Bloxygen is a product that aims to preserve the freshness of opened cans of paint, solvents, and adhesives. It does this by creating an inert gas barrier on the surface of the liquid, which prevents the exchange of air and thus slows down the oxidation process. One of...
stain
Enhance the Appearance of Wood With Stains
While there are some woodworkers who might cringe at the thought of staining wood, there are good reasons why you might want to do so. Some lighter colored woods, such as poplar, alder, beech, and birch do tend to look somewhat bland, and can benefit from a dash of...
Wood Prep and the Look of a Finish
The way you prepare the wood for finishing, whether by sanding as most do, or by scraping or planing as some do, has no affect on the way the wood will look with the finish applied. Different finishes add more or less color to the wood, but if you aren’t staining the...
Woodworking Tip: Wood Prep and the Look of a Finish
The way you prepare the wood for finishing, whether by sanding as most do, or by scraping or planing as some do, has no affect on the way the wood will look with the finish applied. Different finishes add more or less color to the wood, but if you aren’t staining the...
A Glossary Of Basic Finishing Technology
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...
“Equalizing” Sapwood
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...
Finishing Terms Defined by Bob Flexner: What is Pickling?
In wood finishing the term “pickling” is generally used to mean adding a white coloring to the wood. (“Liming” is sometimes used to mean the same thing.) There are two broad methods of pickling. One is to wipe on and wipe off a white stain. The other involves sealing...
Finishing in Hot or Humid Weather
It seems that one of the topics I get a tremendous amount of emails about is when folks are having issues due to the heat and humidity. A huge number of woodworkers spray their finishes outside and in doing so, are at the mercy of uncontrolled temperatures. Spraying...
TIP: Pour Over to a Separate Container
Unless you plan on using all the finish in the original container, you should pour the amount you expect to use into a separate container – for example, a clean jar or coffee can. It’s good to do this so you don’t introduce dust or other contaminants into the finish...
Wiping Off Excess Stain
The rule for applying stain successfully is to apply a wet coat and wipe off the excess before the stain dries. There’s no problem doing this with common oil-based wiping stains. They dry very slowly, so there’s plenty of time to get the excess wiped off before the...