Silky-Smooth Rub-Out Finish with Varnish
Three quick steps to a silky-smooth finish. Brushed-on finishes such as varnish provide superior protection, but they dry so slowly, airborne dust and renegade hairs are almost sure to settle on [...]
Creating A Sanding Block
Efficient, cheap and simple to make. This magazine puts a lot of emphasis on hand tools – that is, tools without motors. Common subjects include handplanes, chisels, scrapers etc. But when it [...]
Did Your Finish Turn to Gel? Get Bloxygen
Adding finish to a project is one of the most rewarding parts of building something. As I’ve been finishing up the trim work in my kitchen remodel (lots of cherry), I was reminded of just how [...]
Cherry Finish for Birch Plywood
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 [...]
Understanding Furniture Polishes
There are only four categories, so it’s easy. There are probably more myths surrounding furniture polishes than any other single aspect of wood finishing. What makes this topic confusing are the [...]
Defining Finishing Terms
To master finishing, you need to understand the basic terminology. All technical fields have their own vocabulary. You’ll have difficulty mastering any technical field without understanding its [...]
Causes of Orange Peel
Understand and avoid this common spraying flaw. Orange peel is the most universal defect in a sprayed finish. It is a bumpiness on the surface that resembles the skin of an orange – hence the [...]
Oils in Finishing
Learn why certain oils cure better and what makes an oil suitable for finish. Oil is one of the most important ingredients used in finishing products. Besides being a finish all by itself, oil is [...]
Using Milk Paint in Woodworking
Apply layers of milk paint to add depth and contrast to your work. A visitor asked, “Paint over wood? Aren’t you obscuring wood’s natural beauty?” There are two assumptions behind these [...]
7 Ways to Get a Darker Color
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 [...]
Guerrilla Guide to Spray Finishing
It’s fast, forgiving and affordable – and you don’t need a spray booth. The hardest part about learning to spray finishes is becoming convinced that you can learn to spray finishes. Of all the [...]
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 [...]