Wood Preservative/Stabilizer

[robcg]

Hi All,

 

A few articles I've come across in model making or woodworking magazines have mentioned specialty wood sealers & stabilizers.  Specifically, Pentacryl and Cuprinol are noted as having been used with some success in model ship building or restoration.

 

Anybody have any experience with these products (ship modelling or otherwise)?  If so, how'd they work out?

 

Thanks,

 

Rob

[grsjax]

I have used cuprinol but I would not suggest it for model building.  It left a greenish color in the wood.  Good stuff for protecting wood from bugs but I don't know how it would impact painting or other finishing processes.  Don't know what pentacyrI is.  I have used clear shellac to stablize wood for carving.  However it is sensitive to water and turns white if it gets wet.  Works great.  Can be painted over with water or oil based paints and I have clear coated over it with oil based finishes including tung oil and BLO.  Haven't tried using acrylic clear over it.  Plain white wood glue works well with soft woods like basswood.  Super glue can also be used.  Clear acyrlic paint is something I have used as well to keep down fuzz when sanding.  Hope that helps.

[vaddoc]

I use Americana acrylic sealing sander, water based, one coat only and cheap. It works great

[Jaager]

 

"Pentacryl, a compound of Siliconized polymers, was originally developed for the treatment of waterlogged wood. It has since been marketed for woodcarving and woodturning to keep green wood from cracking and splitting."

 

Cuprinol -originally was a copper salt based product intended to protect wood from fungus, insect borers, and ship worms.  I am thinking that copper based compounds have been avoided for reasons of toxicity.  The company seems to have kept the name and moved into other products in the area of wood protection to stay in business.

 

We probably should not be keeping a model in a outdoor exposed situation, so Cuprinol does not provide a use that we need.

 

I would advise using well seasoned wood stock to build a model, so a green wood stabilizer also seems to be a function that we do not need.

Edited June 13, 2015 by Jaager

[normanh]

Its Copper Naphthenate.

 

Norman

[wefalck]

Ship models are usually kept indoors, so there is not really a need for preservation or stabilisation. There may be issues with woodworms (anobium punctatum), but this is a long-term preservation issue. In some parts of the World you may be also worried about termites, I gather.

 

Otherwise, the surface of wood is usually treated for esthetic reasons mainly. Covering the surface with some sort of lacquer or varnish also allows for easier cleaning, which again may not be an issue for a ship model that is kept best under a glass cover anyway.

 

Outdoor wood preserving agents that contain various organic or inorganic biocides would actually be most unsuitable for indoor use because they may give of hazardous fumes or may be toxic when people/pets come into contact with them. For the same reason, one should not (re-)use such wood (e.g. old railway sleepers etc.) indoors.