A Multi-Technique Approach to Evaluate the Surface Properties of Heat-Treated Chestnut Wood Finished with a Water-Based Coating

Abstract

The aim of the present work is to investigate the surface properties and the effect of a water-based coating on chestnut wood (Castanea sativa Mill.), both untreated and thermally treated. Chestnut is very common throughout the Mediterranean region and its wood is widely used as timber, especially in Central Italy, to build window fixtures and doors which have to be decay-resistant, even in historical buildings. Traditional techniques have been used in combination with Hyperspectral Imaging which had never been used before to examine thermally treated wood. Specifically, colour, roughness, micro-hardness, wear and contact angle measurements have been performed on untreated and thermally treated chestnut wood, covered by a commercial water-based coating named Idrolinfo. Hyperspectral analysis has been demonstrated to be appropriate to discriminate the heat treatment and the presence of the water-based product. The applied techniques showed that the best performances are obtained with the 170 °C heat treatment. The water-based coating demonstrated its validity when applied to untreated and heat-treated wood at 140 °C and 170 °C. The main findings showed that chestnut wood increased or maintained its properties if treated at those temperatures without undergoing a major colour change, acquiring good hydrophobicity, both if uncoated or treated with the water-based coating.