The easiest way to ebonize wood is with black dye. Unlike pigment, which is the colorant used in paint and most common stains, dye is transparent so you can apply as much as you want and still see through it. You can get wood totally black using a black dye and still...
The standard procedure for cleaning a varnish brush is to rinse in mineral spirits and then wash with soap and water. The problem is the large number of times you have to wash to achieve a good lather, which indicates the bristles are clean. You can speed the cleaning...
Water-based finishes have no color. They may appear white in the can, but when dry on the wood, they don’t have the yellow/orange coloring common to most solvent-based finishes. Nor do water-based finishes yellow over time as do most solvent-based finishes. This can...
The standard procedure for cleaning a varnish brush is to rinse in mineral spirits and then wash with soap and water. The problem is the large number of times you have to wash to achieve a good lather, which indicates the bristles are clean. You can speed the cleaning...
Water-based stains and finishes raise wood fibers making the wood’s surface feel rough. The usual procedure recommended to avoid this grain raising is to pre-raise the grain by wetting the wood and then sanding smooth after the wood has dried. But this is time...
Brush Differences. Brushes differ in their ability to keep their bristles from falling out, in the amount of finish they can carry and in their comfort. More expensive brushes, such as the oxhair brush (top), don’t reduce brush marks noticeably over the very cheap...
Water-based finishes have no color. They may appear white in the can, but when dry on the wood, they don’t have the yellow/orange coloring common to most solvent-based finishes. Nor do water-based finishes yellow over time as do most solvent-based finishes. This can...
Unlike most other finishes, shellac in liquid form deteriorates as it ages. It doesn’t dry as rapidly or as hard and it watermarks easier. The deterioration goes faster when the shellac is stored in warm conditions and slower in cool conditions. Generally speaking, if...
Always back sandpaper with a flat sanding block when hand sanding flat surfaces such as tabletops to avoid grooving out the softer, spring growth, areas of the wood. (It’s rarely necessary to use a sanding block when sanding between coats of finish because you’re...
Always sand in the direction of the wood grain to minimize visible scratches showing through a stain or finish. An exception commonly occurs when sanding woodturnings because of the difficulty sanding with the grain. To compensate and still eliminate visible...
