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HOWARD PRODUCTS (AUST) |
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Tel:
1 800 672 646
www.howardproducts.com.au
ORANGE OIL is
a natural product. It’s made from oils which are harvested from the skin of
particular oranges, mostly Valencia, then blended, filtered and prepared in
a way that makes it a totally unique wood sealer, cleaner, and polisher. It
is the only natural oil known which contains many of the trace elements
found in timber and therefore it is the most sympathetic oil you can use for
wood. Howard Orange Oil is the original formula; containing only pure cold
pressed orange oil and not thinned in any way with water or dangerous
solvents. For French polished, varnished, lacquered, shellacked or even
polyurethaned pieces you apply Howard Orange Oil either by spraying the
product on or wiping it on with a cloth. Be liberal without being wasteful,
you’ll soon find that a little goes a long way. After you’ve finished
applying it, wipe or buff the surface dry, revealing a rich lustre, leaving
no build-up just the fresh aroma of citrus. For raw or un-sealed wood the
process is similar but you’ll use more oil and you should wait a few minutes
longer before buffing dry in order that the oil penetrates and feeds the dry
wood. Your piece is now “sealed” and can be left as an oiled finish or you
can proceed to step two which is to final finish the item with wax.
GIVE YOUR PIECE A FINAL FINISH USING EITHER HOWARD FEED-N-WAX OR CITRUS
SHIELD.
FEED-N-WAX is a unique liquid wax which is gel like in consistency and
therefore very easy to use. It contains Orange Oil, Beeswax and Carnauba
Wax. The beeswax combines with the Orange Oil and together they act as a
carrier for the harder carnauba to the surface of the piece you’re working
on. When on the surface the beeswax is taken down into the grain by the
orange oil nourishing the core of the timber while the carnauba wax remains
on the surface delivering a thin, rich, resilient protective coat. Even on
shellacked or French polished furniture the nourishing properties work,
because shellac is natural and porous allowing the oil and the beeswax to
pass through it. To apply “Feed-N-Wax” to raw wood, especially wood that is
a bit furry, we recommend that you use a pad of #0000 Howard Steel Wool to
apply the Feed-N-Wax in order to “Feather” the furry finish down and push
the wax right into the grain of the wood. Allow wax to set for 20 or 30
minutes, then buff to the desired finish. On raw wood two or three coats
will improve the finish.
SUNWAX is similar in formula and application to Feed-N-Wax but with one
big difference; it contains a unique UV inhibitor which is the same product
that is used in many human skin preparations which block the sun’s damaging
rays. Sunwax is recommended for any surface, inside or out, which is exposed
to direct sunlight.
CITRUS SHIELD is a paste wax that comes in natural as well as several
wood tints which dramatically enhance the colour of wood that you’re working
on. Natural Citrus Shield is 100% pure organic wax. Citrus Shield contains
the same basic ingredients as Feed-N-Wax but has more carnauba and less
orange oil in the blend. It is applied in the same way as Feed-N-Wax by
using a cloth on smoothly dressed wood or Howard #0000 Steel Wool as the
applicator on all raw wood. This first quality superfine steel wool infuses
the product deep into the cell of raw wood and “feathers” otherwise furry
surfaces. Allow 15 minutes to dry before hand buffing to the desired finish.
In the case of power buffing you can leave it to dry for a much longer
period.
We have discovered a unique method which really delivers a French polished
look. First you put a thin, even coat of Citrus Shield down and let it dry
for a couple of hours, then without buffing the first surface, apply a
second and then, in the same way, apply a third coat. When this is dry buff
all three coats together with a power buffer and you will see a wonderful
depth and lustre emerge. To fill cracks or holes, scoop a little out of the
tin and place in an open container. After a week or more it will start to
“putty up”. Use the puttied wax to fill the problem. It will dry hard after
a few more days. Lightly blend coloured Citrus Shield with neutral for a
natural wood look. This wax, like most paste waxes, has a tendency to cake
if left too thick in carving or grooving on furniture. Caking can be removed
using Howard Orange Oil on a cloth. For best results on heavily carved or
ornate furniture we recommend Feed-N-Wax as it doesn’t cake or build up.
TO ACHIEVE A HIGHLY DURABLE & WATER RESISTANT TRAFFIC RESISTANT FINISH
100% PURE TUNG OIL is a popular product for a really hard and strong
finish on flooring. But as you may know, Tung Oil can be very problematic if
you’re not a professional. However a mixture of pure tung oil and pure
orange oil is an excellent alternative and ORANGE TUNG WOOD OIL is
the easy and safe way to go.
Pure Tung Oil leaves an amazingly resistant finish but it can take 3 to 4
days to dry, in which time ripples can form and dust can fall. By
introducing Orange Oil the drying time takes hours not days. The Orange Tung
blend is 70% tung oil and 30% orange oil. Three coats are the minimum
requirement for a floor with normal domestic traffic and excess oil must be
wiped away between each coat. The idea is to watch the surface after putting
it down and when you see the surface become gummy or sticky you begin to
wipe the surface dry. Allow 4-5 hours for touch dry status and a total of
approximately 24 hours for a completely dry surface before applying the next
coat. Allow extra drying time if it is raining or cold or if it is very hot
and humid. Please note: maintenance on a regular basis is critical,
especially in the first year after coverage. Just about any author on the
subject will state that maintenance with beeswax is very important. Beeswax,
however, is hard to apply and hard to buff. Therefore we recommend either
Feed-N-Wax for indoors or Sunwax for outdoors surfaces. They are really
simple and economical to apply. About a teaspoonful of either of these
products will thinly cover one square metre of flooring. Important note: As
the old saying goes; Oils Aint Oils! Many of the big brand tung oil based
preparations around, usually sold in big chain hardware stores, are NOT pure
tung oil. Generally they contain about 30% tung oil and the rest is solvents
and artificial dryers. Ours is pure, not mixed with urethanes and solvents
like others. By the way, we do supply 100% pure and unadulterated Chinese
tung oil to people who still prefer that method, or who want to blend it
with orange oil to their own specifications. Some treated or ‘bug proofed’
wood does not react perfectly to this mixture. For best results wood should
be free from these chemicals. It must also be said that some exotic woods or
native woods high in natural oils should be matured after being laid down as
decking or flooring for at least two weeks prior to oiling. It is also
highly recommended, not just by us but by many authors on the subject, that
oily woods such as Merbau need to be washed down with a product containing
oxalic acid or similar before applying any oil product or for that matter,
coating of any kind. We can supply Powerlift, a product designed to bring
excess oil to the surface which can then be washed away leaving clean timber
which will accept an oil based coating.
For more detailed information and pricing email us on
info@howardproducts.com.au or ring 1800 672 646.