Authors:S. Shukla, S.Gupta and V.S. Kishan Kumar
Abstract:An experiment was conducted to study the effect of staining on moisture resistance and gloss of lacquer coated bamboo surfaces. Strips of Bambusa nutans, B. polymorpha and Dendrocalamus giganteus were stained with commercial teak, rosewood and walnut stains. These strips were then given two coats of lacquer. For comparative analysis, one set of unstained lacquer coated samples of the three species were also prepared. Moisture resistance properties were studied in a humidity and temperature controlled chamber. In general, gloss of the surfaces got enhanced by staining the strips. All the three stains were found to be able to give attractive colours and enhance the lustre of the surfaces of B. nutans. D. giganteus exhibited more gloss in addition to having a new colour when coated with lacquer after staining, only with rosewood stain. Overall, the best stain in enhancing gloss of all three species was found to be the rosewood stain. Only B. polymorpha, which has relatively large lumens exhibited increases in moisture intake after staining.
Keywords:Bamboo, gloss, lacquer, moisture resistance, staining