INTERIOR WOOD VINTAGE GROUND · ART. 331
Where a vintage wood finish begins.
LEINOS 331 — a water-based white ground for interior wood, the first step of the LEINOS vintage system. Brush, roll or trowel it on, colour with Pigment Concentrate 668, then seal with Vintage Finish 635. Near-zero VOC.
Mechanism & Use
How LEINOS 331 Vintage Wood Ground works.
A water-based shellac-soap and wax paste that lays a light white ground on interior wood — the foundation aged, layered vintage colour reads against.
Water carries the ground in
A water-based paste of saponified shellac and natural wax lays a light, opaque foundation on bare wood — brushed thin or trowelled thick. Low odour, near-zero VOC.
A white wax-shellac foundation
Carnauba and beeswax bind white mineral pigment into a matt ground that keys to the wood and sands back cleanly.
Colour layers on with 668
Pigment Concentrate 668 goes over the ground; the white base makes each tone read soft and aged, not flat and painted.
Sand back to a real patina
Once dry, cut through the layers with sandpaper until the worn, time-softened look appears — then seal it with Vintage Finish 635.
Where It Lives
Where 331 lives
Vintage & shabby-chic furniture
Chests, sideboards, chairs and tables restyled to a soft, aged patina.
Reclaimed & new timber
A white ground that makes new wood read as gently time-worn.
Decorative interior wood pieces
Frames, panels and accent joinery for a distressed designer look.
Boutique & hospitality fit-outs
Character furniture for cafes, studios and heritage-style interiors.
Furniture restoration
A base to rebuild colour and texture on stripped-back old wood.
Craft & studio work
One white ground, any aged tone via Pigment Concentrate 668.
Compliance · EU · Origin
Declared in full. Made in Germany.
Water-based and near-zero VOC — the anchors that let 331 go into an occupied interior without disclaimers. No toy-safe or food-contact claim: 331 carries a preservative and is a decorative ground, not a skin-contact finish.
331 is water-based and near-zero VOC, so it can be worked in occupied rooms with normal ventilation. It carries a preservative (benzisothiazolinone) to protect the wet paste in the tub — full ingredient disclosure and the SDS are available on request. For a children’s-furniture or food-contact wood finish, ask our team for the right LEINOS oil instead: 331 is a decorative vintage ground, not a toy-safe coating.
Read The Full TDSCoverage
Applied to taste — a thin wash or a trowelled impasto — so there is no fixed spread rate. Supplied in a single 0.5 L tub; our team can estimate for a specific piece.
Drying Time
Depends on layer thickness and room climate (per TDS). Let the ground dry through before colouring with Pigment Concentrate 668.
Tools
Brush, Roller, Spatula, Sandpaper
Step by Step
How to Apply
Sand the bare interior wood smooth and clean along the grain; the surface must be dry, firm and dust-free before you start.
Stir 331 thoroughly — the white mineral pigment and wax settle in the tub. The ground is supplied ready to use, no thinning needed.
Lay the white ground — brush, roll or trowel a coat onto the wood, thin and even for a subtle base or plastically for texture.
Colour with Pigment Concentrate 668 — once the ground is dry, work 668 over it in one pass or several until the depth of aged colour builds.
Sand back to vintage — after every layer dries through, cut back with sandpaper until the worn, time-softened patina appears.
Seal with Vintage Finish 635 to lock the surface into a durable, silky film. Clean tools with water and LEINOS Vegetable Soap 930.
Application Conditions
- Substrate must be dry, firm, clean and dust-free.
- Interior wood only.
- Follow the technical data sheets of all products used in the system (668, 635).
Coats & Recoating
- Apply the ground thin or plastically; let it dry before colouring with 668.
- Drying depends on layer thickness and room climate — recoat only once the ground has dried through.
- Finish the system with Vintage Finish 635 after sanding back.
Cleaning & Storage
- Clean tools immediately after use with water and LEINOS Vegetable Soap 930. The product is supplied ready to use.
- Store cool, dry and tightly closed; protect from frost. Shelf life at least 2 years in the sealed tub.
First time with Vintage Wood Ground? Our technical team runs complimentary on-site walkthroughs for contractors — full application protocol, start to finish.
