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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...

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 [...]

One Coat Coverage I had finished building new frame and panel doors for my kitchen cabinets and knew the stain would really make the grain pop. I laid the first...

“What kind of wood is this?” In my work as a furniture restorer and conservator, I often hear this question. Red alder is especially hard to identify because it can...

A friend emailed me with this question: “What do you use on birch plywood to get it to take a stain evenly without blotching? My first solution was to not...

A woodworker friend called me with a problem. He had just built a bookcase and was trying to match the approximate sheen of a factory-finished piece of furniture he had...

A lot of woodworkers avoid staining whenever possible because of the problems that can occur. Instead of staining, they use a beautiful wood that gives the color they want to...

Can sanding with very fine-grit sandpaper closes the pores of wood? Bob Flexner investigates this long-standing claim.

One of my current jobs involves matching the finish of my clients' original early-20th-century trim. Here's how I came up with a recipe.

I often come across people who are confused about the difference between a stain and a finish. They’ll use a phrase such as “I want to stain the wood,” or...

I’ve run into this problem often enough that I thought it worth discussion: People apply a stain and don’t have enough time to get the excess wiped off before the stain...

It’s easier to work with than an oil-based floor paint and doesn’t give off dangerous fumes as does epoxy paint. Concrete stain won’t peel or chip off when you move your machines around because [...]