Matting agent

Matting agent, flattening paste or flat paste is an additive material that is used to reduce the gloss of the resulted film produced by a clear coating (top coat). The pure coating is made of a resin mixture that will produce a clear and high gloss film when it is applied at a certain surfaces. When the coating is first time invented and introduced in the wood finishing, then it is quite difficult to make the finish with low sheen. The low sheen finish was made by adjusting the film thickness or rub the dry film resulted. But now with the matting agent additive, then we can make a finish film with the desired gloss by using the proper top coat. With the addition of matting agent, now the top coat can be made and is available in many gloss level. Then now, every finishing people can easily choose the top coat with the proper sheen according to the finishing requirement.  

The first matting agent was made from the silica that was finely grounded and pulverized, but now with the development of chemical technology there are some other materials are developed to be used as matting agent (matting agent additives). If the paint is colored, then the pigment color also can do as matting agent. The matting agent works by refracting the incoming light at the coating film to lower the gloss of the finishing film. (The gloss in the wood finishing).

Now most of the modern top coat are produced and sold with some matting agent inside according to the gloss of the top coat. But we still can also buy the matting agent material to adjust the sheen of the top coat gloss ourselves. To set the gloss level of the top coat we can also mix the top coat with different glosses with the proper ratio.

 matting agent is refracting the light at the film surface

The addition addition of matting agents in the top coat is relatively easy and quite common job in the finishing shop; however it must be done properly. Here are some things need to be considered when we need to adjust the sheen by adding matting agent into the clear coating.

• Read the specification of the clear coating and matting agent.

Matting agent usually is sold in the form of viscous paste, with some resin in the mixture. The pure matting agent is powder which is very light dust; it is very difficult to be handled and mixed in the thick mixture of top coat. Matting agent that is packaged in a paste form will be easier to handled and added to the top coat mixed. But since there some resin in the mixture, then we must make sure that the matting agent is compatible with the clear coating resin mixture. There are many type of matting agent as well as the type of clear coating. What we need to do is make sure we mix the same type of matting agent and the clear coat. We can ask for the technical data sheet of the material or get information from the finishing material supplier.

•   Make calculation to find the amount of matting agent to be added.

To get the films with proper gloss, we must add the matting agent in the right amount. Too much matting agent will produce too low sheen; while too less will produce high sheen. Then we need know the amount of matting agent to be added to the top coat according to the sheen we want. We can ask the paint supplier to find the proper amount of the matting agent we need. There should be a chart or table showing the correlation between the percentages of matting agent in a mixture with the gloss of the resulting film. Use the information to calculate the amount of matting agent we should add in the top coat.

•  Do a good agitation and filtering.

Mating agent essentially is light and fine powder, therefore he quite difficult to get in and mix with the paint which is a viscous mixture. The matting agent is often precipitated and left at the base of the top coat mixture. To produce a perfect mixture then an intensive mixing and agitating is needed. When we add the matting agent, then the addition should be done little by little together with good agitation. After all of the matting agent has been added and mixed with the top coat, then continue the agitation, and make sure the matting is well mixed with the top coat.
Although we already doing the well mixing and agitating, there may be some matting agent powder are precipated in the top coat.  Then we should filter the top coat mix before apply it. Add some thinner to the mix to reduce the viscosity and then filter it with the fine filter before apply the top coat.

• Make some test and trial before doing the application on a large scale.

Top coat is a mixture of resin; we never know the result before it has been applied. Then every time we do some changing we need to test it. Do the mixing in small amounts, record the formula that we use, and apply the coating to a panel or a small item product. See and observe the result, if we get the result in accordance with what we want, then we can use the same formulation and step to the large scale production.

Rubber wood

Rubber wood is considered a "cheap" wood to make furniture. The rubber tree is mainly planted and cultivated for its latex, the raw material in the rubber industry. Rubber trees that have been unproductive then are cut and sold as timber wood. Then it was considered that rubber wood had physical properties which were suitable for the woodworking industry to make various wood products. Furniture, flooring parquet, and some other wood products such as: strawboard, veneer or plywood can be made with rubber wood. 
The treatment for rubber wood is quite complicated. The wood naturally contains latex which must be removed before being used in the woodworking industry. The wood is also high risk for the fungal and wood-eating insects attacked. The trees must be treated properly soon after being cut otherwise it will get problem with blue stain or insect attacked. The special processing that is known as the vacuum treatment is needed. The rubber wood boards are placed in the chamber room to be boiled with hot water for several minutes (about 15 minutes), then the hot water is sucked until all water is out from the room. The suction process is continued to let the latex is out from the wood.  After most of the latex is out, then the anti insect solution is flowed to the chamber to fill in the wood pores and grain. The anti insect solution will be absorbed with the wood to make the wood resist to the insect attacked. The wet wood is then still needed to be sent to the kiln dry to be dried to meet the standard moisture content for woodworking industry.
Instead of his complex processed the rubber wood has some good properties for woodworking industry furniture supply. The rubber wood is quite strong with a medium hardness make it can be easy to machinery, drilled and bored. The wood is also relatively inexpensive, has a light base color and have nice grain pattern. He has deep and big texture of pores and grain, make it flexible enough to be combined with the common veneer in the furniture industry such as: oak, maple, ash and even, mango or mahogany. His light basic color; white to light brown is big advantage since make it is flexible to be finished in many color. 

rubber wood panel

 
Finishing for rubber wood. 
 
