Questions tagged [finishing]
Finishing a woodworking project refers to the final steps to beautify and protect it.
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What are the hardness ratings for the different types of lacquers and polyurethanes?
I have read a lot of opinions online about the hardness of different finishes, but I cannot find any authoritative numbers for hardness ratings for the different types of finishes in the lacquer and ...
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How can I seal/stain white cedar to make look similar to its original light color?
I made this white cedar chest & I want to protect it from rain and graying from ultraviolet (UV) sun exposure.
I desire an oil stain or sealer because I have seen skin-peeling from varnish, ...
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Cigarette-proofing outdoor furniture
I built some benches, they're pressure treated lumber currently finished with oil based stain and oil based satin finish spar urethane. Some of them have shellac between the stain and urethane because ...
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Refurbishing Posts & Beams in a Modern 1954 House
I'm trying to refurbish the posts and beams in my house. They're quite beat up in some spots and have water damage streaks in the existing finish(es) in others, so I've decided to strip the existing ...
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Sealer for inside of bathroom cabinets [thin plywood]
I am creating some floor-to-ceiling stud bay storage in a bathroom. Bathroom is small but has a vent fan.
I am using the RevolutionPly utility sheet goods to line the cabinets. I believe it is made of ...
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Anyone with experience using "Sansin Purity-Glacier"?
My local lumber store stocks and sells the Sansin line of finishes. I am planning to finish a maple countertop soon, and want a hard, durable finish that maintains the "whiteness" of the ...
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One spot on a plywood does not accept stain. What can I do?
I bought a plywood from lowes for 49 for a table top. It has a smooth finish and has an almost white color. I sanded it with 150. Applied minwax pre stain and then dark walnut stain. All oil based.
...
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Watco lacquer still gummy after 4 days
I am a jewelry artist who recently started working with wood. I have used a gold stamping ink to lightly cover a few pieces, allowed to dry completely for 24 hours and then started doing mist coats of ...
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Problem with walnut finish
A typical finish we do on walnut is staining with Old Masters Natural Walnut stain (sprayed and wiped) and then 2 coats of a waterborne poly on top.
A fabulous finish. However a couple of times we ...
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Are lacquer re-coats supposed to dissolve/remove pinhole bubbles?
I am brushing lacquer on 50 small walnut plates. My first coats were a bit of a learning curve and I had produced some small bubbles.
My understanding is that new coats of lacquer will dissolve into ...
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Knots bleeding through deck sealer
I have a deck that I built in 1986 with treated lumber, that last year we used a stain sealer on and the sealer was bled thru at mostly knot locations.
I have used clear sealer many times over the ...
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Touching up Guitar Body
I am trying to fix a patch on a guitar, but every time I spray I get this odd fisheye effect:
I am trying to spray it with Sunburst Black https://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/...
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Food stain on polycrylic cabinet
I just finished painting my cabinets white, and to finish it off I put three coats of polycrylic on top to make them more durable. I placed the cabinet doors back on yesterday. Today, while making a ...
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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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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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Antique Danish Oil is still sticky months after application. How can I get it to cure?
I refinished a softwood tabletop using Minwax Red Oak 215 stain and Circa 1850 Antique Danish Oil. I've waited over 6 months and the oil is still sticky/tacky! We're talking post-it note levels. I ...
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okay to put one coat of linseed oil over one coat of tung oil?
I'm in a situation where I had to take a piece from one shop to another as I moved cross country.
Yesterday I applied one coat of tung oil per the container's instructions.
The shop I am in this ...
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Will my tacky polyurethane eventually cure when average air temperature rises?
So, for lack of a proper shop, I was applying a first coat of undiluted Varathane Ultimate Polyurethane (oil based) to a plywood box using my dining room table under a plastic drop cloth as a work ...
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Why do MDS for polyurethane finishes show such a wide range of solvents? What are we really getting?
I like to thin my polyurethane finish with mineral spirits as an alternative to buying a wipe on poly - but when I started to look at several of the easily available options for Clear Gloss, like ...
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How do I keep the natural colour on wormy maple?
I have some beautiful wormy maple barn doors that I want to finish.
I've tried Minwax oil-modified polyurethane clear satin and tung oil separately on a small corner and both turned the wood slightly ...
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How strictly should I follow temperature guidelines for brushing lacquer?
I'm trying to finish a small piece with brushing lacquer, which I have not used before. The can says that I should not apply it if the temperature is below 55F (13C). The temperature in my area has ...
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Lacquer. Perfect Round Holes. Wood Glue. Etc
I'm a hobbyist.
I'm building a guitar cab.
This is my first touch of a table saw and first try and box joints.
A couple of Q's:
1. I sanded the heck outta this thing but apparently not enough to get ...
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Durable clear finish over lettering on natural background
I am making a skittles board with b2 birch plywood. For those that don't know, this is not a candy server - it is a tabletop game somewhat like a combination of bowling, shuffleboard and top spinning....
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Strategy for coating a built table with polyurethane?
