Test to Find a Durable Finish

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 [...]

Five Common Finishing Problems

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...

Finishing Odds & Ends

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...

Fine Sanding Myths

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...

9 Useful Finishing Tips

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...

Grain Raising

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.

Choosing a Finish for Color

Different finishes look different on different species. There are many reasons to choose one finish over another. Usually the most important is for protection and durability – how well a...

Outdoor Finishes

Simple to Super Durable Outdoor finishes have one thing in common; they all require maintenance. Of course, paint is unequaled at protecting the wood from its two biggest enemies: moisture...

Home-center Finishing

You can achieve a great finish from commonly available products. We all love home centers for the good stuff they carry and for their low prices. But home centers cater...

Comparing Linseed Oil & Tung Oil

The two commonly available pure oil finishes that can be used on furniture and woodwork with decent results because they cure – that is, turn from a liquid to a...

Outdoor Finishing

When I was a kid, my dad made a pair of Adirondack chairs that sat out front of the old farmhouse I grew up in. Looking back, they added a...