Wood aging techniques: brushing and firing. Brushing wood Methods for brushing wood

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 methods.

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. As a decorative finishing technique, 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 a unique home interior

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;
decorative look 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 at 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 the wooden surface should be sanded 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 only need to purchase 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 a large amount of dust is released.

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 there is no need for wire brushes or sandpaper at all, since it is enough to simply apply the chemical to the surface and wash it 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 with a 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 sold 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 for both an experienced craftsman and a novice designer. All it takes is a little diligence, patience and accuracy.

Brushing is a unique technology that allows you to age and structure wood. This solution provides an opportunity to give new wooden products an aged, noble appearance. More and more people prefer to create a unique interior in a house or apartment using wooden finishing materials. As a rule, wood that has a more aged appearance looks very noble and luxurious. But not many people know that even new wood products can be given the luxury and nobility that wood acquires after many years of use. In this article we will look at a master class on brushing step by step.

Increasingly, when decorating the interior of a house, wooden products, beams, ceilings, and doors with the appearance of aged wood are used.

Tools for brooching wooden products:

Grinder or electric drill with attachments;
Iron and abrasive brushes;
Bulgarian;
Wide brush for varnish and oil.

Stage 1. Rough finishing of wood

We take a wooden blank, in our case a board made of soft wood. Next, using a grinder and a special wood disc, we make shallow notches, as shown in the photo below.

As a rule, this processing of wood with a grinder will already be sufficient for further use on ceilings or in places where a person cannot touch it with his hand, since in this case, during the initial processing, burrs remain on it.

Stage 2. Finishing

In the case when you plan to use wood after the broaching process for window sills, doors, furniture and other interior items, additional processing of the wood surface will be required. First of all, you need to slightly smooth and level the surface of the wooden product. For this we will use a wire brush. It is worth noting that you need to work with such a brush on the surface without much effort, so as not to spoil the finished structure of the wood.

First of all, you need to install an iron nozzle with a coarse fraction on an electric drill. As shown in the photo below, we carefully go through the entire processed rough surface of the wooden workpiece without excessive force.

It is worth noting that iron brushes are used to smooth the surface of a wooden product, and burrs are removed using abrasive attachments. Thanks to this, the aging of wood looks not only believable, but also safe for humans, since the surface of the wooden product will be perfectly smooth without burrs.

Stage 3. Surface treatment with abrasive brushes

After we have passed the entire surface with an iron nozzle, we proceed to finishing abrasive attachments. When working with abrasive attachments, you should press with force to thoroughly remove all burrs on the wooden workpiece.

Stage 4. Finishing

After preparing the wood for finishing, you can use glaze or treat the surface of the wooden product with drying oil, oil, stain, or varnish.

In the photo below, the wooden facade of the house has been glazed.

Oil coating allows you to get the effect of “aged” wood. To do this we need a regular brush and oil for wood in the interior. It is best to choose oil of dark shades, in which case wooden products will look more noble. Carefully coat the entire surface of the product with oil.

Stage 5. Giving the effect of “aged” wood

In order for the dark recesses to remain dark and the light ones to remain light, we will need to treat the surface of the product immediately after impregnation with oil. To do this, we take an ordinary cotton rag. By carefully wiping the entire surface of the product with a rag, we create the visual effect of “aged” wood, as shown in the photo below.

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 when finishing parquet, engineered and solid boards, as well as wall and ceiling panels and other natural wood products.

Brushing processing 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 a 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 mechanically, moving along the grain, soft wood is cleaned, 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, preparing for finishing with varnish or oil.

Brushing and finishing

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

Therefore, to preserve the true value of brushing, you need to use an oil coating, as is done by 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 Oak Shabot 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 sanders, such as the Metabo brush sander, are also used.

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, emphasizing the annual rings and the natural appearance of the 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. The impression of parquet that has been used for a long time is achieved. Example - (Haro).

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

Today, one of the fashionable materials used in the decoration of any premises is aged wood. Under the natural conditions of its growth, any tree ages very slowly, so a special method was created and specially used - brushing. This process involves artificial aging of the required lumber.

Brushing is the artificial aging (aging) of wood using various devices and special techniques. The whole process of work consists of removing the soft top fibers of wood using a hard, metal brush.

As a result of this work, a hard surface remains, on which the pattern and structure of the growth rings is clearly expressed. Subsequently, a special shade is selected that helps to further reflect the desired effect of aging of the wood.

Using brushing opens the broadest opportunities by changing the texture and color of a wide variety of wood species. allows you to express the effect of patina, when the main wood is painted in one tone, and the pores of the wood in a completely different one.

