Questions tagged [finishing]
Finishing a woodworking project refers to the final steps to beautify and protect it.
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Help IDing what the type of wood finish this is
The project is to renew these handrails, but I found it hard to figure out which type of finish this is. I sanded a part of wood, tried various finishes:
Interior wood varnishes (all kinds: gloss, ...
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Chair refinishing advice
I got these beautiful cane backed chairs off a local buy nothing group. At some point in their lives someone decided to paint them with a cheap white paint that felt sticky to the touch.
I decided to ...
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Is it possible to smooth over sides of re-finished area?
This will be a very basic question, but I'm not sure I trust Googled results. For example, there is a suggestion that I "feather out" polyurethane finish; my experience tells me that it is ...
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Clear finish for wet erase board on wood
I am fairly new to the woodworking scene, and am looking for how to turn a piece of wood into a usable wet erase board, with a clear finish. Doing some digging, I've found a couple of possible ...
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What kind of respirator do I need to safely work with varnish, polyurethane, and oil-based stain?
I like building small projects for around the house, but I don't like exposing myself to the harsh chemicals of finishes.
What sort of respirator will give me protection against these chemicals so I ...
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What finish most closely resembles the look after wiping mineral spirits on wood?
I imagine I must not be the first person, after applying mineral spirits, to think "that's exactly how I would like it to look when I finish it".
So what finishes most closely resemble the ...
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What finish is this and how can I fix after bad coffee accident…?
I just had a pretty bad friday morning coffee spilling experience and the coffee seem to have ruined the surface finish of two of my kitchen chairs:
Either the heat or the acid in the coffee caused ...
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Looking for a recipe for a clear oil+wax finish that doesn't change the colour of the wood
Can someone share a recipe for a clear (non-yellowing) oil wax wood finish? I’ve made paste wax from 1 part wax to 4 parts boiled linseed oil before but I’d like an option that doesn’t change the ...
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Sanding down hardwax finish, how to seal it as close as natural?
I'll preface this by saying that I don't know much about wood finishes but I was hoping to get some help to recover what I've done sor far...
I got a butcher block style countertop slab to use as a ...
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Can I add white primer to danish oil to keep birch countertops light color?
New birch butcher block counter that I’d like to keep as light as possible. I’m thinking of whitewash with diluted primer, oil or water base, and either danish oil top coat or a wipe on poly. Can I ...
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Coating / waxing / oiling old wood without darkening it
I make sculptures (well, I try to, anyway) with old wood that I find in the forest. I strip and sand them heavily until I reach the "good" wood underneath the bad parts, but the remaining ...
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light sanding of poly coated gel stain removes gel stain?
I bought a Jarvis/Fully bamboo desktop and am trying to darken the finish.
To do this, I started on the bottom of the desktop and tried out the steps on a small portion by:
first sanding away the ...
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Can I oil wood if the pores are full of epoxy?
I turned a mesquite bowl to near final dimensions on my lathe, then filled some defects with epoxy. The defects were in end grain areas. After turning it flush and removing enough wood that there are ...
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Why won't stripper remove the finish on this bamboo desktop (from Fully/Jarvis company)?
I bought a Jarvis/Fully bamboo desktop and am trying to darken the finish. To do this, I first want to remove the existing finish. But I am having issues with doing so.
Note: pictures are at the ...
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What’s this kind of cracking on the surface of these boards called? Is it fixable?
I’m familiar with this type of crack/check, but I’m not sure how to describe it, or if there is a technical term.
I’ve encountered this in the past when we built log furniture, and someone told me it’...
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Fix laminate kitchen counter finish
Recently, I bought a kitchen with a veneered wood top, with black marble-effect finish.
The guys that assembled the kitchen used some silicone to join the two pieces of the top, leaving a horrible ...
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Tung Oil vs IKEA STOCKARYD
I bought IKEA GERTON Beech Wood Tabletop.
