Impregnation with Microcrystalline Wax to Improve Rosewood Dimensional Stability and Surface Hardness

Air-dried rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora) samples with sizes of 50 mm (length) by 50 mm (width) by 20 mm (thickness) were pretreated with NaOH to increase their permeability. The specimens were then impregnated with microcrystalline wax at a temperature of 100 °C to obtain various weight gains at four treatment durations. After impregnation, the swelling and shrinkage extents and surface hardness of the rosewood were measured. The results showed that, compared with untreated specimens, the linear swelling extent, volumetric swelling extent, and linear shrinkage extent of the impregnated specimens decreased by 75.23%, 59.85%, and 80.70%, respectively, and the surface hardness of the treated specimens increased by 43.36%. The impregnation with wax significantly increased the dimensional stability and surface hardness of the rosewood.