The trees that are most easily susceptible to artificial aging are: walnut, larch, ash, oak and wenge:

Brushed walnut wood Brushed larch wood Brushed ash wood Brushed oak wood Brushed wenge wood

Beech, maple, alder, pear, and cherry are practically not used for brushing. Using the brushing technique, you can end up with a tree with a completely unusual color. Dyes used include black, purple, orange, red, white, and green.

In the process of artificial aging, the desired tree is subjected to the necessary conditions. After painting, the workpieces are polished or varnished. Brushed wood is widely used in the manufacture of furniture; it is often used to decorate interior walls houses, create various accessories.

The advantages of artificially aged wood include:

Unusual and most fashionable appearance of the material.
Wood resistance to rot and various insects.
The ability to independently create exclusive items. The appearance of such products can be rated a solid five points; they not only favorably emphasize the exclusivity of any interior, but also look quite expensive and luxurious.
Decorative finishing of simple tree species allows you to create an artificial imitation of exotic wood species, while the cost of the product will always be significantly lower.

The brushing process requires the use of special tools; it is necessary to follow all the technology of working with wood. The ease of making specially aged wood yourself can be rated four points, but only if you have sufficient experience and all the necessary equipment when working with wood.

The video shows the process of brushing or aging wood:

Main production stages

The entire brushing cycle consists of sequentially performed operations:

On initial stage The upper surface of the wood is processed using brushes with metal bristles. This process removes the softest, outer fibers of the wood.
Next comes grinding. This is achieved by using a polymer, abrasive brush or using sandpaper with large grains.
After the preparatory stages, stain or other necessary dyes are used. It is the correct use of dyes that allows you to achieve the desired antique effect.
The treated wood is polished and multi-layered with varnish.

Aging wood at home

Brushing wood, if necessary, can be done entirely at home yourself. You will need to purchase special metal and abrasive brushes, grinding devices, dyes and varnish. In production, artificial aging is carried out using special grinding machines and other devices that facilitate the entire work process.

Automation of the entire brushing cycle allows you to reduce the price of the resulting products. The cost of artificially aged wood in production can be estimated at five points, since at home this process is somewhat delayed and requires some effort.

The photo shows what you might need to work with wood

Tools used for brushing

Brushes

Primary wood processing is carried out with brushes. When choosing a hand brush, you need to purchase one with the hardest, metallic bristles. If necessary, some people trim it using a grinder; this allows the metal pile to be made harder.

To obtain longitudinal recesses, a chisel is sometimes used. And sandpaper with a coarse-grained surface helps to give expressiveness to the design. dried wood, so when wet, the fibers will rise during the stripping process.

For rough cleaning of the surface of a wooden workpiece, a grinder is often used. In this case, at the beginning of processing, nozzles with metal bristles are used, and at the end with copper bristles. A special “Piranha” attachment is also available; it is an abrasive-polymer brush.

This attachment allows you to remove soft fibers and leave hard ones, which makes it much easier preparatory stage brushing. In addition to the grinder, a drill can also be used to remove soft fibers. Brushes are purchased depending on the tools used - for grinders and drills they differ in size.

Aging machines

In production plants, the entire process of wood aging will take a short period of time if special machines are used. The configuration of such automatic machines is represented by several devices at once.

They allow you to rough the wood in a few minutes, sand it, and remove small fibers. If necessary, production facilities also use special devices for painting and polishing wood.

Automation of work helps to achieve ease of production of aged wood, while the practicality of the material can be rated five points.

For independent work with wood, it makes sense to purchase special machines only if a large amount of work with wood is expected. There are many models on the market that are produced specifically for brushing wooden workpieces.

The most popular of them include:

Cleaning router FESTOOL RUSTOFIX RAS 180. It comes with a steel brush for the first stage of wood processing. Also included is a brush for intermediate sanding and a sisal brush for polishing.
A Makita 974 sanding machine is suitable for brushing. It comes with a nylon abrasive brush. When using this machine, certain difficulties arise when processing corners.
The Felisatti AGF 110/1010E sander is designed for processing smooth and uneven surfaces. This device comes with nylon and metal brushes.

When choosing a grinder, you need to take into account the ease of use and the possibility of purchasing brushes that are suitable in design for these devices.

