Glossary

Absorption

After the wood has been well-prepared, it is ready for the even absorption into the wood - or absorption onto the wood's surface - of dyes, stains or fillers. In many cases, it is appropriate to sponge the surface with water, alcohol or solvents to show any areas which may contain glue, marks, oil or uneven sanding.

Acetone

• FLAMMABLE

Acetone (systematically named propanone) is the organic compound with the formula (CH3)2CO. It is a colorless, volatile, flammable liquid, and is the simplest ketone.

Acetone is miscible with water and serves as an important solvent in its own right, typically for cleaning purposes in the laboratory. About 6.7 million tonnes were produced worldwide in 2010, mainly for use as a solvent and production of methyl methacrylate and bisphenol A.[13][14] It is a common building block in organic chemistry. Familiar household uses of acetone are as the active ingredient in nail polish remover and as paint thinner.

Acetone is produced and disposed of in the human body through normal metabolic processes. It is normally present in blood and urine. People with diabetes produce it in larger amounts. Reproductive toxicity tests show that it has low potential to cause reproductive problems. Pregnant women, nursing mothers and children have higher levels of acetone.[15] Ketogenic diets that increase acetone in the body are used to counter epileptic attacks in infants and children who suffer from recalcitrant refractory epilepsy.

Atomization:

The process of Turning a Liquid into a mist, for our purposes, with the use of air pressure. This process occurs within the spray guns and is essential to their operation.   

Binder:  

Compound in finishes that binds pigment particles together.

Blotching

Uneven stain coloration caused by uneven densities in the wood.

Blush  
Moisture is the reason that wood finishes turn milky. If you spray lacquer or shellac in humid conditions, water gets trapped inside the finish when the solvent evaporates. The resulting milkiness is called blushing.

Catalyst
"Catalyst" redirects here. For other uses, see Catalyst (disambiguation).

Catalysis is the increase in the rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of an additional substance called a catalyst. With a catalyst, reactions occur faster and require less activation energy. Because catalysts are not consumed in the catalyzed reaction, they can continue to catalyze the reaction of further quantities of reactant. Often only tiny amounts are required.

Coalescing

Coalescing Finishes: typically water-based, are a combination of evaporative and reactive finishes. They are essentially emulsions with slow-evaporating thinners. Solvent is glycol ether and the thinner water. (water-based finishes, pigment with water binder, etc)

Cure / Dry:

Most paints and varnishes, as well as many lacquers, undergo both drying and curing processes. Drying is the first stage and it is when the coating shrinks due to the loss of solvent because of evaporation, and curing refers to the second phase where the coating changes physically and/or chemically.

Danish Oil

Danish oil is a wood finishing oil, made of either tung oil
or polymerized linseed oil.

Danish oil is a hard drying oil, meaning it can polymerize into a solid form. It can be applied to provide a hard-wearing, water-resistant satin finish, or as a primer on bare wood before applying paint or varnish. It is a 'long oil' finish: a mixture of oil and varnish: typically around one third varnish and the rest predominantly of oil.

When applied in coats over wood, Danish oil cures to a hard satin finish that resists liquid well. As the finished coating is not glossy or slippery, it is a suitable finish for items such as food utensils or tool handles, giving some additional water resistance and also leaves a dark finish to the wood. Special dyed grades are available if wood staining is also needed.

Compared to varnish it is simple to apply, usually a course of three coats by brush or cloth with any excess being wiped off shortly after application. The finish is left to dry for around 4-24 hours between coats, depending on the mixture being used and the wood being treated. Danish oil provides a coverage of approx 12.5 sq. m/l (600 sq. ft./gallon)

Rags used for Danish oil have some potential risk of spontaneous combustion and starting fires, from exothermic oxidation. So it is best to dry rags flat before disposing of them, or else soak them in water.

Dye

A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and may require a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber.The majority of natural dyes are from plant sources: roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood, fungi, and lichens. Textile dyeing dates back to the Neolithic period. Throughout history, people have dyed their textiles using common, locally available materials. Scarce dyestuffs that produced brilliant and permanent colors such as the natural invertebrate dyes Tyrian purple and crimson kermes were highly prized luxury items in the ancient and medieval world.

Extender or Retarder

A chemical additive used to extend the "open" (workable) time of acrylic colors. It comes in gel/liquid form and is used in small amounts (just as much as is needed) because it does not contain enough resin to act as a "binder".

Useful for stuff like:

> blending and manipulating the color (on a palette, etc..)

