Weathering Protection for Beech Wood in Kosovo

Abstract

Beech wood (Fagus sylvatica L.) is one of the most important timber species produced in Kosovo. About 33% of the trees in our country are beech and most of the wood products are from this kind of timber. The color difference between red heart wood and white wood of the beech is significant. Adequate protection against weathering (snow, rain and low temperature) and leaching of preservative components into the environment are the main problems faced by wood companies in Kosovo as coatings defects may become apparent after only one year of outside exposure. The aim of this study was to assess the best way to protect beech wood products from weathering with available types of commercial wood coatings: film forming, non film forming, transparent stain and semi transparent penetrating stain.
We concluded that the film forming and semitransparent penetrating stain are the best painting methods for beech wood products protection, according to weathering performance and coating properties.