Is rubber wood good for furniture

Rubberwood is one of the finest and perfect woods that are being used to manufacture various kinds of furniture for decades. It is strong as well as flexible, which allows the carpenters to create carvings, trays, and cabinetry in one of the easiest ways.

This tree has gained immense popularity because people from different regions grow this tree to harvest rubber and earn some money for themselves. This is the reason that rubberwood can now easily be found around different parts of Asia and Africa. With all that being said, you may still have some confusion about, rubberwood is good for furniture?

Is rubber wood good for furniture

We all know very well that if a person is going to invest in something, whether it is furniture or any other necessities of life, they want to get the best thing that looks good and can live for years and decades.

To help you make a good choice and get the furniture as you desire, this article is composed to provide you with useful information about all minor to major aspects of rubberwood and their use in furniture.

Is rubberwood furniture safe

Rubberwood furniture has no toxicity and is considered an eco-friendly furniture wood material. Do keep this fact in mind that this tree is grown to extract latex from it.

Rubberwood furniture can only be risky if you have latex-related allergies. If you have allergies, coming in contact with the furniture or simply sitting near to them can affect you by triggering your allergic symptoms.

Apart from this, rubberwood is completely safe even in terms of keeping the nails at their place. This factor protects you, your kids, and pets in the home from getting cuts from nails coming out of furniture.

Is rubberwood durable for furniture

Rubberwood belongs to the well-known maple family. It is pretty flexible, but not to the extent most people believe.

It is flexible enough to be carved easily, but when it comes to hardness, stiffness, and strength, it can bear a good amount of weight without showing any signs of decay or scraping for years.

You can get an idea from the statistics that rubberwood has a hardness of 500 pounds per foot, stiffness of 1.3 million PSI, and strength of 9500 PSI.

Is rubberwood good for bedroom furniture

Rubberwood is often compared with maple and oak, considered the best to create almost all kinds of furniture. Rubberwood has a yellowish-brown or light cream look and has a straight grain pattern.

All these things make it quite preferable to create bedroom furniture. You may think of maple or oak because of better properties, but if you want bedroom furniture of high quality at relatively low prices, rubberwood should be your go-to option.

Is rubberwood good for outdoor furniture

Like all other hardwoods in the furniture market, rubberwood also comes in various qualities and with a few different properties.

One thing is true that rubberwood furniture is not suitable to be used in outdoor conditions. Where direct sunlight can affect the furniture badly, the rainwater can remove the protective polishing and chemicals.

These are used to keep fungus and other pets away from the furniture, and rainwater can allow points or pores for such things to enter and make the furniture empty and weak from the inside.

Does rubberwood scratch easily

Rubberwood is flexible yet hardwood and requires a lot of pressure to break. It is extremely durable and quite hard than most of the woods that can be found in this price range.

You can get an idea that rubberwood is a bit softer than oak wood but is hard, just like teak or walnut wood. The wood has the same density, and weight like you find in maple or ash.

Its hardness, combined with other factors, makes it less prone to scratches and scars.

Rubberwood furniture pros and cons

Pros of rubberwood furniture

  • It is highly durable and has the ability to stay strong for relatively a long period of time.
  • As rubberwood is categorized as a byproduct that comes after extracting latex, it is heavily cost-effective and can be availed at minimum prices.
  • There is minimal shrinkage and cracking which make it an ideal choice for manufacturing furniture.
  • It can adore different paints and polishes in a better way. This can provide flexibility to change shades according to your interests and remove stains as well.

Cons of rubberwood furniture

  • It can decay especially if it is not placed in appropriate conditions.
  • It is prone to insects and fungus attacks and cannot repel their attacks.
  • It can affect the person with latex allergies. It can trigger cough, flu, itching, or any other issues.
  • Completely not good for outdoor usage as it became a bit soft after coming in contact with water. It can also twist when it is wet.

How to refinish rubberwood furniture

  1. Remove all the dust and debris from furniture using a soft cloth.
  2. Now get a 60 grit sandpaper and start sanding your furniture to remove all the major scratches and marks from the surface. Periodically increase the number of grits from 60 to 120 and then 360.
  3. Rub the rubberwood furniture in a circular motion until you feel that the surface has become smooth entirely.
  4. Now apply polish or the sanding sealer evenly on the furniture.
  5. Let the furniture air dry for a day before using it like you normally do.

How to paint rubberwood furniture

  1. Starting process will remain the same until the surface is smooth.
  2. Apply a good coat of primer using a brush.
  3. Wash off the brush and all the things used in priming.
  4. Apply paint with a brush evenly. Make sure you cover the area with tape that doesn’t need to be painted.

How to clean rubberwood furniture

  1. Mix laundry soap or detergent in water.
  2. Put a soft clean cloth in the mixture and make it wet completely.
  3. Rinse the cloth a bit and start rubbing the furniture with a semi-wet cloth.
  4. Repeat this step until you get the desired results.

Curious to learn is mahogany good for outdoor furniture, is alder wood good for indoor furniture and is whitewood good for garden beds too?

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