Beads for Beauty:
SILRES® WH
Without preservation, wood ages very rapidly. With preservation, it often no longer looks like wood. Products in the SILRES® WH range can permanently protect wood without changing its optical and tactile properties.
Long-Term Protection with Silicones
Wood is a versatile material with many advantages. However, wood is very sensitive to weathering if used outdoors. Water is a particular problem. By absorbing and emitting moisture, the wood first swells and then shrinks again, leading to severe surface damage. Water additionally promotes rotting.
Conventional wood preservatives, such as water-repellent impregnations and paints unfortunately wear off over time. WACKER has successfully used products of the SILRES® BS series for building protection over decades - though on mineral surfaces.
For use on wood, a new product had to be developed: SILRES® WH: The water-thinnable, solvent-free emulsion is based on a functional silicone resin. After application, it develops a silicone-resin network that is particularly stable due to its high bond energy, but at the same time flexible enough for the coating to conform to the continuous movement of the wood without peeling off. SILRES® WH produces a strong water-repellent effect without restricting the water-vapor permeability. The wood is effectively protected and can still breath.
Diluted or as an Additive
SILRES® WH is used in dilute form as water-repellent impregnation or as an additive for formulating film-forming wood glazes. In the latter case, even a low concentration of the emulsion (1 - 3 %) ensures that wood glazes repel water for significantly longer than usual.
17 Years of Protection
Thanks to its breathability, SILRES® WH demonstrably provides reliable protection for up to 17 years. Even after 4,000 hours UV-B irradiation in the lab - corresponding to several years’ outdoor weathering - the amount of water penetrating into the wood remains very low. With a 1:4 dilution, water absorption is at most 15 percent. With 1:9 dilutions, 18 percent water was absorbed. For comparison, non-impregnated woods absorbed 50 percent water. The use of SILRES® WH provides long-term protection against water, and the damage that it causes.
Are you interested in SILRES® WH products?
In our product portal you can find further information on the advantages of SILRES® WH and all details of the various product grades.
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