Finishing

They explain so much. It’s often possible to sum up a lot of situations with a rule, a principle that applies in almost all cases. When I teach seminars on finishing, I often find myself citing a [...]

Give ordinary wood the charm of old age. I love the look of old paint—I’ve often tried to capture it in new furniture I’ve made. I’m not trying to build fake antiques, however. I’m just trying to [...]

Wiping varnish is simply any brand of oil-based alkyd (regular) varnish or oil-based polyurethane varnish in any sheen (gloss or satin) thinned about half with mineral spirits (paint thinner). [...]

Improve your results by understanding wood characteristics. Each species of wood has unique finishing characteristics, both positive and negative. To help you determine how to choose the right [...]

Apply a professional, quick-drying and durable finish at home. You may have heard of catalyzed finishes: pre-catalyzed lacquer, post-catalyzed lacquer and catalyzed or “conversion” varnish. These [...]

A few sample boards can save you from future finishing headaches. Finish manufacturers targeting the furniture industry and large professional finish shops provide a lot of information about [...]

Bleeding, blushing, blotching, orange peel and fish eye. The basics of wood finishing are really quite simple: You use one of three tools – a rag, brush or spray gun – to transfer a liquid stain [...]

Solutions to a baker’s dozen of common finishing difficulties. It’s easy enough to provide instructions for applying finishes. But in the real world, things go wrong; problems occur that you have [...]

Four short (but crucial) finishing subjects. What follows are four concise – but important – finishing topics about which you’ve likely wondered. 1 – Metamerism Most of us have experienced a [...]

Why are you working harder than you need to? Sanding is boring. It’s boring to watch, it’s boring to do, and I find it boring to write about. But myths are fun to write about, and there are some [...]

Here are some finishing tips I hope you find of value. They are arranged in roughly the order of the typical finishing steps. Sand Oil Finishes Wet It’s not at all necessary to sand wood to very [...]

A better understanding of what causes grain raising will help you manage it. Our finishing expert Bob Flexner explains this phenomenon and how to deal with it.