If you work in a small shop you might think that spraying is out of the question. However, that's not the case. A knock-down spray booth will enable you to spray waterborne finishes easily and safely. Use a Waterborne Finish Waterborne finishes are ideal for the home...
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....
I get what seems like a gazillion emails, some asking for direction/advice, but it seems now days it’s more from folks who got advice from one of the numerous DIY, Social Media sites or some forum with lots of keyboard experts and they have a mess on their hands. I...
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....
It almost always takes at least two coats of any finish to develop the sheen a finish is designed to produce: gloss, satin, flat, or whatever. The first coat seals the wood. The second coat develops the sheen. The exception to the two-coat rule would be if you apply...
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...
One of the difficulties with learning to do French polishing is overcoming the exotic vocabulary that continues to be used by some: “charge the rubber,” “fad in,” “spirit off,” etc. This vocabulary was created by English craftsmen 200 years ago, brought to the United...
It’s not necessary to sand above 180 or 220 grit when applying an oil or oil/varnish blend finish. You can achieve the same smooth feeling results by sanding each coat after the first while that coat is still wet on the wood. You are wiping off all the excess anyway,...
Here’s a frequently asked question. Do you really need to clean your spray gun every single time you use it? Do you need to clean it when you go to lunch? What if you are putting it away for a week? Which coatings mean clean “right away?” Here’s the scoop: always...
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...