Despite if his high flexibility for color selection, the finishing proper finishing process for rubber wood is needed. The wood has high porosity with big pores and grain texture. The wood tends to be rough and absorb too much finishing material. Too wet stain application should be avoided since its high risk for the blotchy color problem. The glue sizing or sealer sizing can be used to reduce the risk of blotchy color. The rubber wood that already has been sanded with smooth surface should not be left in open air for long time, because he will absorb the water from the air that will raise the wood fibers and make the surface be rough again.
The big pores and grain can be stained or glazed to make the life and special finishing looked. But if the close pores finish is generated, then the filler application is needed to fill and close the pores. The filler with natural or light color can be applied as the first finishing process to reduce the absorption of stain into the wood pores, thereby reducing the rik of blotchy color. A wide range of color and appearance can be applied to the rubber wood. Finishing with a transparent color from the light color to the dark colors can be applied without any difficulty. The clean looked finish can be made as well as the antic finishing in any color.
The solid color finishes also can be applied to the rubber wood product. If the clean and close pores finish is needed, then we need to apply filler to fill the pores and grains. If the antique solid color finish is needed, then we can maximize its big grain and pores to make more life finish. The glaze, filler or powder glaze inside the pores will make a "dramatic" finishing looked.

Wrought iron furniture.

Wrought iron furniture is made with different processes than the cast iron. The iron in any form, plat, rod, strip, are processed by forging, cutting, bending and welding to make furniture products in any form and shape. The processing to make wrought iron furniture is less complicated then the cast iron. It does not need the iron melting process that requires very high temperatures as cast iron. Some heating process may be needed to help the process of bending, rolling but it does not require high temperatures. Although quite simple, but  with skillful operator and the proper technique, various model and form of iron furniture can be produced.

unfinish wrought iron furniture

Wrought iron furniture generally is stronger and more tenacious compared with the cast iron. It does not use the melting process that could change the molecular structure of iron. However, it is manual process which rely to the high skills and expertise of the operators. To produce big volume product then a clear standard operation procedure and good supervision is needed. The wrought process is more suitable to make furniture products with small number, or some accustomed product. The wrought iron furniture also has more value since it has an artistic touch as handmade product. The wrought process is ussually done in combination with casting process to make many model of iron furniture. The small components for ornamental are made with the casting process while the big components such as leg, frame are made from plate or iron rod that are forged, wrought and welded. The wrought iron furniture is also often made in combination with wood, veneer, cane or other natural products.

iron table

Finishing for wrought iron furniture is the same with the finishing the other iron products. The pretreatment and cleaning surface is very critical to get the good quality finish. The chemically or mechanically pretreatment must be done properly as the first step of finishing. Moreover, most of the raw materials for wrought iron are the iron products in many forms which are usually have been coated with a corrosion resistant material that might interfere to the attachment of finishing material that would be applied on. The sanding or putty is also ussually needed to the surface preparation. The finishing with electroplating or powder coating can be used to produce the clean looked finish. But, the NC system finish with many special effect and special looked could be more proper to the wrought iron furniture since it accords to its value as a handmade product.

iron coffe table

Cast iron furniture.

Iron to make furniture is quite common. There are many iron furniture are available in the market either the fully iron product or in combination with wood, rattan or other natural substrates. There are two processes to shape and form the iron, the casting and wrought. The cast iron is when the iron is melted and then poured in a mold or mattress; when it is cold and harden, then the iron product with special shape and object is resulted. The iron melts at very high temperature (about 1350°C), then a special furnace with high energy consumption is needed. The special equipment and expertise people is also needed to handle the hot melted iron. The precise mattress is very important tool to make the good shape and precise result. The imperfectness the casting process will create the incorrect product form as well. 
 

The cast iron for furniture.

cast iron furniture

The casting process has advantages since he can produce variety of shapes and sizes. It is available to make iron in many shapes and motifs such as: floral, animal, and other three-dimensional shapes. This casting process is often done in combination with wrought iron, to produce furniture. Cast iron can be used to make components to make furniture in combination with rattan, wood or other natural materials to produce the unique and special models. The casting process is considered a mass production process, when the mattress is created; we can make many products with same sizes and form in big amount.

