Wood stabilizing/treating compositions and method

Abstract

A method for treating wood to enhance its properties comprising: contacting the wood to be treated with sufficient water dilutable resin formed from one or more vinyl monomers in a solvent consisting essentially of water to deposit an effective amount of said resin in the cell walls of said wood, said resin containing molecules of a size which can enter the free space in said cell walls in the presence of said solvent and having a minimum film forming temperature not greater than ambient, and converting the resin in said cell walls to a water insoluble form at ambient conditions. The treatment provides wood of improved dimensional stability and resistance to checking on exposure to water. Further improvements in the wood properties can be obtained by depositing additives such as water soluble preservatives or fire retardants in the cell walls of the wood and fixing the additives therein with the insolublized resin.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.