Water-Based Stains

The development of a truly easy to use, non-lapping water-based stain system has been a major hurdle for coatings formulators and manufacturers. Various resin systems have been introduced over the years that offered many good performance qualities but still did not emulate the unique properties of solvent-based stains, with their more consistent color control, surface penetrations and handling open time. Knowing that our clients have been demanding a wood stain system that features the user-friendly behavior of our topcoats and sealers, we felt that only the best stain binder would complement our line of products, so we made the binder ourselves and sidestepped the conventional acrylic base mindset of our suppliers and competitors.

Upon review of conventional solvent-based stains, we determined that linseed oil, tung-oil and more recently soy oil has been the primary binder resins for color rich, easy to use stains for commercial and consumer stain products. During our research we moved back to our understanding of emulsion chemistries and focused on a stain base that we developed several years ago for one of our OEM clients. This binder was already in our production system but needed to be adjusted to meet the wider uses of our many small clients. We also needed to create a new color pallet; one that complemented the popular colors of both the new construction crowd as well as our restoration specialists. We are proud to introduce to our custom woodworking clients a true breakthrough in water-based coating development: Oxford® Ultima-WR Water Reducible Stain Series.

Oxford® Ultima-WR Water Reducible Stain Series is based on a hybridized linseed oil backbone, incorporating our exclusive Emulsion Technology Chemistries (EmTech™), which allows this unique stain base to be thinned with basic tap water. Oxford® Ultima-WR Stains clean up easily with basic tap water and a mild detergent. No turpentine, mineral spirits, ammonia or other flammable solvents are needed to work with our hybrid linseed oil stain base.

Oxford® Ultima-WR Stain Series is available in many popular colors ranging from deep, rich browns, golden yellows to vivid red tones. Each color is named to emulate their historically prescribed wood species in terms of common wood color terms, but don’t let the names be a roadblock to exploring their use on opposing wood species and densities. Explore and have fun with these colors. Allow your artistic side to try something new. Also, try the CLEAR BASE as a natural color generator on pine, maple, oak and mahogany. Remember, you are working with Linseed Oil, which can be vividly clear on these species. Use the CLEAR BASE as a “Danish Oil-Type” finish. Wipe on / wipe off, allow to dry, and watch the richness of your wood come to life.

We will be posting a complete high-resolution color chart and tech page for your color review needs.

I cannot say it enough- thank you for all of your business and support.

Sincerely,

Jeff Weiss
Director