All The Reasons Why You May Need A Primer
In recent years the number of water based floor lacquers on the market has increased dramatically, mainly due to solvent regulation changes and customers wanting healthier products. This has led to most manufacturers adding Primers to their range.
Junckers water based lacquers have the Danish “Indoor Climate Certificate” accreditation making them (possibly) unique in the UK because customers are able to see emission levels and how they reduce over a period of approximately one month after use.
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When you use water based lacquers such as Junckers HT700, MT500 and MT200 Floor Lacquer - Why use a primer?
# The First Reason for Using a Primer- Gluing Effect
Water-based seals can glue the boards together and if gluing is severe this can cause uneven gapping or even splitting of the boards. To avoid this it is important to apply the lacquer correctly, but using a Primer will also reduce the amount of lacquer that gets into the joints. The primer has a very low gluing-effect compared with the lacquer (but won’t be as durable).
# The Second Reason for Using a Primer- Colour
The primer greatly influences the final colour of the floor. A water-based primer (eg WB Primer) will emphasize the lighter colours in the wood and solvent based ones (eg SB Primer) will bring out the warmer and golden colours. Junckers Rustic Floor Oil may also be used as a primer and this will have an even warmer effect.
# The Third Reason for Using a Primer- Oily Timbers
Water-based lacquers may be adversely affected by natural oils in some tropical timbers. Using a solvent based primer such as Baseprime reduces the likelihood of a problem, and if the risk is high, two coats of SB Primer can be effective.
# The Fourth Reason for Using a Primer- Dark woods and Patterned Floors
On darker woods and where the floor is laid in a pattern eg herringbone, basket weave etc a solvent based primer such as SB Primer may give a better result than water based. This is because SB Primer will “wet out” the timber better than the water-based WB Primer, and this means that any unevenness of application (roller, overlap and stop marks) is less likely to be visible.