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Why is it important to use high solids or high solid formulations in hard wax oil finishes?

The reason for this is because high solid hard wax oils, where it is not a hybrid product, depend on a greater concentration of active protective ingredients—being the oils and waxes—instead of relying on plastic or volatile solvents. When you apply a high solids finish, almost all of the product stays permanently on and in the wood, rather than evaporating into the air. This results in superior durability.

It’s important when comparing products to recognize that sometimes a product called a “hard wax oil” is in fact a hybrid product: it contains some plastic or polyurethane of a relatively low sheen, which can give the appearance of a hard wax oil but doesn’t give you the life or the ease of maintenance of a genuine hard wax oil.

So it’s only when you’re comparing genuine hard wax oils that this is important, but when you are using a genuine hard wax oil, you must choose a high solids product.

Benefits of OSMO Oils

It will offer many benefits, including superior durability: more active ingredients will remain to protect the timber and timber fibers. Brands like Osmo hard wax oil utilize very high solids and create a much stronger, highly resilient layer against wear, moisture, and daily activities.

Additionally, products like Osmo hard wax oil, because of their high solid content, give you much greater coverage because there are fewer solvents to evaporate, and a greater percentage of what is in the container ends up on the floor or project. This results in a greatly increased application rate. This can be as much as twice as much as comparative products.

Some people struggle to appreciate just how beneficial this is, but it genuinely gives you much better performance.

It is much superior in performance to other products.

A third advantage is that fewer coats are required.

A high concentration of high solids builds protection quickly. This eliminates the need for multiple successive applications of product. This saves both time and labor costs. So, for example, with Osmo hard wax oil, we recommend 2 coats of application to the surface. This compares with other coating systems that generally work with a minimum of 3 and can require up to 5 coats to achieve the finish.

Hard wax oils such as Osmo Polix also offer extremely low solvent content, almost nothing, and therefore provide an eco-friendly product. These products are extremely important and much safer to use.

A final benefit of working with high solids hard wax oils is the lifespan of the product. The cured layer resists breaking down over time. This means you do not have to keep reapplying finish as frequently as you would do with low solid products. And of course, if you’re working with a high solid hard wax oil that isn’t a hybrid product but a genuine hard wax oil, you have the additional benefit of ease of maintenance.

Alway Better to Use Real Hardwax Oil

You’ve got a high solid product that will last for a long time, but when you do need to do some maintenance, you will be able to maintain by area instead of having to do a full resand, as you would do with a polyurethane product or a hybrid hard wax oil, which is a blend of oils, waxes, and plastic.

So we always recommend a high solids hard wax oil, and that’s why at VCS we recommend the Osmo hard wax oil range for both internal and external applications, for cabinet work, for floors, for decks.

There’s a solution for everywhere that you use timber, and frankly, you simply cannot find better than the Osmo hard wax oil range.