Five Common Finishing Problems

Bleeding, blushing, blotching, orange peel and fish eye. The basics of wood finishing are really quite simple: You use one of three tools – a rag, brush or spray gun – to transfer a liquid stain [...]

Troubleshooting Finish Application Problems

Solutions to a baker’s dozen of common finishing difficulties. It’s easy enough to provide instructions for applying finishes. But in the real world, things go wrong; problems occur that you have [...]

Finishing Odds & Ends

Four short (but crucial) finishing subjects. What follows are four concise – but important – finishing topics about which you’ve likely wondered. 1 – Metamerism Most of us have experienced a [...]

Fine Sanding Myths

Why are you working harder than you need to? Sanding is boring. It’s boring to watch, it’s boring to do, and I find it boring to write about. But myths are fun to write about, and there are some [...]

Upgrade Your Finishing

Some of the most common questions we get are about finishing. How do I get a better finish on my project? What’s the easiest finish to apply? What’s the most durable finish? [...]

9 Useful Finishing Tips

Here are some finishing tips I hope you find of value. They are arranged in roughly the order of the typical finishing steps. Sand Oil Finishes Wet It’s not at all necessary to sand wood to very [...]

Double Duty Peg-Blocks

I needed a way to lift pieces off the surface of my bench for finishing, so I made some 3/4″ x 2″ x 3″ blocks and inserted 1/4″ x 1-1/4″ dowels into them. [...]

Grain Raising

A better understanding of what causes grain raising will help you manage it. Our finishing expert Bob Flexner explains this phenomenon and how to deal with it.

Choosing a Finish for Color

Different finishes look different on different species. There are many reasons to choose one finish over another. Usually the most important is for protection and durability – how well a finish [...]

Use Light To Spot Finish Imperfections

Nobody likes wrapping up the last bit of finishing on a project and suddenly catching a run or imperfection you missed earlier. You can either ignore it, or more likely sand it down and fix the [...]

Outdoor Finishes

Simple to Super Durable Outdoor finishes have one thing in common; they all require maintenance. Of course, paint is unequaled at protecting the wood from its two biggest enemies: moisture and [...]

Perfect Finishing Lights

Tool: Work Light with Bluetooth Speaker Shop Now   Manufacturer: Infinity X1 MSRP: $39.99 (set of 2) One of the easiest ways to improve the quality of surface finishes like polyurethane is [...]

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