Expert's Corner — latex

While we may think that applying a film finish such as lacquer or polyurethane over natural wood can be a challenge, here’s a much tougher one: achieving a flawless painted finish. Blemishes in a clear film finish are disguised by the color and grain pattern of the wood. There’s no such hiding place with paint. Light playing across a painted surface only draws attention to any surface defects – and any pattern of wood grain showing through paint now becomes a defect instead of a feature.As with most things, there’s good news and bad news about this. The good news:...

If you’ve ever used a paint roller to apply latex paint to walls and not covered your furniture and other items well enough, you may have noticed that the roller shed tiny drops of paint that dried wherever they landed. Close inspection reveals tiny paint specks everywhere. In most cases, you can remove these specks without damaging the existing finish by wiping with the solvent xylene (xylol). This solvent is the active ingredient in widely available products sold for this purpose. Common brands are Oops! and Goof Off. Xylene won’t damage lacquers or varnishes unless the surface is kept wet...