SHRINK WRAP TO PREVENT DAMAGE TO WOOD

SHRINK WRAP TO PREVENT DAMAGE TO WOOD

You mayhave heard about all the advantages of shrink-wrapping. However, what exactlyis shrink-wrapping and is it something you should use to protect yourunfinished wood products before finishing them with paint or sealer?

Osborne Wood Products offers shrink-wrapping for all of your items, so that you can be assured the wood will not crack/split until you are ready to finish them. Included in the shrink-wrap is a small silica gel pack that helps preserve the items within the shrink wrap in their original condition.

Shrink wrap is a plastic film that you can wrap around nearly any object, no matter what the size or shape. Heat is then applied to the surface, which causes the plastic to shrink. As it shrinks, it conforms to the shape of the object and seals itself.

When heat is applied to shrink wrap, it creates avery tight seal. This plastic seal then fully protects the shrink-wrapped contents. Once sealed, the items are no longer vulnerable to thedamage that can be caused by dust, dirt or moisture.

This can be especially useful in protecting unfinished woodproducts from variations in moisture and temperature, which can cause wood toshrink and/or expand. Wood is anatural material that reacts to changes in its environment, and thesechanges can cause gaps, warping, cracking, splitting buckling and checking.

In the wintertime, dry air can dramatically affect unfinishedwood, and can suck enough moisture from the wood to do permanent damage. Inaddition, moist air can cause wood to swell and expand and create anunattractive appearance. If your wood products are stored for even shortperiods of time in places with very high or very low moisture content, the legscan be damaged.

By putting a moisture barrier around unfinished wood, themoisture remains in the wood until the item is painted or sealed. When a woodproduct is painted/sealed on all of its surfaces, moisture and temperaturevariations are usually eliminated. Finishing also enhances the beauty of woodand protects it from rapid temperature / moisture variations

Shrink wrap is made from a very sturdy, durable plastic. Itis difficult to tear or puncture. Unlike other materials, shrink wrap does notbecome brittle or weaken when it is in the sun or extreme cold. Once the shrinkwrap has been heated and sealed over your objects, it will not loosen or sag.

As an added bonus, shrink wrap plastic is recyclable; whenyou’re finished with it, you can toss it in with your other plastic bags to berecycled and remade for future uses.

Producing a beautiful, finished wood product requires paying attention to details like shrink-wrapping, and will help you produce a masterpiece that can be handed down for generations.