Definitions
Numbers
One, Two, Three, and so forth (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ...) mean
the cardinal numbers. They are used for measuring quantities
by counting. They measure how much. They do not measure position.
Five apples does not say which apple is in front.
First, Second, Third, and so forth (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,
5th, ...) mean the ordinal numbers. They are used for showing
position of something relative to others, whether something
is above or below, behind or in front of, or similar idea.
They do not measure quantity. The fifth apple does not say
how many there are, or whether the third is gone.
Any number you encounter may be a cardinal number or an
ordinal number. The same symbol (for example, 5) may be used
to mean either quantity or position. You must discover from
the context which is meant. Our language system is not perfect.
This is one instance where the same symbol or word has more
than one meaning. There are many others.
Words
Alkyd: (see also Enamel and Oil-based) An oil-based enamel
chemically modified to give improved properties
Cured: The solid state attained by a mixture of liquids
or paste materials designed to chemically react with each
other.
Deterioration: The reduced condition of wood of any age
due to fungi, bacteria or insects attacking, eating or otherwise
degrading the wood beyond its normal degradation in this atmosphere.
In the Pest Control industry, insects such as beetles or termites
are said to cause "structural damage". This is deterioration.
Enamel: (See also oil-based and Varnish) A solvent-borne
paint, made by adding pigments to resins made from the oils
of plants (varnish). In recent years paint manufacturers have
corrupted the word, applying it also to the latex (water-borne)
paints.
Epoxy: A certain kind of molecular structure, a ring of
two carbon atoms and one oxygen atom, attached to various
resins used in some two-component paints or glues. The two
components are intended to be mixed together and will chemically
react (will "cure") to form some solid material
which is the reaction product ("cured epoxy resin").
Epoxy may also be used to refer to the solid product formed
by the reaction of the two components. The words "epoxy
resin" are often used to refer to both the liquid starting
material and to the resulting solid, the cured material. See
Cured. There are many other kinds of two-component products
besides epoxy-containing products, although those are among
the longest-lasting and most water-resistant.
Fiberglass: Glass fibers, either in a mat of random strands
or woven into a fabric. It is also used to mean the composite
hard, strong material formed by the impregnation and molding
of glass fibers with some hard material, usually a cured epoxy
or polyester resin.
Fungus: A microscopic life form or its larger assemblies
(such as mushrooms), resembling plants more than animals,
which eat wood by secreting digestive chemicals as they grow
in contact or within wood, dissolving and consuming it.
Lacquer: A clear, drying coating which, once dried, redissolves
in its original carrier solvent. Shellac is a form of lacquer.
Today, many paint manufacturers or dealers use the word irresponsibly
to apply to any clear or pigmented coating. See Enamel and
Varnish.
Latex: Originally, the sap of the rubber tree. Today, it
refers to paints made from a suspension of microscopic droplets
of some resin mixture, in water.
Quart: A unit of liquid measure, about six percent less
than a liter.
Micron: A unit of length, a millionth of a meter. A meter
is about ten percent more than three feet. There are about
25,000 microns in an inch.
Milliliter: A thousandth of a liter. The last joint of your
little finger has a volume, if your fingers are average size,
of about three milliliters.
Oil-based: Those kinds of paints or varnishes carried with
a solvent such as mineral spirits or turpentine, and which
are made from the oils of plants (as opposed to the acrylic
resins of petrochemical origin, used in latex paints). Many
plants have oils which are used for paint or varnish. The
Tung berry yields Tung oil, Walnuts yield Walnut oil, the
Flax plant yields Linseed oil, and so forth. There are two
general types of coatings, those carried in a solvent ["Solvent-borne"]
and those carried in water, normally as "latex".
Polyester: "Polyester resin" may mean either the
liquid resin starting material, whether or not mixed with
its catalyst, or the cured solid resin or even the cured solid
resin impregnated into a glass fiber matrix. Some boats are
made of polyester resin and glass fiber.
Polyurethane: A solid, similar in definition to epoxy, but
made from different chemicals and having different physical
properties.
Pot Life: Literally, this means "life in the pot"
or the useful life of a two-component product after mixing,
while sitting in a container ("the pot"). The Lignu
Impregnating Resin will be liquid for much longer than the
time specified as "pot life". The "pot life"
of Lignu Impregnating Resin is the time during which it has
the most chemical reactivity. It should be used within that
"pot life".
Primer: This literally means the prime coat, or first coat.
The word "prime" has another meaning, as high quality.
We are not using that definition anywhere here. This word
"prime" as "first" derives from the Latin
primus, meaning first. There are many kinds of "first
coats" such as adhesion-promoting primers, waterproofing
primers used to seal a porous substrate, filler primers, sanding
and surfacing primers, corrosion - inhibiting primers for
metal, wood primers intended to block tannin bleed-through
of wood topcoats, moisture-diffusion-barrier primers, and
others. Adding specific adjectives to the word "primer"
conveys a clear concept. Lignu Impregnating Resin functions
as several different kinds of primers, depending on the situation.
Something applied to a surface before a topcoat would be called
a primer. The verb, "to prime" means the action
of applying a primer.
Resin: This has become a very vague term nowadays. It is
casually used to mean any liquid material or any solid material
and has, as a separate word, lost any precise meaning.
Restoration: The action of returning to the wood at least
a portion of its original properties.
Shelf Life: The life stated by the manufacturer for a product
in the original (unopened) containers. This represents the
life on the store shelf, ready to be sold and used. It is
normally very conservatively understated, but not always.
Spores: The eggs of the fungus. As fungi grow, they create
and leave in their wake many spores, which can hatch under
favorable temperature and moisture conditions. Wind can carry
these microscopic eggs great distances and they can survive
harsh conditions, even in the space between stars.
Ultraviolet: The part of the light from the sun that is
more blue than what our eyes can see at the blue end of the
spectrum. The light from the sun comes in a range (spectrum)
of colors, seen in a rainbow, from ultraviolet through the
visible colors blue, green yellow, orange, red, and more red
which our eyes cannot see. That red is called infrared and
we can feel it as heat.
Urethane: Same as polyurethane, without getting too technical
about it.
Varnish: (see also Oil-based, and Lacquer) A clear coating
which, once hardened, will not dissolve in its original carrier
solvent. Today, many paint manufacturers use the word irresponsibly
to refer to any clear drying coating.
V. O. C.: Abbreviation for Volatile Organic Content. It
represents the portion of a product which evaporates, not
counting water, and is also called the solvent content. It
is measured in units of grams (of volatiles) per liter (of
paint) and is controlled by various state and federal regulatory
agencies in many countries.
Copyright © 2002 Steve Smith All rights reserved
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