> shading and highlighting

> working on small areas

> creating layered gradients for backgrounds.

Epoxy

Epoxy is a combination of an epoxide resin and polymine hardener, which causes a chemical reaction creating a clear, hard, and strong coating, drying within several minutes to several hours. Often, the epoxy finish is poured onto flat surfaces, spread with a paint brush or plastic spreader, then allowed to cure for at least 4 hours. Additional coats can be applied, sanding between for improved adhesion. Epoxy primers or finishes are popular for outdoor furniture, as it penetrates the wood, hardening it, as well as making it resistant to fungi and water damage. Epoxy finishes are resistant to scratches, but can be further protected with a coat of Polyurethane Varnish after curing for at least 24 hours. Acetone solvent is used for cleaning, before epoxy has hardened. Epoxy is highly flammable, toxic, and expensive. Adequate ventilation, respiratory protection, and goggles are necessary during application.

Fish Eyes

Fish eyes on a finish appear as small indents/craters about the size of a pencil eraser, and can show up in just one place or all over your piece. They are caused by some kind of contaminant in the wood grain, typically silicone (which can be found in many cleaning products). This silicone contamination is usually invisible until the clear coat of finish is applied, where the fish eyes become apparent. At that point, your only course of action is to strip the finish off, try to clean the wood with mineral spirits and then seal in any remaining silicone with a sprayed coat of shellac (not brushed on, since a brush can pick up and spread the silicone), and lacquer. They can also be caused by finishing a piece that hasn't been properly prepared, such as something with bits of oil or wax on it.

Fish eyes ->  <- No fish eyes

Flashpoint

The flashpoint of a compound is the lowest temperature at which that compound’s vapours can ignite. For example, the flash point of ethanol is approximately 17°C, so if it is any warmer than that, a spark or flame nearby will cause it to catch fire.

Gloss
Finishes designated as gloss or high gloss dry to a smooth, shiny, reflective surface. The opposite of gloss is flat. Gloss is determined by its degree , for example a 25 degree gloss means it’s more of a flat tone , but a 90 degree gloss is very glossy, shiny .

Grain Raising

NGR (non-grain raising)

  

Raising the Grain

What exactly is "raising the grain"?

While the phrase has undeniable alliterative and rhythmic appeal, it would make a lot more sense if we said, "making all the loose fibers stand up". (No wonder we call it "raising the grain" instead.) In any case, that's what it is: causing torn and partially severed wood fibers to contort themselves so they arise and stand clear of the surface around them. This makes it possible to cut them away, leaving a surface as clean and smooth as possible prior to finishing.

Sanding wood almost always tears up the surface and leaves lots of small, stringy fibers ripped from their moorings, but not completely detached. They're so small and weak they're hard to feel when dry. Wipe the surface with a moderately wet rag, and the moisture instantly soaks into the tiny fibers, warping them severely. Stroke your formerly smooth surface, and it now feels rough and hairy. Let the moisture dry, then sand very lightly with the finest grit you used previously, moving the sandpaper just a few degrees askew from the grain direction so you don't simply push the loose fibers back down into the grooves from which they were torn. Avoid partially severing a new crop of fibers; sand lightly and stop as soon as the hairy surface feels smooth again. It's a very old fine wood finishing technique, one that makes finished wood look cleaner and clearer, and which minimizes between-coats finishing hassles as well.

HVLP:

High Volume, Low Pressure:

A newer model of spray gun that increases efficiency of spraying over conventional guns by using more air but at lower pressure. More air moving through the gun at a lower pressure means that there is more of the spray being transferred onto the work surface as opposed to being released into the air.    

Japanese Dryer:

A catalyst added to oil based products to speed up drying time, AKA a drying oil.

Key

Scratches which allow a mechanical bond between coats of finish.

Lacquer

is a clear or coloured wood finish that dries by solvent evaporation or a curing process that produces a hard, durable finish. This finish can be of any sheen level from ultra matte to high gloss, and it can be further polished as required.lacquer is made of butyl acetate,xylene,or toluene.

Latex

Extraction of latex from a tree, for use in rubber production

A latex is a stable dispersion (emulsion) of polymer microparticles in an aqueous medium. Latex itself is natural, but synthetic latexes have been made. Synthetic latexes can be made by polymerizing a monomer such as styrene that has been emulsified with surfactants.

