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Incubator Q&A

Welcome to the staging ground for new communities! Each proposal has a description in the "Descriptions" category and a body of questions and answers in "Incubator Q&A". You can ask questions (and get answers, we hope!) right away, and start new proposals.

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Incubator Q&A What are the drawbacks of leaving wood unfinished?

As you already mentioned in your question, dirt and moisture. A finish makes it easier to wipe dirt off, and prevents it getting into the wood. It also vastly slows the uptake of liquid water and h...

posted 5mo ago by Spamalot‭

Answer
#1: Initial revision by user avatar Spamalot‭ · 2024-05-11T04:36:27Z (5 months ago)
As you already mentioned in your question, dirt and moisture. A finish makes it easier to wipe dirt off, and prevents it getting into the wood. It also vastly slows the uptake of liquid water and humidity (though any claims that it prevents changes in moisture due to humidity are generally false - it slows down the changes, it does not fully prevent them.)

And if you keep "cleaning" the dirt with sandpaper, the shape and size of the wooden object change, as you are removing the dirt, and the surface of the wood around the dirt, to expose new wood that hasn't got dirt on it - yet.