Brushing wood. Brushing wood with a nylon brush on a grinder. Wood structuring equipment

Do-it-yourself wood brushing is a fairly popular technique for artificially aging a material today, which is widely used in decorative finishing. The technique is based on the difference in hardness of the layers of processed rocks, which are visually structured and acquire different shades.

Wood brushing

Due to the fact that each type of wood has unique patterns on the cut, as well as different fibers, brushing gives a special texture and attractive appearance. appearance. Let's take a closer look at the features and processing techniques.

The essence and application of brushing

Under natural conditions, wood ages gradually, undergoing processes of mechanical wear, weathering, etc. In this case, the texture changes unevenly, since the looser layers are sprinkled, but the dense ones remain, fed with juice. The result is a unique, beautiful picture created by time itself.

Today a person has the opportunity to recreate this process in a short time using brushing. The procedure is a technique aimed at enhancing the texture of wood grain by combing out soft fibers. Unlike natural aging, the artificial processing procedure increases the strength of the material, which makes it possible to create furniture and floor coverings. This is achieved by removing loose layers, as well as impregnating the wood with special antiseptic compounds.

The principle of operation is extremely simple: soft fibers quickly absorb dye mixtures and water, after which they can easily be mechanically combed out with special brushes. Hard ones, on the contrary, after processing protrude outward with hard ridges, creating a unique pattern.

Brushing has many uses. Being a reception decorative finishing, designers often use technology in furniture design. Full imitation of antique and exotic wood quickly finds application in the decoration of premises for various purposes. It could be like living rooms, as well as the interiors of restaurants, cinemas, shops, cafes. Structured wood is also actively used in manufacturing decorative elements. Natural material fits perfectly into any stylistic direction of design, adding original touches.

The technique is no less in demand in the production of natural parquet. Using uneven painting, textured sanding and varnishing flooring takes on a stylized appearance with a touch of aristocracy and ancient charm.

Giving wood an aged look - effective method create unique interior dwellings

Options in the photo

Furniture set in brushed style

Brushed parquet style

Brushed style box

What types of wood are suitable for the procedure?

Wood structuring technology is optimally suited for processing soft and hard woods that have a pronounced texture and layers of different densities. Namely, brushing is performed on such types of materials as:

larch;
nut;
pine;
ash;
wenge.

Wood varieties with an unclear structure and fine fiber are unsuitable for this technique. These breeds include the following types:

alder;
birch;
maple;
cherry.

Only multi-layer wood species are suitable for the brushing procedure.

Required Tools

Brushing is the most affordable method of artificially aging wood, which can be used in a home workshop. To do this you will need a minimum of equipment:

rough processing and removal of soft fibers is carried out using metal brushes of varying hardness;
rough grinding and final polishing of the material is carried out using coarse and fine-grained sandpaper;
the decorative appearance of the processed product is achieved through the use of stain;
The final look of aged wood is achieved by opening the wood with varnish.

Important! Brushing is only allowed on dry wood, otherwise the fibers will not rise when brushing and the material will lose its aged appearance.

The choice of certain tools for work has its own characteristics. Thus, primary processing should always be done with brushes. For high-quality brushing, products must be purchased with the stiffest metal bristles.

Important! You can shorten the pile using a grinder to make it even harder.

If you want to get textured longitudinal grooves, then you can use a chisel. And to give greater expressiveness to the wood grain, it is worth using sandpaper with the highest grain size.

In addition, to simplify the work of structuring the tree, you can use automated technology. For this purpose, special drills with adjustable speed and brushing machines are used. As a rule, the set of such units includes three types of brushes: polymer (abrasive), metal and sesal (hair). With strict adherence to the order and technique of performing the work, the automated processing method will allow you to obtain flawlessly executed parts in an artificially aged form.

Important! It is advisable to use special machines only in cases where brushing of a sufficiently large number of objects and products is expected.

For brushing, the simplest tools that can be found in construction stores are suitable.

Mechanical method

The most common method of processing wood for the purpose of artificial aging is mechanical brushing. The tools used are hard brushes with metal bristles, which are sold in any hardware store. You also need to prepare sandpaper and a gas torch.

Actions are performed in the following sequence:

The first step is to singe the prepared product using a kerosene burner. Try to spread the flame carefully and evenly to avoid staining the surface.
As a result of this procedure, the soft fibers will burn out, leaving only a hard and relief pattern.
Then wooden surface should be treated with coarse sandpaper.
After this, the product is combed out with a metal brush. Depending on the desired effect, a more or less rigid instrument can be selected for this procedure.
Finally, the product is varnished to give the appearance of aged wood and secure the result.

The manual method is the most labor-intensive, but affordable

Automatic method

This technique is more effective, but its implementation will require a special power tool. If it is not possible to purchase a brushing machine, you can use a drill or grinder, which every man probably has in his workshop. For decorative processing You just need to buy special attachments at a hardware store - nylon abrasive, metal and brass brushes.