Latex as found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants (angiosperms).[1] It is a complex emulsion consisting of proteins, alkaloids, starches, sugars, oils, tannins, resins, and gums that coagulate on exposure to air. It is usually exuded after tissue injury. In most plants, latex is white, but some have yellow, orange, or scarlet latex. Since the 17th century, latex has been used as a term for the fluid substance in plants.[2] It serves mainly as defense against herbivorous insects.[1] Latex is not to be confused with plant sap; it is a separate substance, separately produced, and with separate functions.

The word is also used to refer to natural latex rubber, particularly non-vulcanized rubber. Such is the case in products like latex gloves, latex condoms and latex clothing. Many people are allergic to rubber latex.

Linseed Oil /  Boiled Linseed Oil

Linseed oil is a slow-drying liquid with good preservative properties and water resistance. It is extracted from flax seed. Slow drying finishes looks really beautiful but should not be used for items that get handled or walked on a lot.

Boiled linseed is not actually boiled; boiling some oils changes their drying characteristics. The addition of other solvents to linseed reduces drying time, acting as if it were boiled. It was found that the addition of solvents such as mineral spirits, japan drier, and turpentine would speed linseed oil's drying time, making it a more useful product. More like “affects the characteristics the way that boiling stuff sometimes does, but not actually boiled”.

Benefits:

> Fairly water resistant. Water left on the surface may penetrate given enough time

> Flexible. Oil finishes continue to protect as the wood expands and contract.

> Accentuates the texture and grain of the wood

> Easy to apply (rub on, rub off)

> Very forgiving during application

> Easy to re-apply if the original finish becomes worn or damaged

Disadvantages

> Linseed oil takes time to dry. Boiled linseed oil dries much faster.

> Lack of any UV inhibitors

> Linseed oil can support the growth of mildew

> On surfaces where abrasion will be frequently encountered,  linseed oil may not harden sufficiently, requiring frequent repair

Methanol / Ethanol

Methanol, or methyl alcohol (not to be confused with menthol) is a clear liquid which evaporates very easily, is flammable, colorless, and smells similar to ethanol, the alcohol we drink. However, it is much more toxic so please please don't drink it. Ethanol, the drinking alcohol, is sold to woodworkers in an adulterated format under the name of denatured alcohol, which makes it highly toxic, so again, do not drink it.  Both are typically used to dissolve and thin shellac, though methanol evaporates (dries) a bit more quickly than ethanol does.

.

Mineral Spirits

White spirit (UK) or mineral spirits (US), also known as mineral turpentine, turpentine substitute, petroleum spirits, solvent naphtha (petroleum), varsol, Stoddard solvent, or, generically, "paint thinner", is a petroleum-derived clear liquid used as a common organic solvent in painting and decorating.

A mixture of aliphatic and alicyclic C7 to C12 hydrocarbons, white spirit is used as an extraction solvent, as a cleaning solvent, as a degreasing solvent and as a solvent in aerosols, paints, wood preservatives, lacquers, varnishes, and asphalt products. In western Europe about 60% of the total white spirit consumption is used in paints, lacquers and varnishes. White spirit is the most widely used solvent in the paint industry. In households, white spirit is commonly used to clean paint brushes after use, to clean auto parts and tools, as a starter fluid for charcoal grills, to remove adhesive residue from non-porous surfaces, and many other common tasks.

Mineral Oil

There are two types of mineral oil: food-grade and non-food-grade. The difference between the two is related to its purity. When mineral oil is labeled as “food-grade,” it can be found for sale in regular grocery stores, and it is safe for ingestion. Many times, people use mineral oil (in small quantities) as a type of laxative. When mineral oil is considered to be non-food-grade, it means that the oil contains certain ingredients that are harmful to humans if eaten or swallowed. The Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) is the organization that oversees and determines whether mineral oil falls into the “food-grade” or “non-food-grade” category.

In addition to using mineral oil as a type of laxative, many choose to use it as a finish for items made of wood – including wood dishes, bowls, cutting boards, kitchen countertops, dining room tables, and any other type of furniture. The primary reason for a mineral oil wood finish is often is due to the fact that it is “food safe” and not dangerous if ingested.

Mineral oil produces a very natural-looking finish to wood, and it is well-liked because of its non-toxic properties. One of the only negative issue with using mineral oil as a wood finish is that it must be re-applied periodically because it does not provide as strong of a finish as other types of wood coatings.

