As long as you are using a spray gun for application and lacquer for your finish, you don’t have to let an oil-based glaze dry overnight before applying the finish. You can do it fairly quickly, without problems. The trick is to mist some thinned lacquer onto the...
As with any technical field, understanding the terminology of finishing is critical. It’s also critical that we all mean the same thing with the terms we use. With that in mind, here are some of the most common finishing terms, in alphabetical order, and their...
Finishing Tip by Bob FlexnerBut it’s usually better to equalize the sapwood to the color of the heartwood.One method is to bleach the wood using two-part bleach (sodium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide). This will remove the coloring from the heartwood, so you can then...
The vast majority of hobbyist woodworkers, and quite a few professional woodworkers - who might only complete a project or two a month - do their finishing with brush or rag. However, as you begin to undertake more projects, or you move to larger carcass work, it's...
When brushing a finish onto a large horizontal surface such as a tabletop, it’s most efficient to lift a brush load of the finish (the bristles dipped about halfway into the finish) out of the container and plop it down at the center of the area you want to brush....
There are risks to spraying any type of solvent lacquer over any existing, and older, paint or finish. The problem is the lacquer thinner in the lacquer. A wet application can cause many paints and finishes to wrinkle or blister, even an old coat of lacquer itself....
While I am a professional finisher, I am a hobbyist woodworker. That mix makes me a wood snob. I love working with wood in any capacity. Because my head and hands are in finishing all week long, I tend to do as little of it as possible in my personal life, but I still...
Finishes differ in the amount of color they add to wood. Though you may not notice much of a difference if you are applying the finish over a stain, there is a significant difference when no stain or other coloring steps are used. In the accompanying picture, you can...
Glue seepage, or glue on your fingers that’s transferred to the wood, blocks stain penetration. This usually results in a lighter area. The same can happen with wood putty because it doesn’t accept color the same as wood does. In both cases, you have a lighter area or...
You should never have runs or sags in your dried finish. The trick to avoiding them is to spot them before the finish dries and remove them with a brush. The way to see runs and sags developing is to look at the surface in a reflected light, as shown in the...
