Uses
Tar was used as seal for roofing shingles and to seal the hulls of ships and boats. For millennia wood tar was used to waterproof sails and boats, but today sails made from inherently waterproof synthetic substances have negated the need for tar. Wood tar is still used to seal traditional wooden boats and the roofs of historical shingle-roofed churches, as well as painting exterior walls of log buildings. Tar is also a general disinfectant. Pine tar oil, or wood tar oil is a pure natural product for surface treatment of wooden, shingle roofs, boats, etc. Also for the treatment of horse hooves,medicine, soap, rubber industry etc. Pine tar has good penetration on the rough wood. An old recipe for treatment of wood is one-third of each Genuine wood tar, balsam turpentine and boiled or raw linseed oil or Chinese tung oil.
In Finland wood tar was once considered a panacea reputed to heal "even those cut in twain through their midriff". A Finnish proverb states that if sauna, vodka and tar won't help, the disease is fatal. Wood tar is used in traditional Finnish medicine because of its microbicidial properties.
Wood tar is also available diluted as tar water, which has numerous uses:
- As a flavoring for candies (e.g. Terva Leijona) and alcohol (Terva Viina)
- As a spice for food, like meat
- As a scent for saunas. Tar water is mixed into water which is turned into steam in the sauna
- As an anti-dandruff agent in shampoo
- As a component of cosmetics
Mixing tar with linseed oil varnish produces tar paint. Tar paint has a translucent brownish hue, and can be used to saturate and tone wood and protect it from weather. Tar paint can also be toned with various pigments, producing translucent colours and preserving the wood texture.
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