Clear coat: the best UV protection

by Joost Nusselder | Updated on:  June 19, 2022
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Clear coat for UV protection.

Clear coat is a coat that has no color and clear coat is used to protect your woodwork.

Clear coat

I think everyone knows what clear coat is. After all, the word white says it all. It is colorless. Clear coat has no color. I can imagine that you have special wood and that you want to continue to see its structure. There are types of wood that also have knots. If you then start painting with a clear coat, you will see it again. It gives a natural look as it were. In addition, clear lacquer also has a protective function. First, it protects against stains. The surface becomes smooth and dirt or stains hardly adhere. Secondly, the paint protects against scratches and wear. The paint hardens and can then take a beating so that it cannot be scratched. The lacquer also has the function of retaining moisture. This protects your wood when it rains. Clear coat also protects against UV radiation. When the sun shines, the wood remains in good condition and is therefore protected. If you are going to paint the untreated wood, you must first degrease and sand it well. Then sand with a scotch brite. This is a kind of sponge that won’t scratch your surface and you can get into all the little corners with this scotch brite.

Is clear coat the same as stain?
clear coat

You can compare clear coat with a stain. There are only differences. Clear coats are sealing. This means that no more moisture can pass through once it has cured. Stain, on the other hand, penetrates deeper into the wood so that the moisture in the wood can escape. This is also called moisture regulating. A second difference is that you do not need a primer with stain, but usually you do with a lacquer. Unless you sand well. It is then best to wet sand (here’s how to do that). You can also put a clear coat over a colored coat. This is sometimes applied when painting a table. It is lived on every day and then the paint offers extra protection. Stain not only has transparent lacquers but also color stains. These are also moisturizing. Not a lacquer. Furthermore, there is a distinction between interior and exterior coatings. The best exterior paints are turpentine based and are often glossy and durable. The paints inside are water-based. The advantage of this is that they dry quickly and hardly smell. So you have to think in advance what you want on your wood. By that I mean what types of paint you want to use. I know that is always difficult. Be informed by a professional or someone from a paint store. Of course you can also ask me. I hope I have provided enough information on this subject. If you have any questions, leave a comment below this article.

Thanks in advance.

Piet de vries

I'm Joost Nusselder, the founder of Tools Doctor, content marketer, and dad. I love trying out new equipment, and together with my team I've been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with tools & crafting tips.