Effectiveness of wood coating and preservative treatment on Melia dubia surface characteristics

Wood is the most vital renewable building material, which has been widely used in outdoor and indoor areas because of its abundance and versatility. Due to its organic nature, wood is susceptible to attack by various biotic and abiotic factors. Therefore, in order to protect the wood against these factors, wood coating and preservative treatment become obligatory. The application of coatings is a common solution against wood-degrading factors. The wood coating performance depends on several factors, such as humidity, moisture content, the species of wood, and temperature. Furthermore, to improve wood coating performances, different strategies such as the addition of UV absorbers and radical scavengers are widely used. The wood treatment encompasses the impregnation of wood preservatives such as creosote, pentachlorophenol, CCA (chromated copper arsenate), alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ), and copper azole (CA), as they can inhibit degradation and increase durability against fungi and insects. In the present study, we investigated the combined effect of preservatives and coatings on surface characteristics of Melia dubia. The wooden specimens were impregnated with 4% ZiBOC and 4% BBA concentrations and were finished with wax polish, spirit shellac, and polyurethane. Furthermore, the gloss and thickness values were determined. The findings showed that among all three finishes, polyurethane shows preeminent results, followed by spirit polish and wax polish. In addition, the behaviour of ZiBOC preservative along with the finishes produces extraordinary results.