Impact of impregnation with boron compounds on the surface hardness and abrasion resistance of some varnished woods

This study was performed to determine the impact of impregnation with boron compounds on the surface hardness and abrasion resistance of some varnished woods. For this purpose, test specimens prepared from Oriental beech, White oak, Scotch pine, and Uludag fir, which met the requirements of ASTM D 358, were impregnated according to ASTM D 1413‐99 with boric acid (Ba), borax (Bx), and boric acid + borax (Ba+Bx) by the vacuum technique. After impregnation, the surfaces are coated with synthetic (Sn), water‐borne (Wb) and acid hardening (Ah) varnishes in accordance with ASTM D 3023. the surface hardness of specimens after the varnishing process was determined in accordance with ASTM D 4366. The abrasion resistance of specimens after the varnishing process was determined in accordance with TS 4755. According to the wood type, impregnation material and varnish type, the surface hardness was the highest for Oriental beech impregnated with borax + boric acid and acid hardening varnish and the lowest for Uludag fir impregnated with borax + boric acid and synthetic varnish. According to the wood type, impregnation material and varnish type, the abrasion resistance was the highest for Oriental beech impregnated with borax + boric acid and acid hardening varnish and the lowest for Scotch pine impregnated with borax + boric acid and synthetic varnish. Those results should be taken into account for applications like parquet, flooring etc., where the surface hardness and abrasion resistance values are very important. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009