Sealers – What Are They?
An explanation of this most confusing of finishing treatments. In the late 1980s, I hosted a local call-in radio show dealing with finishing and restoration. I remember one caller explaining that [...]
Why is Finishing So Difficult?
In the previous issue I wrote about teak oils and how none have anything to do with teak wood. Reading the article, you may have asked yourself why companies would put out products that aren’t [...]
Teak Oil: What is it?
No wood finish illustrates better than “teak oil” why finishing is so confusing. Brands vary from mineral oil, to linseed oil, to tung oil, to oil/varnish blend, to wiping varnish, to simply wax [...]
Applying Wiping Varnish
An excellent finish for first timers (and beyond). Wiping varnish might be the most popular hand-applied finish used by woodworkers. It’s popular because it’s just as easy to apply as oil [...]
Choosing a Spray Gun
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 or gel [...]
Filling Pores for an Elegant Look
Finishing For Beginners
Years ago I remember teaching a class about finishing that included one student who said he had never used a stain or finish, and to make matters worse, he had never even painted anything. This [...]
Finishing Tip: The Airplane Landing Technique
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 near an edge. [...]
How To Avoid Dry Spray When Spraying The Insides Of Cabinets
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 spray settling on the [...]
Secret Formula For A Wipe-On Finish: I Don’t Have One
A former student of mine from 10 years ago emailed me with a question about what he remembered was a formula I had come up with for a wipe-on finish. He had looked in his notes but couldn’t find [...]
Oxalic Acid: A Very Useful Bleach
We may receive commission when you use our affiliate links. However, this does not impact our recommendations. One of the most useful products in wood finishing that doesn’t get a lot of [...]
Stripping Paint That Had Been Applied Over a Finish
My wife loves watching house restoration shows on TV. The other day she mentioned to me that the paint on every surface the host had stripped in this one house had come off so easily and cleanly. [...]