But the cast iron is often identical with the low strength; many people consider that the cast iron product is often brittle and easily broken. Yes it is, compared with wrought iron cast iron generally is more brittle and fracture. But actually the quality and strength of the cast iron product is dependent to the type of the iron that is melted and casted. If we use the proper material then we can get the tough and tenacious cast iron product. You can find the explanation in here: the cast iron

                                                      cast iron combined with teak wood
 
Finishing process for the cast iron.
 
The touch-up to make corrections to make the proper and neat forms is needed as the first step in the finishing process. We can do sanding, filling and sandblasting to clean up the iron surfaces and to correct the form and shape of the iron product. After we got a proper shape and smooth surface then we need to layer it with the coating material soon. The cast iron is highly reactive to the water and oxygen. The iron product that is exposed in the open air will immediately react with air to form rust. Coating with the right finishing materials will cover the surface of the iron and prevent rust. Several types of finishing can be applied to the cast iron furniture to provide the protection and decoration to the cast iron furniture. The powder coating or electroplating finish will give a very strong layer, high resistance to the scratch, chemical and solvent, but it is limited to the clean looked and plain finish. If the fully decorative finish is needed, then we can use the NC finish system. The n.c. finish with many special effects can be generated with the application of glazes and stain.
Whatever type of coatings and finishes are used, the pretreatment and surface cleaning is very important to get the maximum adhesion. The mechanically pretreatment process to clean the dirt or rust on the surface can be done by sanding or sandblasting. The cleaning with solvent is also needed to clean the surface form any chemical or dirt just before the coating application.

Reclaimed wood furniture

The wood products that are old, damaged and no longer used can be reused as reclaimed or recycled wood. The used wood furniture, house frame, wood door, wood parquet wood ship, or other wooden product has a value as a reclaimed wood. The reclaimed wood is popular to make special furniture product.  The reclaimed wood furniture has high value since it is naturally antique, ancient, and distinctive. The reclaimed wood furniture already is well-known as special model of furniture which has his segment in the furniture market. The used wood should be strong enough and still in the good condition when it is processed and reused. Then only some species woods are used as reclaimed wood furniture. The most popular recycled wood are the teak, oak, pine and some mixed wood. The availability is the important issue since the furniture industry always need a continuous supply to keep working with the wood. The teak wood has high availability because it has been popular and used since long time ago. Ships, house frame, door, furniture, floor and any other wood products were made from teak wood. And now when the wood products are going to be old and damaged, the wood is still in good condition and can be recycled to make reclaimed wood furniture.

reclaimed wood furniture

The reclaimed teak wood is popular since it has an attractive appearances from its beauty wood grain beside of his ancient impression. The models of the recycled teak furniture of course always highlight its ancient, antique and rustic. The existence of cracked, holes, dents, peg, from the former application are good outset to make the antic and ancient looked furniture product. Some physical distress and other finishing manipulation may be added to give more impression of old and ancient product.
The reclaimed wood also has the advantage since he has been very stable sine it has been exposed in the outside air for decades or even hundreds of years. The problem caused by the wood movement due to changes in air humidity environment should no longer exist. However, attention is also needed in processing the recycled wood. The recycled wood is old wood; he could be too old and could be broken already and not strong enough. This timber may also contain nails or pegs inside that could damage the machine in the processing.

 reclaimed teak wood finishing step

Finishing for reclaimed wood furniture.
 
Reclaimed wood furniture always describes the impression of old and ancient, then the finishing should be according to the style of the furniture product. The simple finishes with the application of wax or oil are most used since it accords with the rustic and ancient looked form the furniture. The finishing with the use of modern finishing material by application of stain, clear coating glaze can also be generated with the antique style finishing with thin film to show the natural impression. Applications of thick clear coating should be avoided because it would contrary to the impression naturally ancient of the wood. Some physical manipulations such as wire brush or physical distress can be done to enhance the old and antique looked. The special finish to create dust looked with powder glaze or water based paint are also most used.

recycled oak wood

Aluminum antique finish

Aluminum as a furniture substrate may be much less than the wood, but the aluminum furniture is quite well popular in the market. Aluminum is much used to make metal furniture since it is easily handled, machined and shaped and have high durability. Aluminum in various model and shape can be found in many furniture products. (See our previous article: aluminum for furniture). Although aluminum can be exposed in the unfinished state, but we can finish the aluminum to produce more attractive appearance and more durable product. There are many finishing models and color can be generated for the aluminum, and now in this article we want to share the antique finish for aluminum. It it’s the finishing for aluminum with the application of stain and glaze with special techniques same as finishing process in the wood furniture finishing.

                                            aluminum antique finish step panel

Here is the finishing process step by step.

• 1. Application of metal primer coat.

