This solvent’s versatility makes it ideal in many situations If you’ve been shopping at paint stores or in the paint department of home centers for the last decade or so,...
As I’ve explained many times in Popular Woodworking, you can achieve a near-perfect finish using a rag or brush: You can apply a wipe-on/wipe-off finish such as oil, wiping varnish...
Discover how (and when) to give old, deteriorated finishes new life. As finishes age, they deteriorate. First they dull, then they begin showing small cracks (called “crazing”). The culprit of...
In the November 2011 issue, Bob Flexner submitted this excerpt from his book "Wood Finishing 101," along with the article on wiping varnish. It is a useful document that you can post in your [...]
Oil and oil/varnish-blend finishes are not very protective against moisture because they are too thin; they can’t be built thicker because they don’t harden well. But these finishes are very...
Cherry is a beautiful and easy-to-work wood. But it is a problematic wood to finish because it has a tendency to blotch, even with just a finish applied – no...
We may receive a commission when you use our affiliate links. However, this does not impact our recommendations. A local company was hired to finish some restaurant tables and called...
A friend emailed me with this question: “What do you use on birch plywood to get it to take a stain evenly without blotching? My first solution was to not...
It’s finally happened. On Nov. 22, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its official removal of methylene-chloride paint and finish strippers from the consumer market. [...]
When brushing a finish or paint onto large flat surfaces such as tabletops or cabinet doors, use an airplane-like landing motion with your brush when making contact with a surface...
If you have ever sprayed the inside of a cabinet, or even a deep drawer, with a fast-drying finish such as lacquer or catalyzed lacquer, you have surely experienced dry...