The instructions include the following steps:

First of all, the surface must be treated with a wire brush. To do this, the attachment should be secured to the power tool and guided along the workpiece.
Then the treatment is carried out using an abrasive brush. This process allows the soft fibers to be extracted from the wood structure without leaving any residue.
Finally, the surface should be varnished. The textured product will immediately acquire an antique appearance. In addition, this way you can protect the tree from the harmful effects of fungus, microbes and moisture.

Important! When performing the procedure, you should protect your eyes and respiratory organs, because stands out large volume dust.

Video: automated wood brushing

Chemical method

This brushing technique is based on the use of stains, paints and various substances with an aggressive environment - acids, alkalis, caustic components. However, it is worth considering that chemical treatment is only advisable on light-colored surfaces. Otherwise, you will not get the desired visual result.

The principle of action is that the active substances decompose soft wood fibers, giving it an aged, rough appearance. The higher the concentration, the more noticeable the effect. This means that metal brushes or sandpaper will not be needed at all, since it is enough to simply apply the chemical to the surface and wash off.

The most available compositions:

alkalis, which are found in household cleaning chemicals;
sulfuric acid;
ammonia.

The general technique boils down to doing the following:

We clean the workpiece from dust and dirt using a dry rag.
Then we apply the active substance paint brush along the wood grain.
Leave the product for 1-2 hours. As it absorbs, the texture will begin to become more pronounced and the color of the wood will become darker.

Chemical brushing can only be used on light wood species

Safety precautions

Although the brushing process does not require special professional skills, it requires a lot of time and effort. To achieve an effective result, various compositions are used - stains, paints, alcohols. This means that vapors from chemical solutions can have a detrimental effect on the human body, especially with such prolonged contact. For this reason, it is worth considering several main rules, the observance of which will protect yourself from toxic effects:

During mechanical and chemical brushing, you should protect your respiratory system with a respirator.
If possible, also use clear glasses, which are available at hardware stores.
Work should be carried out with gloves.

Video: master class on manual aging of wood

As you can see, brushing is a fairly simple and affordable method that will allow the owner to decorate the home on their own. The interior of an apartment, stylized as antique, will always be popular. The aging procedure is feasible as to an experienced master, and for a novice designer. All it takes is a little diligence, patience and accuracy.

Brushing is a popular technique for decorative finishing of wood, giving it a sophisticated antique look.

The procedure is performed using available tools, including a convenient grinder with a special set of brushes made of different materials. A nylon brush for brushing is a modern accessory that allows you to gently carry out processing, obtaining a beautiful wood surface that improves its texture.

The essence of brushing

Tree trunks have a multilayer structure, which, when cut, forms a peculiar pattern of fibers of different thicknesses and directions. Brushing, which is sometimes called stitching due to a lack of understanding of the essence of the issue, is sanding a wood surface with brushes using special devices or equipment. The term comes from the word brush on English language. The process has nothing to do with brochures, which should be taken into account in colloquial speech.

Thanks to the brushing tool, fiber is selectively, more or less, removed from the surface of the lumber, creating a patterned relief. You can enhance the aging effect by tinting or staining wood cuts. Decorative treatment with brushes attached, for example, to a grinder, is used when finishing the following wooden structures:

flights of stairs;
floor coverings;
external parts of furniture;
elements interior design premises.

The best effect is achieved when brushing larches, various breeds fir, oak. Wood with small fibers, such as cherry, birch, maples, oak, does not form beautiful drawing when grinding with metal and nylon brushes used as an attachment to an angle grinder or other tool. Even pre-firing or chemical treatment of such materials does not provide the effect of a layered texture.

Stages of work and tools used

To give a relief structure to a wood surface, you need a special set of brushes with bristles. various densities and hardness.

First stage of processing

At the first stage, a brush with hard bristles made of steel alloys or brass is used. The thickness of the fibers varies significantly among different products. You need to choose a brush in which the diameter of each metal hair will be approximately 10 times thinner than the diameter of the soft fiber of the wood being processed. Straight bristles of a brush are good at removing loose components from wood, which are cut with metal scissors before attaching them to the grinder adapter to increase the efficiency of brushing.

If necessary, double brush products can be used, providing much greater speed and efficiency. If the bristles intended to remove soft wood fibers are rounded, the process will be worse.

Working with a nylon brush

At the end of the first stage of processing, the wood surface has a rough, rough appearance. To give decorative effect To level all excess relief, use nylon brushes for brushing wood, mounted on an angle grinder. They are available for sale in a wide range.

