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When a customer asked me to replicate the finish on her antique Stickley sideboard for the pieces she had commissioned, I grabbed my yellow dye and a few gel stains, because I knew that a layered [...]

“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 be finished to closely [...]

While doing the dishes the other night, I looked at the drying rack and thought, “Wow! I need one of these in my shop.” First I drilled centered 5/8″ diameter holes every 3″ along [...]

Oil and oil/varnish-blend finishes are not very protective against moisture because they are too thin; they can’t be built thicker because they don’t harden well. But these finishes are very [...]

Cherry is a beautiful and easy-to-work wood. But it is a problematic wood to finish because it has a tendency to blotch, even with just a finish applied – no stain. Everyone working with cherry [...]

We may receive a commission when you use our affiliate links. However, this does not impact our recommendations. A local company was hired to finish some restaurant tables and called me to ask [...]

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 use birch plywood if the plan is to [...]

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. [...]