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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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Two methods to create a mirror-flat surface. By Bob Flexner Page: 54 From the August 2010 issue #184

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 [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

Here’s a situation you may have experienced if you do much French polishing. A woodworker friend emailed me with this problem. He had been French polishing a tabletop, and no matter what he did, [...]