How to Apply Mineral Oil

The first step to applying mineral oils is to ensure that the surface to which it will be applied is sanded, clean and dry. The oil should then be applied by pouring it onto a clean cloth and wiping it on the wood’s surface. The oil must be given ample time to soak into the wood, and then it should be sanded. After the first coat is complete, at least one more layer should be added. Many people choose to apply several layers until their desired finish color appears.

Is it the Best Finish?

Many people rave about the benefits of using mineral oil as a wood finish. Because of its non-toxic nature, this type of oil can also be used to finish wooden baby cribs, wooden toys that children may put in their mouths, and wooden highchairs that babies may chew. Some of the most obvious characteristics of mineral oil are that it is clear, it does not have an obvious odor, and it produces a natural finish to wood surfaces. However, mineral oil does not necessarily provide a durable and long-lasting finish, and it therefore must be re-applied to surfaces that see a lot of use and/or a lot of moisture.

Naphtha

Naphtha is a very flammable combinations of various liquid hydrocarbons (molecules composed of hydrogen and carbon atoms) which is often used in camping stoves or as lighter fluid since it has a very low flash point of -30°C, making it easy to burn even outside in the winter. For woodworkers, naphtha has a very similar use to mineral spirits as a solvent for oil-based finishes. It is also used to wipe down and clean wood before applying a finish. At the hardware store we would look for VM&P naphtha, which is "varnish mixer's and painter's naphtha". Naphtha can also be used to dissolve nearly all waxes, which is handy if you wish to change a finish on a product.

You're looking at the wrong end of the gun, dude. The good news is that there's nothing at all wrong with the finish, and you'll be able to get it working well right away. Orange peel is probably the most common HVLP finishing problem we hear about—and it's also the easiest problem to solve. There's about a 99% probability that you're simply holding the gun too far from whatever you're finishing. Your orange peel problem will disappear the instant you begin spraying 6" or less from the surface.

Relatively warm air from your turbine, together with HVLP's gentle delivery, makes finishes behave a little differently than they do when sprayed from a typical compressed-air spray gun. If you give the tiny droplets of atomized finish emerging from your gun too much air time, they fail to merge thoroughly and flow out smoothly after they finally arrive on a surface. Keep the transit time short, and the finish flows out beautifully, curing to a smooth, uniform surface.

At risk of creating terminal confusion, we should acknowledge that we've used the term "orange peel" to describe a desirable condition in water-based finishing—though of course we're not talking about a rough cured surface. One sure sign of satisfactory wet coat thickness is slightly stippled texture (like orange peel) in the freshly applied wet film. A completely smooth standing puddle of finish is almost certainly much too thick; it will not dry quickly and reliably, and it may cause real problems with subsequent coats. When a fresh wet film looks like an orange peel, it will flow out smooth within minutes and then dry rapidly, providing a sound base for further coats.

Orange Peel

Orange peel is a certain kind of finish that may develop on painted and cast surfaces, even screen protectors.[1] The texture resembles the surface of the skin of an orange.

Gloss paint sprayed on a smooth surface (such as the body of a car) should also dry into a smooth surface. However, various factors can cause it to dry into a bumpy surface resembling the texture of an orange peel. The orange peel phenomenon can then be smoothed out with ultra-fine sandpaper, but it can be prevented altogether by changing the painting technique or the materials used. Orange peel is typically the result of improper painting technique, and is caused by the quick evaporation of thinner, incorrect spray gun setup (e.g., low air pressure or incorrect nozzle), spraying the paint at an angle other than perpendicular, or applying excessive paint.

In some situations, such as interior house paint, the orange peel texture is generally desirable. In this case, a texture paint is generally applied with a spray gun. The texture is then painted over with the appropriate color. When painting walls, orange peel can also develop by using a roller with too little paint or too thick a paint and the surface dries before the texture can level.

Overspray

Pigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.

Many materials selectively absorb certain wavelengths of light. Materials that humans have chosen and developed for use as pigments usually have special properties that make them ideal for coloring other materials. A pigment must have a high tinting strength relative to the materials it colors. It must be stable in solid form at ambient temperatures.

For industrial applications, as well as in the arts, permanence and stability are desirable properties. Pigments that are not permanent are called fugitive. Fugitive pigments fade over time, or with exposure to light, while some eventually blacken.

Pigments are used for coloring paint, ink, plastic, fabric, cosmetics, food and other materials. Most pigments used in manufacturing and the visual arts are dry colorants, usually ground into a fine powder. This powder is added to a binder (or vehicle), a relatively neutral or colorless material that suspends the pigment and gives the paint its adhesion.

