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Wiping is fast, almost as fast as spraying (without the downside of having to clean the spray gun). Wiping is also every bit as effective in all situations except possibly into recesses such as [...]

Learn how to stain pine with a few simple tricks. With the right technique, you can make this inexpensive wood look like a million bucks.

Understand the fundamentals. A wood finish is a clear, transparent coating applied to wood to protect it from moisture and to make it look richer and deeper. This differs from paint, which is a [...]

Solutions for common situations, from softening edges to stripping. Here are 10 tips and tricks you might use to both speed your finishing and get better results. I’ve arranged them in the rough [...]

Two tones of color and sharp, square edges give this piece modern flair. Inspired by a design in the February 2008 issue of the German magazine Selbst, this “I Can Do That” project commenced (as [...]

Why stains and finishes sometimes dry slowly. A friend called with a problem. He had applied an ebony oil stain to oak and after the stain had dried for two days, the polyurethane he then brushed [...]

  If you’re unhappy with how your stained finish is turning out, the problem might be in the way that you’re sanding. Follow these tips and you’ll be good as gold! Go E-Z [...]

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.

The basics of staining are easy – it's when things don't go as planned that staining becomes a difficult, frustrating task. Here are ten of the most common staining problems and how you can avoid [...]

Achieve rich, warm color without blotching in 4 easy steps. If you’ve ever stained birch plywood a dark color, the results were probably so blotchy and difficult to reverse that you vowed, “Never [...]

Gain more control over your staining with these techniques. The most popular types of stains are oil stains, also called wiping stains (though most stains are wiped after application). Oil stains [...]

Discovering ugly blotching after applying stain is one of the worst finishing problems a woodworker can encounter—especially because the unsightly patches of dark, deeply absorbed color seem to [...]