Sandblasting Wood as a Technique of Simulated Weathering

While most efforts are aimed at preventing the surface roughening and colour change of wood due to weathering, some customers, mainly for decorative reasons, want wooden objects and elements to give the impression that they have been weathered for a long time. In this study, the simulated weathering of numerous softwoods as well as ring-porous and diffuse-porous woods by sandblasting and greying with iron sulphate was investigated. Calculations of the correlations between wood density, orientation, mass loss and thickness reduction by sandblasting were performed, and the difference between the hardness of late and early wood and the surface profile parameter Pt showed that the surface profiles correlate strongly with mass loss, especially in the tangential orientation. Softwoods appeared to be the most promising for simulated profiling, especially spruce and larch with tangential surfaces. Among the ring-porous woods, oak and sweet chestnut also delivered good results.