Nylon fibers differ in length, density, quantity or absence abrasive particles, pressed into the polymer. If abrasive grains are attached to a nylon base, you must pay attention to their grain size, hardness and compare the characteristics of the brushing brush with the density and structure of the wood.

Most commonly commercially available nylon products have hardness numbers ranging from 120 to 600. Values of 120, 180 and 240 are ideal for hardwood; Products with numbers 400 and 600 in the marking should be purchased for brushing soft wood lumber.

Masters who have great experience working with an angle grinder, improving surface treatment technology, using not one, but several nylon brushes. Sometimes, to save money, they buy previously used polymer brushes for brushing and attach them simultaneously to the adapter of the grinder. A similar technique can also be used when using new products, although it will cost much more.

Thanks to the expanded area of the fibers of several brushes mounted on the rotating shaft of the angle grinder, it is possible to thoroughly perform a large amount of work in a short time.

Nylon hairline can be fixed to a metal or polymer base. Experience shows that the plastic disc at the base of the brush creates fewer preconditions for hair breakage and ensures their flexibility, so these products last longer.

Finishing sanding

After two stages of processing, the wood needs to be slightly dried, and then the formation is completed decorative surface brushes with wool or sisal hairs. If the master prefers at the final stage handmade without using a grinder, it can be done using sandpaper flaps with small abrasive grains. Upon completion of proper brushing, the surface will acquire a perfectly smooth, beautiful appearance.

Machine Applications

All three stages of finishing can be performed on special grinding machines or using other electrical equipment: grinders for smooth or angular surfaces. Meet homemade machines for brushing. It is difficult and expensive to make a full-fledged machine with your own hands, working like a thickness planer, so they use the same grinder with several metal and nylon attachments.

Full mechanization of work makes sense for large volumes of wood that require brushing. In such a situation, investments in the acquisition and operation of units will be justified. Common types of home repairs and construction work It can be quite successfully made into a grinder, which every master has.

Surface painting

Depending on the customer's wishes, paint or varnish is applied to the wood. Many people prefer coatings with silver or golden pigments, counting on the strong fixation of shiny particles deep in the wood texture. If the paint is applied correctly, wooden product at sunlight glare will appear.

Some consumers like surfaces with dark, deep cracks that are patinated using special dyes. Lightened ridges of fibrous reliefs look especially impressive against a darkened background. Painting is usually carried out with brushes or a sponge, carefully observing the condition of the surface. If, when applying paint and varnish products, the fibers rise, it means that the polishing process was carried out poorly and must be repeated again.

If you carefully carry out brushing, you can, through simple procedures using a grinder or other tools with brushes, get beautiful products made of wood.

The result of which is a change in appearance carpentry. Wood that has undergone such processing takes on the appearance of an old product. In other words, this is the process of artificial aging of the mentioned material.

Antique

A completely reasonable question may arise: “Why is all this necessary? After all, a new product is always better than an old one.” But only those who have never seen products made from brushed wood can ask this question. The texture of old wood is very expressive, and furniture made from it looks extremely impressive. They help create a special style and are an integral part of interiors stylized in the feudal era. Brushing wood makes it possible at the beginning of the third millennium to produce furniture that could decorate the knightly castles of the times. Therefore this technology is very promising and in demand in the joinery market. Often artificial aging Entire log buildings are exposed.

Technological features

The desired effect is achieved by treating the material with special metal brushes. The very name of this technological process derived from English word"brush", which means "brush". Brushing of wood is achieved due to the fact that a rotating metal tool selects softer fibers located throughout the surface of the tree between the annual rings. After processing, a textured natural surface remains. The special expressive possibilities of wood are revealed during its subsequent processing and tinting coatings. Brushing technology is quite complex and time-consuming. But the achieved result fully justifies the effort expended.

Wood brushing: tools and equipment

Aging a wooden surface by hand is very difficult. IN ideal Brushing of wood is carried out specifically for this purpose by a machine designed specifically for this purpose with a set of replaceable cylindrical brushes of different hardness. But such equipment is not cheap; a machine like this costs about a thousand dollars. If professional equipment for some reason is not available, you can use an angle grinder or a drill with a set of wire wheel brushes. Of course, to ensure the technological process, you need a special room with a workbench and clamps. At mass production carpentry with a brushed surface must have exhaust ventilation.

Brushing wood at home

Many craftsmen who are passionate about carpentry have tried aging wood at home. Despite the complexity of the process, it is quite accessible. A master who works for himself even has some advantages over professionals - no one rushes him. But brushing wood with your own hands requires, in addition to patience and qualifications, also the possession of at least a minimal tool base. You need a set of metal brushes and devices that give them rotation. The drive can be either stationary or manual. It should be understood that it makes sense to brush only wood with pronounced growth rings. There are types of wood that do not make sense to process in this way. These are primarily beech, maple, alder and teak. Annual rings are most clearly expressed in varieties such as ash, larch, oak and walnut. Or in such exotic ones as merbau and wenge. It should be understood that it is impossible to achieve the desired result with brushing brushes alone. An expressive texture is achieved by alternating brush and abrasive tool. Sanding machine pass over the surface even after applying the tint, this makes it more contrasting. At the end of the process, the product is coated with varnish. The coating can be either glossy or matte.