Operating principle of wood aging brush sl-6352:

Do-it-yourself wood brushing

If you really want to, you can make artificially aged wood yourself. O :

The selected workpiece needs to be slightly moistened, this will eliminate the release of wood dust during work. First, the workpiece is processed with a hard metal brush. Its rigidity is selected experimentally. It is necessary that the brush removes soft surface fibers well, but does not disturb the structure of hard fibers. The movement of the brush attached to the grinding machine or grinder is carried out in the direction of the fibers. The rotation speed is also pre-selected on the sample; for each wood the speed can vary significantly. When working manually, there are no problems with selecting the rotation speed of the brush, but the process of preparing the wood becomes significantly more complicated and lengthened.
After using a wire brush, use abrasive bristles. Using this attachment or brush, all fiber fragments and roughness are removed. At this stage, using a chisel, you can further add various indentations and grooves. They can be given the appearance of natural cracks in wood.
In the future, final polishing is necessary, this is usually done using a brush with sisal bristles. You can use sandpaper by hand. At this stage it is necessary to achieve perfect polishing of the entire surface.
The part acquires a special decorative appearance if it is tinted, painted, or gilded at the final stages. Stain is often used. Impregnation with stain and its quick removal allows you to paint areas with the softest fibers, while the hard ones are practically not stained.
Painting with golden or silver paint gives the wood an original look. When applying the dye, particles of coloring pigment become clogged into microcracks, which ensures the appearance of glare in sunny weather. You can use different dyes for painting, but they must be designed for working with wood. After painting, it is recommended to polish the surface again; this will remove roughness from the product.
At the last stage, you need to apply several layers of varnish. Before applying a layer of varnish, the previous one must dry well and it must also be polished.

With sufficient experience, the process of brushing wood and using special devices is not particularly difficult. At the same time, it is possible to produce the most exclusive products, ranging from wall shelves and ending with cabinets and kitchen units.

This video will tell you how to age wood yourself:

Patination

Another fairly simple method of aging wood, which can be used independently, is patination.

This method is easier to perform than brushing:

First, the desired wooden surface is protected, sanded and carefully coated with a layer of primer.
A base layer of the desired paint is applied to the dried surface. The first layer must dry thoroughly, usually this happens within 24 hours.
After drying, it is cleaned and a new layer is applied. At the second stage, bronze or gold can be applied over the paint, and this can be done in individual areas. This is how the aging effect is achieved.
To consolidate the aging effect, a layer of varnish is applied over the paint. It can be glossy or matte.

With the help of patination and execution, you can change the appearance of boring wooden products beyond recognition, while the ease of work, appearance and low price of all devices are rated five points.

Applying patina to a wooden door:

City dwellers, who have lived their entire lives in the metal dungeons of the concrete jungle, are gradually losing interest in faceless urban interiors, preferring classic, vintage and rustic styles characterized by emphasized individuality. An integral component of these interiors is wood - a popular finishing material, thanks to which they acquire uniqueness and original beauty. However, there are tricks here too - if country and eco-styles are often complemented by wood in its pristine natural form, then within the framework of vintage and even classic styles, aged wood, which has a more attractive and noble appearance, will be more appropriate. Almost any interior element can be made from it: it can be a vintage lamp, a wooden chest of drawers exuding comfort, or the classic use of wood in the interior - making window sills and doors. Under natural conditions, the aging process of wood takes more than one year; intricate patterns on its surface form slowly and unevenly, which makes aged wood a rare and expensive material. However, technology does not stand still, and over time, a method of artificial aging of wood, called brushing, was developed. Interest in this method of processing wooden surfaces is shown not only by lovers of luxury vintage furniture, but also by owners of suburban areas who have decided to diversify their interior decoration country houses. Considering the relevance of the problem, in this article we will look at the essence of the process of brushing wood, the main types and tools necessary for it, and also tell you how to brush wood with your own hands.

Aging of wood: basic information

If you carefully examine the appearance of the wood when cut, you can see a peculiar pattern - annual rings, in which dark and light tones alternate. This pattern is based on the alternation of hard (dense) and light (loose) fibers, the latter being more susceptible to time and aggressive climatic factors, which leads to their gradual wear. This is how the formation of annual rings occurs, which over time not only acquire density and contrasting shades, but also visible volume. This is the basis of the natural aging of wood - a process that takes many decades. Thanks to the lightning-fast development of innovative technologies, a unique opportunity has now emerged to artificially speed up the aging process of wood. This can be put into practice using the brushing method, which gets its name from the English word brush. In Russian there is a similar term, which is referred to as “wood structuring”.

What is wood brushing: the essence of the method

Brushing is a method of artificially aging wood, which involves the use of specialized tools and techniques. The brushing technique is based on the mechanical processing of wood with special metal brushes, with the help of which the softest upper fibers of the material are removed. Thanks to this technique, the hard surface of the wood is exposed, on which the texture of the material and the structure of the growth rings are clearly visible, and a beautiful relief is formed, emphasizing the aesthetic appearance finishing material. However, the brushing process does not end there. To emphasize the relief and make the structure of the wood even more distinct, it is highlighted with a color that gives richness to natural shades. To do this, the surface treated with a metal brush is unevenly painted, while the depressions formed as a result of the removal of soft fibers are painted in darker shades, and the surface texture is painted in lighter shades. Thanks to this technique, the wood relief becomes as noticeable as possible.

