PRESERVING WOOD FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.
In today’s eco-conscious society, we’re all doing a little more to try to make a difference on the world around us. Here at Waterlox we are strong proponents of protecting and renewing wood surfaces. It’s a practice that saves countless trees every year and breathes new life into some of the most beautiful materials our forests have ever given us. We’re proud to say we’ve been creating wood preservation formulas, with Mother Nature in mind, since 1910. Thanks to our use of tung oil, a completely natural and renewable resource, Waterlox is able to bring you the best in wood finishing products without damaging our planet’s resources in the process. Plus, once you seal wood with Waterlox, it is protected. So there is no need for the wood to be sanded down to maintain it. Therefore, a wood floor finished with Waterlox may never need to be ripped out and replaced. Using Waterlox means a longer life for the wood in your home, so it can be enjoyed for years to come as well as a greater abundance of trees in our backyards.
LOW VOC CAN BE DECEIVING.
Some environmentally friendly wood finishes actually require more effort, expense and energy usage than Waterlox for production and manufacturing of the product, as well as for repair and restoration of the wood surface. Generally, these “green” products do not deliver quality that meets the needs of the end-user over time. Plus, many of these finishes also make irrelevant or untrue green claims.
"Green" products should take into account the entire life cycle of the wood finish. Waterlox finishes last longer than most low VOC waterborne formulations, thereby reducing the frequency of refinishing. These finishes that claim to be eco-friendly do not consider the number of times a floor is recoated or refinished in their VOC calculations. Over the lifetime of a wood floor, it is possible that more VOCs may be emitted using a waterborne coating than using Waterlox.
Furthermore, Waterlox Original Tung Oil finishes can be coated and recoated without sanding or stripping the existing surface. This allows for application and touch-up or recoating without wasted energy and resources: sandpaper, sanding tools and materials, trash receptacles, energy to operate machinery to screen and recoat a surface, etc. As a result, there is a greater net reduction in environmental impact when using a product like Waterlox. Not to mention, when you use any Waterlox interior product, 90% of the solids that remain on the wood surface are from renewable resources.
BE ONE WITH THE WOOD.
Waterlox nurtures wood by penetrating into its pores and fibers. It becomes part of the wood, re-oiling and strengthening it to enhance its longevity. Some wood finishing products, such as oil-modified polyurethanes, protect the wood by covering it in a plastic film. However, when that film is breached it offers no protection. Furthermore, the plastic coating must be sanded down for the wood to be refinished. Because tung oil is elastic, Waterlox moves with wood that must stand up to changing conditions and heavy traffic.
GS-47 is the GreenSeal1 environmental standard for stains and finishes. Waterlox Original Tung oil finishes are categorized as "Conjugated Oil Varnish," which is described in section 2.3 on page 6. Click here to read the entire GreenSeal GS-47 document.
1GreenSeal is a non-profit, third-party certifier and standards development body in the United States.
Click here to view the report - Life-Cycle Inventory of Solid Strip Hardwood Flooring in the Eastern United States.
