Here you find, in brief and clear texts, technical information regarding materials commonly used on furniture fabrication and tips about maintenance.

- Wood
- Panels (Sheets)
- Finishings
- Tips of maintenance to your furniture's finishings

» SOLID WOOD

Solid wood is the first raw material used on the furniture fabrication. Its characteristics are the beauty of their different grains and colorations, high mechanical and physical resistance, durability. And is mouldable ( can be shaped, turned or carved). The evolution of Brazilian timber ( Jacarandá, Mahogany, Imbuia, Cerejeira, Freijó, Pau Marfim, etc.) is enhanced after 1930. Today with the advances of technology and materials, the timbers are more used is the form of veneer applied on sheets (fiberboard, plywood, MDF) that optimizes the use of these today scarce raw material, leaving the biggest volume supported by sheets, basically made with reforested woods suchs as pine and eucalyptus. Veneer A thin sheet or layer of wood, usually rotary-cut, sliced or sawn from a log permanently bonded to a thicker core. The most beautiful grain patterns are used for the outermost layer (or face veneer) of furniture piece, greater strength is achieved by bonding woods at right angles to each other. » PANELS (SHEETS) * The timbers used to manufacture fiberboard, MDF, OSB and Plywood are reforested pine and eucaliptus, that contributes to the preservation of environment.

Fiberboard A broad generic term covering panels of widely varying densities produced from refined or partially refined wood (or other vegetable) fibers. Bonding agents and other materials may be added to increase strength, resistance to moisture, fire, or decay, or to improve some other property. Accepts all kinds of revetment such as veneers, formica, finishings, PVC film, melamine, etc. MDF Medium Density Fiberboard - A versatile board made from wood fibres, which are compressed together with adhesive, widely in the woodworking industry. It is smoother than hardboard and denser than chipboard. It has excellent machining characteristics when cut with a router. MDF boards may be veneered or laminated and is a very good material to be painted. Plywood An assembled panel made of layers of veneer held together by an adhesive, the chief characteristic of which is the alternate cross layers, distributing the longitudinal wood strength. It consists of three or more layers of veneer, firmly glued together with the grain direction of the middle layer at right angles to that of the two parallel outer layers. OSB Oriented Strand Board - an engineered wood panel created by laminating shreds of wood into sheets.

» FINISHINGS

The finishing has the function of embellishing and mainly protecting the furniture. Is a revetment that has to form a pellicle being at the same time hard and elastic, perfectly adhered, sufficiently inert to environment action and resistent to chemical and physical factors, etc. The most common products used to finish furniture are the varnishes, sealers, colored varnishes and primers. Varnishes and sealers have transparency. Colored varnishes and primers do not have transparency but have diverse colorations. Finishing processes The finishing processes more used are: :: Stain (to give the required tonality to veneers and woods embellishing the furniture). :: Seal (form the necessary base to varnish application). :: Varnish (beyond esthetic beauty as brightness and smoothness, protects the furniture being resistant to scratches and humidity). :: Primer (form the necessary base to colored varnish application). :: Colored varnish (Decorative effect that presents an enameled aspect, in diverse colors, opaque or brilliant, according to clients orders). :: Goffrato ( Colored varnish with texture, also known as liquid formica, opaque, specialy indicated to office and kitchen furniture.

» TIPS OF MAINTENANCE TO YOUR FURNITURE'S FINISHINGS

Furniture with nitrocellulose or polyurethane lacquers, which include all finishings mentioned above, should be cleaned only with humid fabric. In the case of the speck persist, make use of humid fabric with neutral soap. Never use abrasive products.