System & Substrates
One white ground, your colour, a wax seal.
331 is a single white 0.5 L ground — colour comes from 668, protection from 635. It’s applied to taste, from a thin wash to a trowelled impasto, so there is no fixed spread rate; our team can estimate for a specific piece.
The Vintage System
Ground, colour, seal — three steps to an authentic patina.
Tinting On Site
Mix your own custom shade at the site with LEINOS pigments.
Long-term Care
Extends the life of the finish over the years.
Substrate Fit
331 works on — and what it doesn’t.
Suitable
Recommended substrates
- Interior wood furniture and cabinetry
- Reclaimed and new timber for shabby-chic pieces
- Decorative interior wood objects and joinery
- Absorbent, bare interior softwood and hardwood
- Interior wood-based panels (MDF, plywood)
Honest Limits
Where to use a different product
- Exterior wood — 331 is an interior decorative ground. For outdoor wood use LEINOS 236 Terrace Wood Oil
- Floors and high-traffic wood — 331 is not a wearing finish. For durable floors use LEINOS 290 Interior Hardwax Oil
- Walls and mineral surfaces — for a vintage WALL ground use LEINOS 631 Vintage Wall Ground
- Children’s toys and food-contact surfaces — 331 carries a preservative and is not certified for skin or food contact.
Use With Care
Working safely with 331
- Contains 1,2-benzisothiazol-3(2H)-one (benzisothiazolinone) — may trigger allergic reactions.
- Not certified for toys or food contact.
- Keep out of reach of children.
- Avoid release to the environment.
- SDS available on request.
Related Work
Interior wood projects from our portfolio
Documented interior wood projects. Captions show which LEINOS finish was used.
Full Declaration
Composition
Every ingredient declared on the label. The Trust Hub explains what each one does and the standards behind it.
Shellac & natural-resin soaps
Saponified plant binders that carry the ground on water-thin and lock it to the wood as they cure — the same shellac-soap family as LEINOS 620 and 632.
Carnauba & beeswax
The wax body: it makes the dried ground matt and polishable, and lets it sand back cleanly for the distress step.
Cellulose & mineral pigments
Plant cellulose gives the paste its brushable, trowellable body; white mineral pigments make the light ground that layered colour reads against.
Water carrier + preservative
Water instead of a solvent — near-zero VOC, clean with water. A benzisothiazolinone preservative protects the wet paste in the tub (allergen — see SDS).
Got Questions?
Frequently Asked
Quick answers on formulation, application and Indian-climate suitability. Pulled from our full FAQ and TDS library.
- Apply the ground thin or plastically; let it dry before colouring with 668. Drying depends on layer thickness and room climate — recoat only once the ground has dried through. Finish the system with Vintage Finish 635 after sanding back.
- It depends on the existing finish. Synthetic coatings must be fully removed. Old natural oil finishes can often be recoated after light sanding.
- Allow full curing time as specified in the product TDS, typically 7-14 days for full hardness, though the surface may be touch-dry much sooner.
- Check the specific product TDS for food contact suitability. Many LEINOS interior wood oils are safe for food contact once fully cured.
- 331 is supplied as a single white ground. The colour comes from Pigment Concentrate 668 layered over it — and because 668 sits on a white base rather than raw wood, the aged tones read soft and authentic instead of flat.
- 331 is water-based and near-zero VOC, but it carries a preservative (benzisothiazolinone) to protect the paste in the tub, so it is not certified for toys or food contact. For a children’s or food-safe wood finish, ask our team about the right LEINOS oil.
- A single 0.5 L tub, sized for furniture-scale vintage projects. Because it is applied to taste — a thin wash or a trowelled impasto — coverage varies with the look you are building; our team can help estimate for a specific piece.
- For a durable vintage finish, yes: 331 lays the white ground, 668 adds the aged colour, and Vintage Finish 635 seals and protects. On its own, 331 is a base coat, not a finished surface.
For Architects & Specifiers
Downloads
Technical and safety documents — citable in project specifications.
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Written by the LEINOS India technical team, in collaboration with
Reincke Naturfarben R&D, Lower Saxony.
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