A distinction is usually made between a pigment, which is insoluble in its vehicle (resulting in a suspension), and a dye, which either is itself a liquid or is soluble in its vehicle (resulting in a solution). A colorant can act as either a pigment or a dye depending on the vehicle involved. In some cases, a pigment can be manufactured from a dye by precipitating a soluble dye with a metallic salt. The resulting pigment is called a lake pigment. The term biological pigment is used for all colored substances independent of their solubility.[1]

In 2006, around 7.4 million tons of inorganic, organic and special pigments were marketed worldwide. Asia has the highest rate on a quantity basis followed by Europe and North America. By 2020, revenues will have risen to approx. US$34.2 billion[2] The global demand on pigments was roughly US$ 20.5 billion in 2009, around 1.5-2% up from the previous year. It is predicted to increase in a stable growth rate in the coming years. The worldwide sales are said to increase up to US$ 24.5 billion in 2015, and reach US$ 27.5 billion in 2018.

Recipe

List of ingredients and their proportions that go into a finish.

Resin

Any of numerous clear to translucent yellow or brown, solid or semisolid, viscous substances of plant origin, such as copal, rosin, and amber, used principally in lacquers, varnishes, inks, adhesives, plastics, and pharmaceuticals. Resins are usually insoluble in water.

Satin

There are 4 levels of hardwood floor finish sheens: Matte, Satin, Semi-gloss, Glossy (from least shiny to most shiny). The sheen measures how shiny or glossy your floor's finish is .

Saturate

When the wood is completely soaked in liquid so that no more can be absorbed  

Scuff Sand

Scuff sanding is a light sanding before finishing or between coats of finish. It is done to remove debris in finish, smooth raised wood fibres, even imperfections in the finish, and create the scratches which allow a mechanical bond between coats of finish. It is very important to remove dust after scuff sanding, before applying a new coat of finish.

Sealer (+related terms:  Washcoat, Sanding Sealer)

A sealer is an undercoat of finish who's function is to stop further absorption of successive coats into the wood, thus helping the successive coats to level. It is the first coat of finish you apply to the wood. It enters the pores, dries and stops them up so liquids don’t penetrate easily. It “seals” the wood. The sealer can be the finish itself (any finish), or it can be a special product designed to solve a problem. (Kinda like applying an initial paint coat, less intense than priming depending on what you are using.)

A washcoat is any finish thinned to  10 percent-or-less solids content and used to partially stop up the pores in the wood (so a stain will still add some color), or provide a thinner barrier between color coats (stain, glaze, filler or toner) to limit the total finish build. The commercial varnish product labeled “wood conditioner” is a washcoat.

Sanding Sealer

Oil-based polyurethane and all water-based finishes sand and powder easily without clogging sandpaper, but varnish and nitrocellulose lacquer gum up sandpaper. So manufacturers provide a special product to be used under varnish and lacquer, properly called “sanding sealer,” but sometimes misleadingly labeled “sealer.”

The purpose of sanding sealer is simply to speed production. It takes significantly less effort (and less sandpaper) to sand large surfaces. It is a thicker coat that eliminates penetration more than a washcoat would.  (Kinda like priming before painting a wall -saves time, not necessary for smaller areas.)

*NOTE* sanding sealer reduces the durability of the total finish build because it doesn’t dry as hard or as water resistant as the finish itself, and subsequent coats of finish don’t bond as well to the sealer as they do to the wood or to previous coats of finish. So more is lost than gained by using sanding sealer on smaller objects.

Watch some guy applying and talking about the stuff here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji5C-LRXCxI

Shellac

Shellac is a solid resin that is secreted from female lac bugs found in India and Thailand. The solid resin is sold in chips which are then mixed with ethanol to dissolve them. The solution is then applied to a wood surface to help to seal and protect the wood and, depending on the type of shellac used, impart colour. Shellac comes in a variety of different warm tones which are the natural product of the type of tree sap that the lac bug was feeding on and produces a naturally high gloss finish

Solvent / Thinner

- Solvents are defined as chemicals compound that are introduced during manufacture of the paint itself and before packaging, in order to maintain all components of the paint (resin, pigment, additives ...) in a liquid / viscous state such as we know it.

-Thinners are defined as chemical compounds that are introduced into the paint prior to application, in order to modify the viscosity and other properties related to the rate of curing that may affect the functionality and aesthetics of the final layer painting.

