Bright And Inviting

With the help of special lightening technology, a special kind of rejuvenation was achieved for the Hotel Heiligenstein.

Since April 2014 you have been welcomed in the Hotel Heiligenstein in Baden-Baden in a modern ambience, which is based on traditional conditions and regional colors. The color concept presented a special challenge in the context of the renovation measures: the dark-glazed roof underside should be visually adapted to the new balcony cladding.

Dark but intact

If the grain of the wood remains visible, so that the wood character should not be covered by a coat of paint, a glaze coating is the right choice. With every glaze renovation coat, however, the wood surface becomes darker until it appears almost black in individual cases. There is not much left of the beautiful, light wood character, the wooden components look gloomy and sometimes even grubby.

But is there a way back to the original bright colors of the wood? A complete sanding down to the unstained wood is often not technically feasible and rarely makes economic sense. The total replacement of the wood is also not a really sensible alternative. Because the graying and darkening of the wood is a natural process and does not mean that the wood is damaged. Light colors, however, look much friendlier and more inviting.

Proven method

When wooden surfaces that have become dark are to become light again, painters have been using the lightening technique for a long time. A well-known technique, which, however, always arouses enthusiasm among clients, after the wood has been coated it appears again in a bright color. The execution is very simple: after cleaning the wood and after loose particles of the old coating have been removed, the wood surface receives one or two coats with a covering primer. If raw wood is available (e.g. because boards had to be replaced or sanded through), these areas should be impregnated beforehand. Blue stain protection is recommended for some softwoods. One or two layers of glaze are applied to the dried top coat. These can be deliberately streaked,this gives the impression of a wood grain and does not make the wood appear "dead-painted".

Compared to a conventional glaze structure, the lightening technique does not only offer optical advantages. The opaque intermediate coating practically rules out the appearance of grinding marks. The surface appears uniform and has no serious color differences. In addition, the coordinated combination of opaque intermediate and glazing top coat is much more durable than a pure glaze application, since the wood is better protected against UV radiation.

New look

also at the Hotel Heiligenstein in Baden-Baden, the Aufhelltechnik came to train. The dark roof underside was covered with a water vapor permeable, moisture-regulating alkyd resin primer in the specified color. Then an aromatic-free, high-solid glaze based on alkyd resin was applied as a light streak as an intermediate and top coat. The interplay of opaque base and glazing top coats resulted in a perfect result. The friendly and bright color of the roof underside harmonizes with the new balcony cladding. The painter company Oesterle from Iffezheim carried out the facade coating in addition to the lightening technique. Thanks to competent and professional workmanship, the Hotel Heiligenstein shines in a new - bright - shine.

After the renovation with the lightening technique, the Hotel Heiligenstein - once dark and a little “dusty” (above) - now looks modern and bright.

The dark wood is cleaned and loose particles are removed if necessary.

The dark glazed surface is covered with a covering primer.

The top coat is deliberately carried out with a light streak.

Susanne Sachsenmaier election

PRACTICAL PLUS

The brightening technique at the Hotel Heiligenstein in Baden-Baden was carried out with the following products from Brillux:

• Impredur reason 835
• Permanent protective glaze 580

Further information on the products is available at www.brillux.de

Source: Malerblatt 5/2015