color towards to the center will produce brown color"  The more explanation are in the mixing color diagram below.

Orange and Blue is Brown

Orange and Black is Brown

Green and Red is Brown

Purple and Yellow is Brown

For example we need to finish mahogany wood to a dark brown color. The mahogany wood has red color, how to bring the color to dark brown? From the color wheel and color mixing table above we see that to produce the brown color red color must be mixed with green color. Therefore, to end up with dark brown color, the red mahogany wood need green stain or a greenish brown stain.

The same way to the select the color for equalizer stain and sap stain. For example we need to finish the wood with varied base colors as shown. In the picture you can see that there is a wood furniture with many color from part to part.
 

unfinished wood furniture with variation base color

There are some different color in the wood base of the furniture: red, light yellow and white. We need to event color first before we do staining this suit to bring to final color. We need to even color with the appropriate stain. The selection of the stain used is depending on the wood color; usually do to bring the varied base color to a brown, even color.

The red part is stained with a green stain; the yellow is stained with purple stain, while the white part is stained with a brown stain. All the stain applied are to bring the varied color of wood to be an even brown color. After we get the even wood color than we can apply the other finishing materials such as body stain, sealer, top coat and glaze colors to achieve the desired results. By this process we can expect to get better match final color.

This same principle is also can be use at the time when we apply pad to even the final color. In the finishing process sometime we find that after top coat or sealer the result color is slightly away from the target, such as a reddish, greenish or yellowish. To bring the color to the desired color, we need to tone down the in correct color. The pad stain color  for correction  purpose is selected in the same way. The red color is toned down with green stain,  the  yellow stain is used to kill the dark purple color, etc. The principle is that to tone the incorrect color and bring to the brown we use the opposite color in the triangle color diagram.

Please consider that this scheme is just for guide not a magic to solve your coloring problem. To coloring your furniture is not such as easy. You need lot of learning and practicing to build your sense in mixing and making color. 

Rattan furniture styles and models

Rattan furniture models and styles

Furniture made of rattan has different models with wood furniture. Different with wood rattan has no grain, so the model of rattan furniture emphasizes to his form such as the post and the wicker. Rattan furniture, especially a lot of wicker and features a unique shape. There are also many furniture are made with a combination rattan with stainless steel to make garden furniture. Or there are many furniture products that are made from a combination of rattan with wood to create indoor furniture. In year of 1990 of early 2000 when the rattan is still widely available in lot amounts, there are many models of rattan furniture. At this time because rattan increasingly difficult to obtain and relatively expensive price, then less furniture manufacturers that use rattan. There are many rattan factories that change to use wood as raw materials. The are still make rattan furniture but their main product is more in the wood furniture. Mostly they will to make rattan furniture as long as they got order with reasonable price and quantity.

Factory who make rattan furniture

Even though there are still some furniture factories in Indonesia that available to make rattan furniture. One of furniture factories that still focus to make rattan furniture that i know is PT Mercu Utama. He is different with other furniture factories since he is still focus on making furniture product from rattan. This factory has been made and to rattan export furniture products to the whole world since 2002 and keep survive until now. His product mostly are shipped to America and Europe, he's average export the 6 to 10 containers per month.

You can find this factory by visit to his address in

Jl Raya Terboyo N0 14
Kawasan Industri Terboyo Megah
Semarang 50118
Indonesia
Phone : 062-24-6581200, 6581350, 6583979
Fax : 062-24 6581300

Contact person : Mr Nanang or Mr Henky

Or You can contact us for more information

Here you can find some pictures of his product.

Fran's Wicker Furniture Baby Moses Basket

Bali Furniture & Handicraft

We Provide Bali furniture made from Wicker Rattan & Teak Wood

Rattan for furniture

rattan chair

Rattan is one of the materials for furniture making that is also much use instead of  wood. As well as wood, rattan is material from trees that can be renewable. Rattan is a product of tree species that live in the forests. In the forest rattan vines grow following the tall and big trees. Therefore rattan plantation is more difficult than wood plantation because it requires a high tree to place it. Last time when there is lot of tropical forests available, the rattan is easily obtained and the price is cheap, since it just a by product from the forest. That time when rattan was lot available, there are many furniture made of rattan in many models and design. There was many furniture factories use rattan as the main raw materials. Now when the tropical forest is reduced the rattan became more difficult to be obtained and the price became more expensive, then less furniture factories that use rattan.

 Rattan cabinet

The advantage of rattan is that he is unique, elastic and very flexible. Rattan stick is very easy to be bended, to make unique shape in many form. Rattan can also be cut, sliced in any size and woven with many form and model. Rattan as furniture substrate is considered strong enough, even many are also used for outdoor furniture. 
Since now rattan becomes increasingly difficult to get and the price became more expensive, the furniture made from rattan becomes less, now rattan is more use with combination with wood as the accent on wood or metal furniture. Rattan sliced and woven to create a form on the drawer front, seat back, side or top wall with a frame from wood or iron. Now there is also developed a rattan synthetics in many model to replace natural rattan.

