Glazes protect the wood and still make it look very natural. In contrast to varnish, for example, the wood also remains breathable with a glaze. When it comes to wood stain, however, a basic distinction is made between one Thin layer glaze and one Thick layer glaze:
The thin-layer glaze is very fluid and can penetrate deep into the wood – so there is no film on the wood. The grain remains very visible. In addition, the glaze cannot flake off and is regulating. However, the glaze is not as durable as a thick-layer glaze and needs to be refreshed more frequently.
The thick-layer glaze, on the other hand, is more bulky and does not penetrate so deeply into the wood. The grain also remains visible here, but more subtle than with the thin-layer glaze. The thick-layer glaze is suitable when the wood needs to be particularly weather and UV-resistant, for example for wooden windows. A disadvantage here is that the glaze can flake off.
In the following table we show you the Wood stain recommendations the Öko-Test, which used the wood stains mainly in terms of pollutants checked. It was particularly important to the testers whether there were ingredients that could be harmful to health.
The test has already been carried out for issue 2/2020. The wood stains are still available. However, it is possible that the recipe has changed in the meantime.
Do you need more information about the individual products, background information and further tips? You can find all of this in our comprehensive wood stain purchase advice.