Safety precautions

Wood brushing involves the use of various types of electromechanical equipment. Its moving parts rotate at high speed and can pose a serious danger. To avoid injury, workplace must be formatted accordingly. The workpiece to be processed must be securely fixed with clamps or a stationary vice. During the brushing process, a lot of dust rises into the air, and sharp elements fly off from the wire brushes at high speed. Therefore, you should protect your respiratory organs with a respirator, and your eyes with special impact-resistant glasses. And, of course, this type of carpentry work should be performed outside of residential premises. As already mentioned, the use of exhaust ventilation is highly desirable.

Brushing

What is brushing

Brushing is a method of decorative wood processing in which soft wood fibers are selected on the front side of the product using a stiff brush, exposing the natural pattern of hard fibers.

The word comes from the English “brush” - brush.

Brushing is used for finishing parquet, engineered and solid boards, as well as wall and ceiling panels and other natural wood products.

Brushing treatment is typical for products made from species with a pronounced wood texture, most often oak, and is not used for species with a uniform pattern: alder, cherry, teak, beech, maple.

Brushed oak engineering board

Pros and cons of technology

Advantages

Brushing allows you to emphasize the naturalness of a wooden floor, which provides additional aesthetic pleasure when using it;
Brushed boards are used as a stylistic device in interior design, with which you can create a project in given style: classic, Provence, etc.

Brushed parquet in an interior with a classic design

Flaws

Brushed boards with open pores (under oil) require regular careful maintenance and are not suitable for high-traffic areas, since dust and dirt can accumulate between the hard fibers, which over time will ruin the appearance of the flooring.

Aging and brushing

Artificial aging of wood products is not the same as brushing. Other technologies are also used for artificial aging: scraping, planing, tinting, painting, chamfering, firing, smoking, chemical treatment. The purpose of artificial aging is to give the product the appearance of a “worn-out” board (wall, door, furniture, etc.). At the same time, brushing is, of course, the most common method of aging, since time treats wood in a similar way: over time, softer fibers settle, leaving a relief pattern on the surface.

Aging of wood

However, much before this happens, the wood darkens, so along with brushing, various tinting is often used to give the parquet a stylistically consistent look.

Brushed Haro parquet collection

Brushing and toning

Brushed wood can be tinted in different ways:

The board is coated with tinted varnish or oil of the same tone immediately after brushing. This results in a uniform tone with visible pores.

The parquet is first tinted and then brushed. In this case, you get a tinted board with contrasting pores that emphasize its texture.

The brushed board is tinted and then sanded. The result is a contrasting parquet with pronounced colored pores.

Brushing technology

The technology includes three stages:

Sampling of soft fibers. Using special brushes manually or mechanized way, moving along the grain, they clean out soft wood, leaving harder structures.
Grinding. The surface is sanded with 60-100 grit sandpaper to remove burrs and make the surface smooth.
Polishing. The boards are polished in preparation for finishing coating varnish or oil.

Brushing and finishing

Decorative finishing by brushing is now found on both varnished and oiled (oil-wax) products. However, when varnishing the surface parquet board a smooth surface is formed protective film, which levels out the relief achieved by brushing.

Therefore, to maintain the true value of brushing, you need to use oil coating, as do the specialists of the brand, whose all “fermented” (Kahrs uses this transcription) collections are covered exclusively with silk oil. The oil penetrates deeply into the pores without filling them like varnish, so the effect of such treatment is not only visual, but also tactile.

Parquet / engineering / solid board Chabot Oak from the Coswick fermented collection

Brushing technique

Manual brushing is performed using a brush with metal bristles, as well as special attachments for a drill or grinder. Manual brushes are also used, for example, a brush Grinder Metabo.

The industry uses brushing machines that perform all stages of brushing in a few seconds.

Extent and types of processing

Based on the degree (depth) of brushing, the following types of treated parquet boards can be distinguished:

Structured board. The brushing is shallow, emphasizes the annual rings, natural look wood An example is from the Hungarian brand Grabo.

Highly structured. When brushing, deep furrows are created along natural lines, resulting in a pronounced natural wood pattern. Example - from German manufacturer Haro.

Retro. Brushing is used in complex aging technology. Achieving the impression of an ex for a long time in the use of parquet. Example - (Haro).

Retro 3D. Heavily aged parquet, with deep, uneven chamfers and emphasized knots, has been used for generations. Example - (Bassano Parquet).