Old wood is a natural raw material that needs proper care. If you don't, the coating on your old wood furniture can wear off and your wooden floor will start to creak. If you don't want to cover your favourite coffee table with a tablecloth to cover the defects on the tabletop and the thought of a creaky living room floor makes you want to... Read our guide on how to refinish old wood right now. The sooner you react to the first discolourations appearing on wood, the better!
How do you restore old wood to protect it from the inexorable passage of time? This is a question that many Scandinavian enthusiasts and zero-waste enthusiasts ask themselves. Old wood furniture, old floorboards or wainscoting made from recycled boards are timeless pieces of interior design. However, this does not mean that they do not need to be cleaned or maintained. On the contrary, old wood needs to be cared for.
What's more, it's not enough to buy a few detergents from the hypermarket to renew old wood. Such products may even damage the structure of the natural material, as there are chemicals in their composition. For daily care of wooden furniture, for example, it is recommended to use oil waxes - coconut oil or linseed oil, which impregnate the coating without interfering with the structure of the wood.
Problems with old wood
The old reclaimed boards in our range have been cleaned and dried in special high-temperature pressure chambers - so there are no woodworms or other insects in them. However, if the old wood furniture you own has not been subjected to a similar treatment because you inherited it from your ancestors - you should use a specialised solvent-based preparation - this should help combat the 'unwanted guests'.
To deal with stubborn discolouration, it is best to prepare a solution consisting of 850 ml water, 100 hg orthophosphoric acid and 50 g oxalic acid.
If the old wood does not disintegrate under pressure - it is a good idea to impregnate it with a suitable preparation in the area of the cracks. This will slow down the decay process.
Mould is primarily found in areas where the humidity is above 80%. Fungi that develop on wood deteriorate the condition of the wood and are also harmful to humans. It is therefore important to get rid of them as quickly as possible. How do I do this? It is worth getting a good quality fungicide to remove mould. The use of chemicals in this case is necessary, because the mechanical removal of mould will not inhibit its further growth. The same applies to old wood with moss or algae growth. These, too, must first be sprayed with a suitable product.
Once the problems with the old wood have been solved and the discolouration, woodworm and mildew have been removed, it is a good idea to sand the surface down to bare wood (especially if it was previously treated).
Then apply a protective coating in the form of an impregnating agent, preferably natural. Oils will penetrate the structure of the wood, protect cavities and protect abrasions. However, it is important to remember to only apply them to hardwood species.
If the old wood has previously succumbed to biocorrosion, it is advisable to reach for a varnish, which will provide better protection, resistant to scratches.
A varnish is also a good option, which works well for old wall boards or panelling.
If, on the other hand, the old boards you have no longer meet your expectations and no longer look as good as they once did - we invite you to take advantage of the Antik-Holz Profis offer. Old recycled planks, wooden beams or 3D panels have been professionally treated, so they will retain their great looks for decades.