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Australian blackbutt timber, a durable and versatile Australian hardwood.

Eastern State’s Blackbutt is a highly sought-after Australian hardwood prized for its exceptional durability, its attractive appearance, and its ease of use. It has a wonderfully interesting grain, often straight but with additional detail. And the timber itself is uniform in density, which makes it an excellent choice for a variety of applications, including particularly flooring.

Physical properties. There are three key elements of the physical properties of Blackbutt.

Firstly, its hardness level.

Eastern State’s Blackbutt is classified as a hardwood with a hardness level or rating around 9 to 9.1.

Appearance.

The timber boasts a range of colours, from straw to honey through to blonde tones, with the occasional darker board present. This creates excellent visual interest and again, the grain pattern is beautiful but doesn’t dominate the appearance of the timber.

The grain.

The straight grain of Eastern State’s Blackbutt combined with additional detail make this timber an ideal choice when you want a seamless look but also a look that doesn’t overwhelm the area or room in which the timber is in. Some timbers have a very strong grain but because blackbutt is a hardwood, the grain is tighter.

Working with Eastern State’s Blackbutt.

Due to its uniform density, Eastern State’s Blackbutt responds well to sanding machines, allowing for a fine, even finish that suits all types of finishes. The timber’s consistent density means that the sanding process is more predictable, which means there are less surprises when sanding the timber, less challenges to the sanding work. However, it still requires a certain level of skill because Blackbutt is a genuine hardwood.

Finishing.

Eastern State’s Blackbutt takes a wide variety of coatings. If you still want to use the solvent-based finishes that are available, these are established and reliable, and these finishes have been used on blackbutt for many years with excellent results.

Looking at waterborne finishes, these finishes are effective on Blackbutt. It’s important to work with a waterborne finish that has an appropriate sealer since there can be a problem with tannin bleed. You will note that some companies, like for example Bona, produce a sealer especially designed to control this problem called Prime Intense.

When applying waterborne finishes on Blackbutt, it’s important to work quickly to avoid getting any tannin marks or coating marks in the finish. Having said the above, waterborne coatings are used on Blackbutt all the time with excellent results as floor sanders have learned how to use them.

Tannin bleed is an interesting effect.

Sometimes tannin can be drawn into the finish as the coating dries, causing a slight grey or green discolouration. Interestingly, this is often very mild and not a cause for concern. It doesn’t affect the wear of the coating and gradually, as the floor adjusts its colour, as the floor settles in, it’s generally not seen.

Using oil on Blackbutt.

Some oils are blends, while other oils are more pure. We often recommend people to go with pure oils such as the Osmo Polyx range. Oils have been used extensively on Blackbutt producing excellent results. However, some oils yellow markedly and therefore we recommend going for a matte or semi-matte finish if using an oil on Blackbutt.

Osmo oil is used very effectively and very successfully and of course, being a repairable finish, it’s an ideal finish to use in timber flooring.

Because Blackbutt is a hardwood, generally the oil will go further as the timber can only absorb a certain amount of oil. If applying oil to Blackbutt, it’s important not to over sand the floor because this will result in more finish sitting on the surface and then result in scratching. Excessive oil application is not desired and so this should be checked before applying the finish.

Staining.

Blackbutt has been successfully stained in a variety of colours including black. The timber itself is very dense and doesn’t respond well to gentle stains but it does respond well to stains that are contained in the finish. So for example, there are stains that are actually combined with the finish that are applied to the floor and this tends to ensure that there is an even take-up of the stain as opposed to trying to apply a stain in a buffing manner. Having said that, some contractors have achieved good success on blackbutt using a buffing stain. But again, a hardwood is not really designed to take up stain so certain preparation steps must be taken.

In conclusion, Eastern State’s Blackbutt is a reliable, attractive and durable Australian hardwood that is ideal for timber flooring applications. It is good to use. It has excellent appeal and has superb durability. It is a popular choice among specifiers and homeowners and at VCS, it comes highly recommended.