It’s common to hear the instruction that it’s better to apply several thin coats than one thick one. Why is this so? Or is it? What’s involved is drying time, nothing more. Thinner coats of all finishes dry faster than thicker coats. The difference is great enough...
Patina is primarily the mellowing and color change that occurs in wood over time due to oxidation from exposure to air and bleaching from exposure to light. Secondarily, patina is the dings, scratches, rubs, etc., that give old furniture character. The...
The principle differences between nitrocellulose lacquer and shellac are ease of application and their ability to block off problems in the wood. Both finishes are evaporative finishes, meaning that they dry entirely by solvent evaporation; there is no crosslinking as...
A common method used for stripping furniture in many professional refinishing and stripping shops is to dip the furniture into a tub full of hot water and lye. This method is relatively inexpensive (compared to using solvents) and very effective. It’s also compliant...
Finishes deteriorate as they age. First they dull, then they begin to crack. Exposure to light in the higher ultra-violet ranges, such as sunlight and fluorescent light, accelerates the deterioration. Finishes also get damaged from abuse, which can cause a surface to...
It’s a rare finishing class that I don’t get someone who has been a die-hard user of solvents, such as lacquer, conversion varnish and the like, who is reluctant to try waterborne. There is certainly nothing wrong with those finishes, after all they have been around...
Examples of finishing solvents include mineral spirits (paint thinner), naphtha, denatured alcohol, lacquer thinner and acetone. None of these products have a shelf life, unless they evaporate because you’ve left the can open, and none can spontaneously combust like...
After a good deal of wear or abuse some areas of a finish may wear through exposing the lighter-colored wood. As long as no stain, glaze or toner is involved, you can usually fix these problems simply by applying more finish on top. The easy test to see if this will...
If the oil or grease stain is fairly fresh on the wood, you may be able to remove it by scrubbing with an abrasive cleanser, such as Ajax or Comet. But if the stain has been there for a while—for example, a can of motor oil that has leaked on a tabletop in a...
You may have noticed that acetone is becoming more widely available. This is primarily because it’s the only commonly available solvent (not counting water) that isn’t classified as a VOC or HAP. VOC is the acronym for volatile organic compound—that is, an...
