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We all have to begin somewhere, and this is actually the most difficult time. Years ago I remember teaching a class about finishing that included one student who said he had never used a stain or [...]

Did I mention there would be a quiz? Here are 20 questions, together with the answers, based on my articles from Popular Woodworking. If you have been reading regularly, you should do well. For [...]

This traditional finish can be tricky to apply. If you have read much in the woodworking press, you’ve surely encountered many articles, including mine, in which the writer uses and recommends [...]

Once an inaccuracy gets started, it becomes almost impossible to correct. “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on,” said Winston Churchill (or [...]

How can something so simple be made so hard to understand? It’s probably fair to say that a majority, or at least a large minority, of woodworkers use a finish they can wipe on and off the wood. [...]

Repair, strip and refinish to restore old pieces. Refinishing is a topic worthy of an entire book. In fact, restoring furniture includes all of woodworking and finishing because all skills may be [...]

Your decision is simplified by the process of elimination. At some point as you progress in woodworking, you begin to realize that there are many finishes to choose among; you probably ask [...]

This solvent is unique. Lacquer thinner is the thinner used for all types of lacquer (not water-based finishes, which are sometimes misrepresented as “lacquer”). These include the most common [...]

A primer on coloring. By Bob Flexner Pages: 60-62 From the December 2010 issue # 187

Water can cause many problems to finished and unfinished wood. As woodworkers, most of us have come across problems caused by water that we may be asked to repair. The problems can occur in the [...]

Safer strippers are having a ‘green’ revival. Methods for removing old paint and finish from furniture have gone through at least four distinct periods. Before solvents became widely available, [...]

Understand the difference between these often misused terms. It would be difficult to find wood finishing subjects that have been made more confusing than sealing and washcoating. This is [...]