Important! In order for artificially aged wood to acquire maximum resemblance to a material that has aged in a natural environment, experts recommend painting the previously brushed material gray. Without waiting for the paint to dry completely, it is smeared from the relief surface. Thanks to this technique, it will seem that products made from artificially aged lumber have stood in the open air for at least 10 years.

Important! If natural aging negatively affects performance characteristics wood, weakening its structure, then thanks to artificial aging carried out by brushing, the material acquires additional strength.

The artificial structuring method can be used in the processing of both hard and soft wood. The main requirement that wood to be brushed must meet is the presence of a clearly defined texture and clearly visible layers of varying hardness. Such materials include oak, pine, walnut, larch, wenge and ash.

As for alder, cherry, birch, teak, maple and beech, the brushing method will be proven to be ineffective for these species, since the distinctive feature of these trees is a fine-fiber structure without pronounced layering.

Advantages of artificially aged wood

Wood that has undergone artificial structuring acquires an original appearance that meets the latest fashion trends;
Brushed wood becomes resistant to rotting and various insects;
By brushing wood with your own hands (the video presented in the article will simplify this process), you can independently make a lot of exclusive things that will not only last a long time, but will also emphasize the exclusivity of any interior;
Having produced decorative finishing common and fairly cheap lumber, you can create an artificial imitation of exotic types of wood, the cost of which significantly exceeds the original price of the raw materials.

Wood Brushing Tools

At first glance, the process of artificially structuring wood may seem complicated, but even an inexperienced craftsman can do it if he has a certain set of tools at his disposal that will save time and effort spent on work. In addition, it should be noted that brushing wood can be done either manually or mechanized, which is largely determined by the tool used. Depending on the method by which wood brushing is carried out, the tool can be of the following types:

Tools for manual wood brushing

Hand wire brushes, characterized by varying thickness and stiffness of the bristles, are used for primary wood processing. The stiffness of the bristles is determined by the length of the wire; the longer it is, the softer the bristles. When choosing a brush for brushing wood, try to give preference to tools with the stiffest metal bristles. If necessary, it can be trimmed using a grinder, which will make the pile even tougher. When using a brush to brush wood, it is necessary to move its bristles along the grain in strictly one direction. Thanks to this technique, you can remove soft fibers from the surface of the wood, leaving hard fibers intact;

Hand chisel- a tool with which you can apply deep longitudinal grooves of various curvatures in wood fiber. When used skillfully with a chisel, you can achieve maximum realism in artificially structured wood by causing sufficiently deep cracks that create the effect of cracking the material;
Sandpaper with coarse grain is also used in the process of brushing wood and allows you to emphasize the texture of the material, making the natural pattern more clear. The technique of using sandpaper is similar to the technique of using a hand brush - it is also moved with pressure along the fibers, as a result of which grooves are formed on the surface of the wood, the structure of which is similar to the structure of natural fibers. By correctly selecting the abrasive grain size and using sandpaper with different grain sizes, you can achieve different depths and degrees of severity of the grooves;
Bulgarian, equipped with special brush attachments for brushing wood - another tool that is used for brushing wood. At the same time, at the initial stage, nozzles with metal bristles are used for rough surface treatment, and for the final stage, nozzles with copper and sisal bristles are used. Currently, a special nozzle for brushing wood “Piranha”, which is an abrasive-polymer brush, is in wide demand. Using this device, you have the opportunity to selectively remove fibers, focusing only on soft fibers and not affecting hard fibers.

Important! When working with an abrasive-polymer brush, you must ensure that the surface of the wood being treated does not burn when working at high speeds. To avoid this, you need to purchase a speed controller.

Important! After performing the initial surface treatment, experts recommend using a kerosene burner, with which the material is fired. remember, that gas-burner not used for these purposes. Burning the wood surface with a kerosene burner promotes:

removal of small wood fibers;

drying the top layer of wood;

highlighting and emphasizing the natural structure of wood.

Process automation: machines and brushing machines

On a production scale, the amount of work is many times higher, and therefore there is a need to automate the process, which involves the use of special machines. This helps simplify the work of producing aged wood, and also reduces time costs, allowing large volumes of work to be completed in a short period of time.

If you want to purchase special machines for brushing wood at home, it only makes sense if you plan to do a large amount of work. Let's look at the most common models of specialized equipment for brushing wood.

