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If you follow this blog, you may be aware that I’m fascinated by smart coatings and coatings that perform tasks you would never expect.

A newly-installed oak floor finished with oil-based polyurethane wouldn't dry. Bob Flexner explains why, and how to avoid this finishing conundrum.

Bob Flexner explains how to repair sun damage on exterior doors and offers some tips on how to find finishes with UV protection.

Bob Flexner provides a short explanation of lacquer thinner; its components, its use, and how this product can vary depending on what state you're in.

Winter is fast approaching, and it may be that your shop or garage is not warm enough for finishes to dry in a reasonable time. Bob Flexner has the answer.

You may have seen some of my complaints directed at Minwax and General Finishes for listing “aliphatic hydrocarbons” as an ingredient on some of their products rather than the more common [...]

A professional woodworker got in touch with this question. He had finished a sixty-foot long countertop for a brewery tasting room with catalyzed (conversion) varnish. After the finish dried for [...]

I’ve enjoyed building Arts & Crafts furniture for a number of years. The look of the quarter-sawn oak after finishing has always been a strong selling point – a common approach is a [...]

  A woodworker friend called wanting to know where he could buy some methylated spirits. He had just read in a book that it was the best solvent to use with shellac. So I asked him if the [...]

On Nov. 22 I posted an explanation of how cooler temperatures slow the drying of all finishes. Well, the opposite is also true. Warmer temperatures, especially with the aid of air movement, speed [...]

We experimented to find the perfect recipe for this most-requested finish for pine – and it’s as easy as pie. by Glen D. Huey from the Autumn 2007 issue of Woodworking Magazine Pumpkin pine is a [...]

A woodworker asked me recently, “What the heck is a witness line?” Well, this opens up an interesting discussion. One of my pet peeves since I began teaching finishing, has been people creating [...]