Stain

A wood stain consists of a colorant suspended or dissolved in an agent or solvent. The suspension agent can be water, alcohol, petroleum distillate, or the actual finishing agent (shellac, lacquer, varnish, polyurethane, etc.). Colored or 'stained' finishes, like polyurethane, do not penetrate the pores of the wood to any significant degree and will disappear when the finish itself deteriorates or is removed intentionally.

Pigments and dyes are largely used as colorants. The difference between the two is in the size of the particles. Dyes are microscopic crystals that dissolve in the vehicle and pigments are suspended in the vehicle and are much larger. Dyes will color very fine grained wood, like cherry or maple, which pigments will not. Those fine-grained woods have pores too small for pigments to attach themselves to. Pigments contain a binder to help attach themselves to the wood.

The type of stain will either accentuate or obscure the wood grain. Most commercial stains contain both dye and pigment and the degree to which they stain the appropriate wood is mostly dependent on the length of time they are left on the wood. Pigments, regardless of the suspension agent, will not give much color to very dense woods but will deeply color woods with large pores (e.g. pine). Dyes are translucent and pigments are opaque.

Thermo and Thermosetting Polymers:

Thermoplastic and Thermoset plastic are plastic polymers, the main difference being that thermoset plastic is in a permanent solid state, while thermoplastic can be melted down.  

Toner

Just like a toner you would get over your highlights in the salon, a wood toner is a translucent coat that lightly deposits color over the surface. It can be used to neutralize unwanted tones (like brassy highlights), even out splotchy color, or darken an existing finish.

Toluene

Is a colourless, water-insoluble liquid with the smell associated with paint thinners.

Is widely used as an industrial feedstock and as a solvent. ( lacquer thinner)

Tung Oil
Tung oil or China wood oil is a drying oil obtained by pressing the seed from the nut of the tung tree (Vernicia fordii). As a drying oil, tung oil hardens (dries) upon exposure to air. The resulting coating is transparent and plastic-like; a property which is exploited in most of its applications such as wood finishing, as well as in the composition of oil paints and printing inks. Related drying oils include linseed, safflower, poppy, and soybean.[1] The oil and its use are believed to have originated in ancient China and appear in the writings of Confucius from about 400 B.C. Raw Tung oil tends to dry to a fine wrinkled finish; the US name for this is gas checking: this property was used to make wrinkle finishes, usually by adding excess cobalt drier. To stop this, the oil is heated to gas-proof it, and most oils used for coating are gas-proofed.

The name is often used by paint and varnish manufacturers as a generic name for any wood finishing product that contains the real tung oil and/or provides a finish that resembles that obtained with it.

Urethane: my ethane?

Plastic resins in liquid form, they are used primarily to protect wood surfaces. Their main ingredients include acids derived from vegetable oil, nitrogen-based chemical amalgams, isocyanates, and mineral spirits. Nitrogen helps keep polyurethane finishes from chipping, isocyanates make them hardier in general, and mineral spirits constitute the base that supports the other components.

Varnish
resin dissolved in a liquid for applying on wood, metal, or other materials to form a hard, clear, shiny surface when dry

Viscosity

The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to gradual deformation by shear stress or tensile stress. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness". For example, honey has a much higher viscosity than water

Liquids Viscosity In liquids, the additional forces between molecules become important. This leads to an additional contribution to the shear stress though the exact mechanics of this are still controversial. Thus, in liquids:

• Viscosity is independent of pressure (except at very high pressure); and
• Viscosity tends to fall as temperature increases (for example, water viscosity goes from 1.79 cP to 0.28 cP in the temperature range from 0 °C to 100 °C); see temperature dependence of liquid viscosity for more details.

The dynamic viscosities of liquids are typically several orders of magnitude higher than dynamic viscosities of gases.

Wax

Wax is a non-penetrative finish, available in many colours, which can be liquid, paste, or solid in form. Waxes are softer than lacquers or varnishes, and as a result, do not offer much protection against scratches wear. They protect from dirt, dust, mold, light scratches, and provide light water resistance, but melt under low heat.  When applied, waxes prevent wood from oxidizing, giving the look of freshly cut, unfinished wood. Wax can be applied over any other finish for a smooth sheen, but no finish can be applied over wax.
There are 5 main types of waxes: insect, vegetable, mineral, petroleum, and synthetic. The ingredients in waxes can include essential oils, drying oils, pigments, dyes, mica powders, metal powders, or solvents. When using waxes containing harmful solvents, respiratory protection and gloves should be used. Waxes can be removed using mineral spirits or naphtha.