Cleaning router or the so-called wood brushing machine FESTOOL RUSTOFIX RAS 180. Three brushes are supplied with this device:

1. The first steel wire brush, which is used for primary wood processing;

2. A second synthetic bristle brush, intended for intermediate sanding;

3. The third - made of sisal is used for polishing the treated surface.

Sanding machine Makita 974 can also be used for brushing wood, however, in the process of working with it, difficulties may arise associated with processing corner areas. In this regard, at the joints between walls and floors, it is necessary to additionally use an angle grinder equipped with attachments;

Grinder Felisatti AGF 110/1010E can be used to process both relatively smooth and uneven surfaces. Metal and nylon brushes are supplied with this device. It has an analogue - the Interskol sanding machine, which will make sanding wood much easier if you follow the instructions presented in our article.

Brushing Wood: A Step-by-Step Guide

If you are not a guru in the field of wood brushing, the master class and advice from our experts will help you study this wood processing technique in more detail.

Let's take a closer look at the wood brushing process.

Before you begin the initial processing of the material, lightly moisten the selected workpiece, which will prevent the formation of wood dust during the work process. Prepare a working tool - a hand brush. To carry out the work effectively, make sure that the tool meets the minimum requirements - the brush must efficiently remove soft surface fibers without disturbing the structure of hard fibers. Having selected the hardness of a hand brush for brushing wood experimentally, use it to rough the material. During operation, the hand brush should be moved along the direction of the grain.

Important! If you decide to automate the process and perform brushing using grinder or an angle grinder equipped with special brushes, remember that the movements of the tool attached to the grind are also made along the fibers, and the selection of the rotation speed must be carried out in advance on a small sample of the material, since this technical parameter can vary significantly for different types of wood.

After you have completed the initial hard processing of the wood, replace the working tool with a polymer attachment with an abrasive coating, using which you can grind the material, removing any remaining soft fibers from its surface. Once you have gotten rid of unnecessary roughness, evaluate the volume and quality of the work done, making sure that the quality of structuring meets your expectations. If you are not satisfied with the result, experts advise making the structuring more distinct by deepening the previously made grooves on the surface of the wood. At this stage, you can think for the first time about the decorative design of the surface of the material and, using a chisel, add additional indentations and grooves, giving them the appearance of cracks that appeared naturally.

The next stage is the final polishing, for which you will need a sisal brush. If you plan to do it by hand, prepare sandpaper with a fine-grained abrasive surface, with which you will get a perfectly smooth surface of the workpiece. After this, the resulting workpiece must be dried and cleaned of dust, thereby preparing it for subsequent painting and varnishing.
To decorate brushed wood, experts recommend using golden or silver paint, during the application of which particles of the coloring pigment will clog into the microcracks of the wood, causing reflections to appear on its surface in sunny weather. If you want to give the material a unique luxury and presentable appearance, patina it (painting the deepest cracks with darker paint).

Important! You can use stain as a coloring composition. To do this, apply it liberally to the surface of the material and quickly remove the excess. Thanks to this technique, soft fibers will absorb paint, acquiring more dark shade, while the hard ones will remain light.

After painting the wood, polish it again, which will smooth out all the unevenness that appeared after painting.
After thoroughly washing, cleaning and drying the workpiece, you can coat it with varnish. To do this, you should use a specially designed parquet varnish, thanks to which the material will retain its original appearance and performance characteristics for a long time.

Chemical brushing of wood

Unlike mechanical brushing, wood brushing using chemicals is considered the most rare type of artificial structuring. Despite the fact that the use of chemically active compounds facilitates the brushing process, their widespread use is limited by the need for special knowledge and skills of the master working with chemicals. In addition, difficulties may arise in purchasing chemicals.

For chemical brushing of wood, acids (sulfuric and hydrochloric), alkalis and other caustic chemicals (ammonia) are used. After they are applied to the surface of the material, they corrode the soft fibers, and all that remains is to scrape off the unnecessary wood.

The sequence of work for chemical brushing is as follows:

The surface of the material is polished and dirt is removed;
A thin layer of the chemical used for brushing is applied to the surface to be treated;
During the work process, it is important to monitor the evaporation of the chemical and, if necessary, reapply;
After the chemical softens the outer fibers, the workpiece is washed under running water and the remaining chemical is removed using a soft brush;
Then the wood is thoroughly dried, after which they begin to paint and apply varnish.

Wooden products made from brushed wood will become an original addition to classic and vintage interiors, fitting perfectly into the main stylistic concept. Aged wood in the form wall panels, massive ceiling beams and columns will make any, even the most laconic interior, refined and aristocratic.

Brushing wood video