Finishes and Finishing Techniques
Get Professional Quality Wood Finishes Every Time

By The Editors of Fine Woodworking

Learn How to Get Professional Quality Results for Your Wood Finishing Projects

This volume will enable you to get pro-quality finishes every time. Each type of finish and technique is presented in a clear and accessible way. You'll get complete coverage of smoothing and preparing surfaces, changing the color of wood with dyes, pigments, and stains, polishing finishes to a high gloss, spray finishing, and repairing damaged finishes. Some of the finishes are just about foolproof. All offer professional-looking results.

Includes articles on:

• Surface preparation
• Coloring wood
• Hand finishing
• Spray finishing
• Water-based finishes
• Special techniques

Introduction:

Every woodworker finds a good, simple way to finish projects and then sticks with it. Does Danish oil ring any bells? How about tung oil? Both are dead nuts simple to apply, essentially foolproof, and bring out a lovely, warm satin glow in just about any wood. Who could ask for more? Sometimes you need to: There will always come a project for which the old standby finish just wont do. Maybe its a fancy dining table that begs for a high gloss finish or possibly a salad bowl that has to be absolutely nontoxic. Instead of trying to convince your wife that your formal dining table really would look better with a lovely, warm satin glow or that Danish oil is actually good to ingest, its time to broaden your finishing horizons.

The need to know a range of finishes should be evident. First of all, the finish is to the furniture what the cover is to the book or the clothes to the man. Your furniture will be judged through its appearance, which is in large part determined by the finish (remember that you too will do much of that judging). Second, and perhaps more important, the finish protects and preserves the wood. A good finish is the first line of defense against the effects of time, wear, and damage.

Finishing is a craft unto itself, as rich and diverse with possibilities as furniture-making. There are as many different finishes with pros and cons to pick from for any given project as there are projects. Needless to say, this can cause a fair amount of confusion. Many finishing techniques are difficult, and years of experience with a tablesaw do not aid finishing skills. It should not come as a surprise that the most common type of question sent to Fine Woodworking magazine concerns a finishing problem. In fact, finishing questions outnumber all the other types of questions by 2 to 1.

This book was put together with articles from Fine Woodworking that answer many of the questions and concerns woodworkers have asked over the years. You'll find articles that explain how to use pigments and dyes, that show you how to set up a spray system, and that offer a fair number of recipes and techniques for tried-and-true finishes. Each will give you just what you need to take a first step beyond Danish oil.

Table of Contents:

INTRODUCTION

1 SURFACE PREPARATION

Sanding in Stages
Fill the Grain for a Glass-Smooth Finish
Sealers: Secret for Finishing Success
Using Wood Putty

2 COLORING WOOD

Changing the Color of Wood
Dry-Brushing Wood Stains
Mix Your Own Oil Stains
For Vibrant Color, Use Wood Dyes
Glazes and Toners
Fuming with Ammonia
Using Wood Bleach

3 HAND FINISHING

Finishing Brushes
A Hand-Rubbed Oil Finish
Two-Day Lustrous Oil Finish
Padding On Shellac
Padding Lacquer
Making a Case for Varnish
Rubbing Out a Finish
Rejuvenating with Wax

4 SPRAY FINISHING

Taking the Spray-Finish Plunge
Which Spray System Is Right for You?
Build an HVLP Turbine with a Vacuum Motor
Techniques for Blemish-Free Spraying

5 WATER-BASED FINISHES

New Water-Based Finishes
Using Waterborne Finishes

6 SPECIAL TECHNIQUES

Finish Cherry without Blotches
Making Wood Look Old
Creating an Antique Painted Finish
Better Painted Furniture
Repairing a Worn Finish without Refinishing
Burning In Invisible Repairs
Which Finishes Are Food Safe?
A Case against Finishing

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

CREDITS

EQUIVALENCE CHART

INDEX