In this finish basically we used the finishing process with NC finishing material. To generated good adhesion to the finishing layer then a the metal primer coat is needed. It is the paint or coating that serves to do as the "connector" between the NC finish with the metal. It is applied as the first coating on the metal before the application of NC or varnish, stain or glaze application. In this finishing process we used a clear metal primer (no color metal primer), since we want to make a semi transparent finish. The primer metal coat was layered as the first coat by spray wet evenly the aluminum surface. Then we waited for about 30 minutes to let the coat dry.

• 2. Application of stain.

Stain was used to color the aluminum to produce the desired finish color. We used a black toner stain. Toner stain is a stain with some clear coat in the mixture. We mixed black stain with some  vinyl sealer (about 5 %) to make the toner. The sealer in the stain mixed helps the stain to attach better for the aluminum surface. The black toner was sprayed evenly all over the aluminum surface. The toner stain color blended with the basic color of the aluminum metal to make a dark aluminum metal color. To make antique effect and more life impression, we did some highlight to the stain. We wiped slightly the stain layer with steel wool at some parts to make more life finishing looked.

• 3. Application of clear coating.

The next process is the sealer application. One coat of vinyl sealer was layered on the stain to provide protection layer to the stain and give smooth surface before glaze application. Vinyl sealer was applied by spray evenly all over the surface. We let the vinyl sealer layer for about 20 minutes to dry.

 application glaze to make antique

• 4. Application of glaze.

Glaze was applied to form the dark black color and to make antic effect in the finishing. Glaze was poured to overall surface and wiped off by rag and brushed to get the even layer of glaze coat. Some highlighted with the steel wool was done to produce the antique and old looked impression. We let the glaze for about 60 minutes to dry.

• 5. Application of top coat.

After the glaze layer is dry, then we blown the glaze layer to clean it for the steel wool dust or any other dirt. We also checked the color and effect of the finish, to make sure we got the proper color and effect before we applied the top coat layer. We sprayed 15 sheen NC top coat as the last layer. We waited for 30 minutes until the top coat layer to dry, and we checked the film layer and finished color resulted. Since we got rough surface, then we did lightly scuff sanding to the top coat and applied one more layer of top coat. The result was an antique black metal aluminum finish. 

antique aluminum finish table

Aluminum for furniture.

Aluminum could be the most popular and widely used metal for human life. Wide range of tools and equipment are made of aluminum, ranging from household appliances such as: pots, pans, kettles, plates, windows, doors to the machine and equipment are made from aluminum. Aluminum is light, strong hold, durable, and relatively inexpensive. Aluminum is available in various shapes such as: plate, coil or rod, etc. Aluminum in any form can be easily handled and formed to make any product. It is quite "soft" and "flexible"  to be bended, cut, drilled, welded, sanded and finished to make metal products in any form.

aluminum for lobby desk

Aluminum also can be used to make various kinds of furniture products for indoor and outdoor; it can be used alone or in combination with wood or other natural materials. Aluminum combined with teak, oak, merbau or rattan is quite popular to make outdoor furniture. Aluminum also can be used as the components such as: legs, table top, or simply as accessories or hardware for furniture.


Finishing for aluminum.

Generally aluminum can be directly coated with finishing materials. The material for aluminum should the special to be able be well attach to the metal. With the proper coating, aluminum can be finished in variety of colors and looked; he can be finished with paint finish to make a clean looked and modern impression, or  be finished with antique or old looked with the application of glaze and stain. If antique finish is going to be generated, then primer metal coat is needed as the first layer. The powder coating or electroplating finish can directly applied since they will well attached the metal. Aluminum also can be used without coated with finishing material. The naked aluminum with polishing process can produce a high gloss appearance with luxury and elegance looked.

 aluminum for top table

Here some tips to finish the aluminum.

• Surface preparation.

Although in general the surface of the aluminum coating layer can be received well, but we should do the cleaning and surface preparation to ensure the finishing layer can be well attached to the surface. There are may any rusty or dirt that could affect the finishing material attachment. Wash the aluminum surface with paint thinner to clean the surface. Aluminum also can be sanded to clean and smooth the surface, but the sanding should be done properly. The gradually sanding process is needed. Start the sanding with the coarse sandpaper (grade 240 or 320), then followed with the finer sandpaper sanding. If clean and smooth surface finish is needed, then the sanding with # 800 or # 1000 grade sandpaper should be used as the last sanding. 

aluminum table with antique finish

• Choose finishing materials according to the usability of the product.

Finishing layer is always expected to provide sufficient protection to let the product fulfill its functions. The finishing material selection should match the desired functionality of the product. For the products that require maximum protection, then the powder coating or electroplating is the best choice, since they will give a strong finish layer, high resistant to the chemical, scratch and outdoor weather. For indoor product with the antique models, then we can use the glaze and stain for wood finishes but with special coating for metal applications. We can used a primer metal coating as first layer then followed with the n.c. or water based coating at the top layer.