The instructions say to use STOCKARYD wood treatment oil. It seems to be quite simple. They said in IKEA to use K 400 or K 500 sandpaper, when I asked them.
...
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Finished shave horse with linseed oil; now it is too slippery to hold work well
I built this simple shave horse following Rex Kreuger plans; it is made from kiln-dried spruce. It worked great (as far as I can tell, first time using one!) once completed.
Since I will be storing it ...
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Is Odie's Oil worth all the hype... and money? [closed]
If you've looked at a woodworking magazine, watched anything wood-related on YouTube, or just browsed anything on the internet related to woodworking, you've probably come across Odie's Oil. It's ...
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Help getting started building decorative wooden crates
I would like to build some crates like those shown in the attached photos (including the Indy crate!) but I am having trouble getting started because I am not great at coming up with plans myself. I'd ...
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Is the mineral oil sold for constipation the same type of mineral oil used for cutting boards?
I want to make my own mix of beeswax and mineral oil. The mineral oil sold at Home Depot costs over 6 times more than the stuff sold in Walmart for constipation.
Are they the same thing?
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Finish on painted, custom bathroom vanity?
As part of a bathroom remodel, I've built a custom vanity. For the exterior (face frame, doors, drawer faces) I've painted it with a satin finish latex paint (4-5 coats). The interior is bare wood ...
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How to smooth wood that is splintering due to uneven hardness?
I would like to sand this surface to be safe and comfy to touch:
I am using a Delta sander with grits: 60, 120, 180, 240, 320 with various speeds and applying various amounts of pressure, but it seems ...
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Saving a sandbox - absolute beginner questions
In 2020 my father-in-law made a sandbox for our daughter. In 2021 he passed away, so this has become an important item to us to remember him by. However, he made some mistakes in building it. For one, ...
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How can I fix or avoid streaks with wipe-on polyurethane?
I have been working on a birch butcher block desk. I stained the desk then waited 24 hours before applying my first coat of brush-on satin polyurethane. I applied two coats of brush-on poly (24 hours ...
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Dealing with Pre-Stain and Wood Conditioner Residue
I'm currently working on staining a 10' walnut butcher block counter:
I have done a lot to get everything together:
Surface prep: sand at 320 grit using orbital, wipe using rubbing alcohol to remove ...
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How might I finish this hardwood board for use as a shelf?
For some background: I am a guitar player, and I know of a variety of different woods ("tone woods" as they're referred to in relation to guitar building), but I have absolutely no clue in ...
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Re-finish water-based polyurethane tabletop without having to sand again
Two years ago I sanded back my mid century table top and refinished with varathane water based polyurethane. I placed a 1 1/2 mm thick clear plastic protector over the top.
This has produced what I ...
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What are some good ways to finish smoothing a wood carving after you have the general form roughed out?
I am relatively new to wood carving and don't have anyone to mentor me or to ask advice from.
I am making a handle for a machete out of red oak. The bottom of the handle is hooked like a hanger and is ...
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Will poly crack if wood bends?
I have a 3/4” wide and 16’ long piece of raw pine that I’m finishing as a countertop for some storage cabinets in the living room. I plan to use water based stain and polycrylic. I’ve been working on ...
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Is there any reason why I should not finish before I build? [duplicate]
I want to finish some pine wood with Danish oil and then try and build a coffee table.
I was wondering if there is any reason to build before finishing. I realise that Im probably going to finish some ...
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Sanding woods of different hardnesses perfectly flat
I'm making a chess board from jatoba and maple. I made a mistake in my planning stage, and mis-interpretted the max width of my planer. As such, the board top is now just a bit to wide to go through,...
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Staining over epoxy [duplicate]
I am building a dining table out of of cracked reclaimed wood. I’ve mistakenly filled in the cracks with epoxy first and am now looking to stain the wood. Obviously, a normal stain won’t adhere to the ...
