Finishing

Add centuries of wear and tear to your projects using a tested formula that’s simple and safe – no open flame! This is the furniture finish that fooled our local auctioneer, a man with 30 years [...]

Achieve great results with the least amount of work. Think about it: What’s the first thing you do when judging someone else’s woodwork? You run your hand over it, of course. If it feels really [...]

Linen and more. Three times in recent memory, articles have appeared in major woodworking magazines instructing readers to use linen for the outer cloth in a French polishing pad. No explanation, [...]

Bob Flexner compares the three basic finishing tools (rag, brush, and spray gun) in terms of their cost and efficiency.

Make friends with this beautiful, versatile finish Recently I was asked to judge a woodworking show. One of the best pieces was a wonderfully constructed grandfather clock. Unfortunately, a quick [...]

Even in wood finishing. One of my favorite songs back in the 1960s was Bob Dylan’s, The Times, They are A-Changin’. This theme applies today to what’s happening in wood finishing. It’s natural [...]

Take that special drawer or box to the next level. Flocking is a two-step process that involves spraying tiny fibrous particles onto an adhesive-coated surface. Imagine spray-on velvet. This is a [...]

Discover what finishing products work well together. I’m sure you’ve come across cautions in woodworking books and magazines instructing you to “use a compatible product” – stain, filler, glaze, [...]

Last August we moved into our new home in New Jersey. The house that we purchased was built in the late 1960s and was still endowed with all of its original exterior and interior elements such as [...]

Putting some sense back into a simple task. For most people, the first experience brushing comes with oil or latex paint, or with alkyd or polyurethane varnish. Each of these coatings is [...]

Ebonizing can be a lot of fun and it’s a great option to add to your offerings. Learn how to achieve a deep, rich black using household ingredients plus some powder from a South American evergreen.

Veneer is just thin wood – so don’t be afraid of it. I love repairing old furniture – the older the better. I find repairing more challenging and satisfying than making new because someone else, [...]