Assessment of surface properties and solvent-borne coating performance of red oak wood produced by peripheral planing

Coating performance on wood could be affected for different aspects including the manner in which the surface is prepared. Peripheral planing is one of the most used machining processes in woodworking. Improving this process would allow to enhance coating performance. As a result, the effects of wavelength and rake angle on surface properties and coating performance were evaluated in an attempt to improve peripheral planing of red oak wood. Surface quality was assessed through roughness, scanning electron micrographs, and wettability analyses. The performance of a solvent-borne coating was measured by adhesion strength before and after accelerated aging. Surface roughness and energy components increased as rake angle increased. As wavelength increased, cell damage and surface roughness increased. Surfaces prepared with a rake angle of 25° had more cell-wall fibrillation, which was assumed to be responsible for increased surface energy and improved coating adhesion after weathering. Samples machined with this rake angle combined with a short wavelength resulted in the lowest loss of adhesion after aging and presented an acceptable level of surface roughness.