Wood Alloy Info

What is a Wood Alloy Blind?

Wood Alloy blinds are made from a patented material that combines the natural richness of American Basswood and the durability of advanced engineered liquid polymers extruded and covered by a vinyl sleeve.

The advantage of the product is that the material can take high humidity conditions and can withstand the effects of pro-longed exposure to heat and sunlight with fading, cracking or warping. The Slat material can even be submerged in water.

Prolonged exposure to sunlight, heat and humidity can damage other wood blinds. Wood Alloy can take the heat in the kitchen and the humidity in the bathroom without any fear of damage.

Advantages vs. Basswood Blind.

• Suitable for high humidity areas like bathrooms, jacuzzi rooms, windows that face a sea breeze or windows that are above a fish pond or water feature. Wood Alloy will not warp.
• The slat can be exposed directly to water in the form of splashes and cleaning without any detrimental effect to the finish of the blind.
• Wood alloy material is impervious to the damaging effects of sunlight and heat. This makes it suitable for high sun or high heat areas such as near the stove.
• Wood Alloy material will not chip which makes it suitable for high traffic areas such as passage ways or blinds on a door which could be subjected to knocks and bumps.

Disadvantages vs. Basswood Blind.

• Material is heavier and which causes bigger blinds to be difficult to operate and even limits the size that you can manufacture.
• Blind does not have real Woodgrain to give slats the lateral strength of wood, consequently blinds have to have more ladder strings than a real wood blind.
• Although the Wood Alloy is a good imitation of a wood blind the natural beauty of wood can still not be beaten.
• Blinds have very little leeway to be cut down or altered because ladder strings are moved closer to the side of the blind.

Advantages vs. PVC Blind.

• Wood Alloy is a closer imitation to Wood than most PVC. The Vinyl Sleeve, which covers the extruded slat, can be detailed to include features such as woodgrain and slight variation in tone.
• Wood Alloy is lighter in weight than most PVC blinds available because of the wood content. This allows better function of bigger blinds.
• Wood Alloy has considerably more lateral strength than PVC because of the wood content. This allows the manufacture of blinds with fewer ladder strings. It also allows the option of blinds with grouped controls on the product. Most PVC products should only be manufactured with split controls.
• Wood Alloy has an anti static treatment to repel dust.
• Wood Alloy contains highly engineered colour fastness compounds which means Wood Alloy will not fade with time and the Icing (white) slat will not yellow.

Disadvantages vs. PVC Blind.

• Wood Alloy sells at a premium price.

Testing Procedures on Wood Alloy Materials.

• Thermal Performance: Significant quantities of material are subjected to a scientific standard thermal testing oven set at 130 degrees for thirty minutes. Using a thermal testing apparatus material is placed between set pegs and examined after 30 minutes to see if more than 1.5mm of deflection has occurred.
• Colour Quality: All material contains highly engineered colour fastness compounds that enable the material to withstand the time in a customer’s window without fading. Independent laboratory testing is completed on a regular schedule to ensure colour quality and fastness.
• Light: Each slat must pass a light test, which enables samples of materials to be evaluated on a consistent basis for light transmission through the slat. 99.3% of daylight is blocked from passing through the finished product.
• Slat Straightness: Each Box of Wood Alloy is tested for straightness with a computer laser system to determine slat straightness. The digital laser system ensures that the variability of the finished product to determine if the slat is bowed

Cleaning & care of Wood Alloy blinds.

Wood Alloy blinds are designed to be durable, easily cared for and easily cleaned. Our Wood Alloy blinds are inherently anti-static and repel dust but occasional feather dusting or vacuuming made be necessary to keep the slats clean and bright.

The durable polymer coating on Woodwinds slats resists chipping, cracking or warping. Spills or stains can be cleaned with soap and water. Slats are fully washable and will not be harmed if exposed to water or humid conditions. Slats however should not be cleaned with an abrasive sponge or cloth.

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