Compared with wood, rattan has less variation in type. The rattan mostly has same color base and form without any grain and pores. The rattan variation should be made in the processing. Process production to make rattan furniture is also relatively simple compared with the wood. Sanding the rattan can be done with a simpler process because the surface area is relatively small. The sanding mark that could be big problem for wood is not a problem for rattan furniture. Such as wood, rattan should also has to be dry before the finishing process is started.

rattan with antique finish

There are 2 types of rattan, the outer rattan and the inside rattan. The outer rattan is a part of peeled rattan skin, while the skin is a rattan cane which is the outer shell. The skin rattan is the most expensive part because it is very strong, flexible and has bright looked. It will make a bright looked and nice looked with a right finishing. Rattan part is usually taken out of small slashed to woven in a variety of model and style. Rattan wicker can also be used for the back of a chair or a seat on the couch to replace the other materials. Rattan is also available in post form that can easily bended and form to make furniture.

rattan dining set

Finishing for rattan.

The finishing for rattan is similar with wood finishing. The material for wood finishing usually can be used to finish the rattan. But the rattan finishing should according to the rattan furniture model.The rattan dose not have grain and pores as the wood, so the rattan finish should enhanced its form and model. The wash finish finish that will enhance its form and pattern is good choice for the rattan product. The nice result is also can be resulted with antique finish, with the application of glaze. For outdoor uses, the rattan with natural finish are also good choice. 

There are 2 things that must be considered in finishing for rattan, the rattan inside and outside. The inside part of rattan is a material with high porosity, since that it will absorb lot of finishing materials in the finishing materials. To produce a smooth surface he needs lot of sealer or top coat. This material will also absorb more stain, so the stain application must be done carefully. To prevent the dark and dirty spot of the stain usually rattan is sealed and sanded before stain application. The opposite is the skin rattan; he i very dense and absorbs very little finishing materials. This will create a bright and clear finishing looked, but the finishing material is hard to stick to its surface. This some times create adhesion problem for the finishing, therefore, the skin of the rattan finishing usually used a special sealer and lacquer to strengthen the adhesion.

elephant rattan bucket

Clear coating application in wood furniture finishing

Clear coating is applied in the finishing process to form film layer to protect the color and surface underneath. The selection of the clear coating is mainly determined by the strength (protection) needed by the finishing layer. However the type of the clear coating used in finishing will also determine the look of the finish produced. So when we select the type of clear coating, we also need to consider about the final look of the finishing required.
In a certain finishing process the type clear coating used should be same from the first coat to the last coat. It is much more safe to use the same type of clear coating materials from the wash coat as the first clear coat, sealer and the top coat as the last coat. It is better when we use the same supplier for all finishing material used including the clear coatings, stain and thinner for a certain finish. By using the finishing materials from 1 supplier then we can ask for guarantee for the whole finishing system to the paint supplier. If we have to mix the finishing materials form many supplier, then we really need to understand about the characteristic of each finishing material.

There are many types of clear coating based on his main resin, that each has his advantages and disadvantages properties. The types of coating that is commonly used in wood furniture finishing are:

- Nitrocellulose (NC)

- Acid curing or melamine

- Polyurethane (PU)

- Ultra violet cured coating (UV Coating)

- Water based coating

The use of clear coating with different types form the bottom layer to the top layer actually is not recommended. The different character of the clear coatings will make the process more difficult. The finishing process must be done more carefully and accurately. The uses of many different type of clear coating may cause problems in the finishing film layer such as: crack, frying, adhesion, etc. The incompatible clear coating will also cause problems in the finishing looked such as: clarity, lustrous and yellowing. 
When we decide to use different clear coating in every layer of a finishing system, we must consider the material compatibility in the whole system. One simple rule, is : never layering the materials that are dried with chemical reaction on the coating materials that dry by thinner evaporation. The finishing materials that dry by reaction are: polyurethane, UV coating, acid curing and precatalyzed coating. While the coating that dry caused by the evaporation if his thinner without any chemical reaction are: nitrocellulose coating, butyrate coatings, vinyl coatings, water based coatings. The finishing traditional such as shellac, of varnish is cured by evaporation of his thinner. 
The second rule is the application on the chemical reaction dry film should be done when the coating layer is already fully dry. 

Here is the table of compatibility of various type of clear coating materials in application.

Material	Compatibility	Remarks
NC on AC	NC on AC	AC must completely cured
NC on PU	OK
NC on UV	OK	UV must fully cured
NC on Water-based	OK	Water-based must completely dry
AC on NC	Not OK
AC on PU	Not OK
AC on UV	OK	UV must fully cured
AC on Water-based	OK	Water-based must completely dry
PU on NC	Not OK
PU on AC	Not Ok
PU on UV	Ok	UV must fully cured
PU on water-based	Ok	Water-based must  completely dry
UV on NC	Not Ok
UV on AC	Ok	AC must completely cured
UV on PU	Ok	PU must completely cured

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