The two widely available pigment colorants for oils and varnishes are oil colors and Japan colors. The difference is that oil colors are pigment ground in linseed oil while Japan colors are pigment ground in varnish. So the difference in practice is that Japan colors...
There are two critical elements that make for a great finish - selecting the right brush, and using the right technique. Practice counts as well. You don't expect to cut perfect dovetails the first time round, nor should you expect to achieve a perfect finish without...
When sanding wood in preparation for a stain or finish, you need to remove all the problems in the wood – mill marks, tear outs, gouges, etc. – with the coarsest grit sandpaper you’re using before moving on to finer grits (to remove the coarse-grit scratches). This...
So, you've just finished that stellar table top and you'd like to give it a 'smooth as glass' finish. What's a woodworker to do? Why, 'Fill and Finish' of course. There are two kinds of 'fillers' - putty type fillers used to fill scratches, dents, and holes in wood,...
To spray a uniform thickness on a wide surface such as a tabletop, hold the spray gun perpendicular to the work (lock your wrist so you don’t rock the gun back and forth) and overlap each spraying stroke by 50 percent. Begin with the spray pattern half on and half off...
The thinner and clear-up solvent you should use with shellac is denatured alcohol. This is ethanol, the same alcohol that is included in beer, wine and liquors. But it is made poisonous so it can be sold without liquor taxes. Sometimes you’ll see methanol (methyl...
Another concept we drill in finish training is controlling the environment in which spraying occurs. It always amazes me how many finishers tell me that they prefer to spray outside, because it is just easier than creating clean, controlled conditions in the workshop....
Straining is a topic that we talk a lot about in our Prep to Finish paint training program (preptofinish.com). Conventional wisdom and common sense dictate that straining is a great way to remove contaminants from product while it is still in liquid form. This is...
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...
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...
