Orange peel is an irregular or bumpy surface in a sprayed finish caused by spraying a liquid that is too viscous, or thick, with too little air pressure, or by moving the spray gun too fast or holding it too far from the surface. When defined in this manner, the...
I’ve always said, it’s not the elephants that’ll kill you, it’s the mosquitoes. The little things that quietly sneak up on your finish, that you don’t realize until it’s too late. We all focus heavily on spraying technique as paramount to achieving high level sprayed...
My biggest inspiration is my 8 year old son. He has taught me to teach him that it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. And if you play the game well, you win often. By Scott Burt How do we win in the game of fine finishing? This is a discipline...
It’s common to be instructed to apply a finish in the direction of the grain, called “with the grain.” Doing this is usually best when brushing a finish, but it’s rarely necessary when wiping or spraying a finish. Brushing with the grain is best because the grain will...
Matching colors is one of the most difficult tasks in wood finishing. Using just a stain rarely works well because the color on the object you’re trying to match is affected by how the wood and finish have aged. The best way to match a color is usually to get the...
You should be aware that moisture and oil can get into the air line and spray gun from your air compressor and mess up your work. This is one of the disadvantages of using an air compressor instead of a turbine to supply air. There’s no possibility of moisture or oil...
Ebonize is a fancy word for “make it black” To be honest, when I read all the concoctions that folks use to achieve a black color onwood, I get a chuckle, it’s amazing. I think the most popular one is using vinegar and 0000 steel wool. The process is to put the steel...
All spray guns will spray paint. A spray gun is merely a delivery device—like a brush. There are a few things you should be aware of, however, especially if you intend to spray latex paint with a spray gun you use normally to spray clear finishes. To get a reasonable...
Of all the steps in finishing the one that people seem most hesitant about is “rubbing.” Yet rubbing a finish is as simple as sanding wood, and rubbing is the only step in finishing that can raise the quality of your work from average to special. No matter how careful...
Hot pans, pizza boxes and coffee cups can cause heat damage to finishes that resembles the off-white look of water rings. Fixing the damage can be difficult. Your success is going to depend a lot on the finish. There are basically two ways to clear up the finish:...