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Finishing jatoba and maple chess board
I'm building a chess board -- I decided to use jatoba and maple for the board itself, (and am using wenge and maple for the trim).
After milling the jatoba, the exposed surfaces of the jatoba are no ...
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Method to remove wood sticker stain / discolored area from pine?
I am using some old pine for flooring and want to keep the rustic saw mark appearance on the face. There are 1” wide horizontal stains across the boards left by wood stickers from drying or stacking ...
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How to remove the "yellow" look from pine?
I recently finished building my stairs with pine wood. I was expecting to stain them to give it a bit darker look, but I didn't like the end result.
I know I should have picked another wood to start ...
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Heat resistant finish for beech/oak trivets
I'm making some trivets (beech, oak) as christmass gifts and I'm not sure what finish to use - I'm not really too much concerned about trivet's finish damage - I'm more concerned about finish leaving ...
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Live wood coffee table [duplicate]
Going to use a prestain, then perhaps golden oak to even out the dark and light variations. Question what do I protect it with against red wine etc. I already have a red wine ring 😡. I have ...
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What order do I go in to fill defects in wood?
I’m new to live edge woodworking. I am finishing a walnut slab for a kitchen table that has some minor defects such as small cracks and knotty areas. I would like to fill those with epoxy. But unsure ...
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Is this a professional furniture refinishing job?
When I got married and bought a house, my parents gave me their old dining set— the one I grew up with. It’s seen a lot of abuse from my kids at my house and I decided to get it and the chairs ...
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What's the best process for sanding/finishing reactive stained oak floor with hardwax oil to leave the best surface?
I have raw oak floorboards which are being individually stained and finished before being laid. For context - this is my first time doing anything like this, so apologies for my lack of technical ...
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How to fill 2”x12” gap in hardwood floor with something that looks nice
I have a 1-2" gap in my hardwood floor after I needed to swap a larger register with a smaller one.
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I need to replace a 12" x 10" supply register grill with a 12" x 8" ...
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Can you apply polyurethane on top of wood that has been treated with a deck sealer?
Note, this is not for exterior use.
We bought an old Buffet and converted it into a vanity for our bathroom remodel. At the time we thought it was a good idea to seal it with a waterproof sealer and ...
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After using Minwax gel stain in Mahogany... which top coat ? Minwax Water Based Oil-Modified Polyurethane or Minwax Fast-Drying Polyurethane?
I applied 1 coat of Minwax gel stain in mahogany to a coffee table, waited 24 hours and then applied a 2nd coat of gel stain.
Waited 3 days for the gel stain to cure and I'm now ready for a topcoat. ...
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Is water-based polyurethane completely scratch resistant?
Just received a custom table finished with minwax water-based polyurethane. It's been about a week so I tested applying pressure with my fingernail, which did leave a small scratch if you look closely....
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Restoring old furniture finish
I have an old table that I'm working on. I initially was just taking off the wobbly feet and putting them back on more firmly. But I was wondering if there's a good way to fix up the scratches. There'...
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After two coats of Minwax low luster Antique Oil Finish stain color is still rubbing off
I applied the stain as per the directions, waited 5 minutes then rubbed it off. It dried overnight.
I applied the finish generously, waited 10 minutes, then rubbed it off, waited 24 hours then ...
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When to finish modular projects [closed]
I’m building a custom loft bed for my son in my garage. The final assembly is too large to make it up the stairs to his room so I’ll need to disassemble it to get it up there. I’m planning to stain ...
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How to obtain protective yet close to the wood satin finish on desktop?
I am finishing a piece of acacia glued up stave construction commonly called butcher block. It will be used as a desktop. I sanded it to 320 and put 3 coats of BLO/MS on it. It's mostly cured (I ...
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Proper way to re-oil a wood swim deck?
I’ve had the swim deck pictured below on my boat for a few summers now and the finish is getting pretty faded. I bought some teak oil to re-oil (right term?) it, but I’m unsure if I should just apply ...
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