I built a simple table. I stained each piece before final gluing and construction.
I am not sure how to polyurethane the table. I am concerned about both getting an even coat that doesn't run and ...
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How long until setting Waterlox sealer vertical
I am building a speaker box (cube) and finishing 5 sides. Normally I lay the box flat and do one side then rotate and do another side. Waterlox requires 24 hours between coats. Does that mean it’s ...
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Water-based polyurethane
I had my floors refinished. They won’t tell me what they used. I picked out Bona stain and asked for water base polyurethane. They applied the stain at 4 PM. The next morning they supposedly applied ...
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How can I darken a stained finish without sanding/stripping?
My current maple cabinets have a brown stained finish and I would like to darken the stain a bit more. What can I do to accomplish this WITHOUT needing to sand everything down and start from scratch? ...
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Choosing a finish for a tusk/key/wedge that stays put
To ensure that a tusk stays put longer in a mortise, is the nature of the finish critical (assuming the piece is cut to a L:W ratio ~10:1)?
The particular type of construction i’m referring to is ...
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Spreading water-based Varathane that is 3 times thicker
I used water-based 3X Varathane on a table top I am refinishing. It is very difficult to spread because it is so thick. It is supposed to be "self-leveling". I cannot brush it on evenly because it ...
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Bleeding bubbles through stain
Okay I saw another question about bleeding through paint but this is stain so it may have a different solution.
I sanded, used prestain conditioner, and minwax stain on a desk I’m attempting to ...
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Coating gone wrong
I have a large piece of Camphor Laurel that I have sanded and given a sealing coat to. I'm using Bonball Marine Varnish. I have left it between coats for 24 hours. This is the 3rd full coat today and ...
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Installing casing using jack miters
I'm looking to match the butt style casing installation of my old home. Standard 45 mitered casing and planning the backside has worked for me in newer homes
First floor example with backband
The ...
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Trim / Casing and Baseboard choices between rooms
I understand this is partially design, however I think it's part of the art of fine trim carpenters. This is my second floor sitting room which has routed 1x8s as baseboard and 1x6 with the same ...
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Which additives increase shellac's heat resistance?
I like shellac's color and ease of application, but the bottom of my laptop melts my table's finish. Yes, seriously.
I'm thinking to cross-link the finish (taking advantage of all the hydroxyl and ...
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How to apply Rubio Monocoat and Black Bison Wax to white oak
I love the look of black bison wax on oak as a way to really bring out the grain. (see example photo)
Until now I've only used rubio monocoat as a finish. It's pretty much impossible to mess up and it ...
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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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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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How significant is the yellowing from aging polyurethane?
It seems that at least half of the questions we get about finishing are along the lines of "I don't want any yellowing from my finish", or "I don't want any yellowing because of aging ...
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How to fill cracks and finish my bench (old found wood)?
For my first woodworking project, I am building bench with wood I found on the curb. Both my neighbor and a guy walking down the street said they thought the wood was at least 150-years-old. The ...
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Recreate dark wood/gradient finish
I have a mirror with a frame which has a dark stain which has a gradient into an almost black finish.
Unfortunately a part of the mirror's frame got damage and small chunk was taken out of the frame. ...
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Questions on walnut oil on black walnut end grain cutting board
Almost finished this small cutting board (approx. 1" thick, 6" by 8"):
I got walnut oil from LeeValley and applied it after sanding and other finish touches.
It's been already about 36 ...
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Using reactive fabric dye to stain wormy maple bookcase. Tight grain wood prep? With oil gel stain?
I've built a rustic bookcase with wormy maple. I am trying to get a 2-tone look. I've tested a turkey red dye stain (1 tablespoon powered:1 cup water: 1 cup alcohol) the wormy parts are brighter and ...
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How to get consistent glossiness in shellac finish repair
I've been repairing the shellac finish on paneling in my home, and some spots are coming out way too flat when dried. In this photo you can see how the glossiness isn't consistent, even though I ...
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Peppermint oil damaged table finish
Recently I put a cup that had a bit of peppermint oil on the bottom of it on my table. It must have dissolved and adhered the finish because the cup was firmly stuck to the table. After removing it, ...
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Is this a good way to highlight a laser engraved design in wood?
I'm making a signboard for a coffee bar. It's made from three glued together pieces of douglas fir tongue and groove floorboards that were installed in 1945.
The engraving is done and I want to keep ...
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Food safe water proofing finish?
I'm looking to build a vertical farm for practical and decorative purposes. It would be a tube design where I pump water to the top and it would trickle down along the sides of the tube, watering the ...
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Adding finish to a painted wooden table
So I have a table made and I was told that they applied a water based paint over it because I requested it to be black. The wood they used is either palochina or mahogany. As of right now, it isn't ...
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What can I put on an unfinished cabinet that will not get a lot of use
This cabinet will not get a lot of use. More of a storage cabinet that will have a lamp and cable box. I just need some sort of finish. Really don’t want to change the color.
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What are these blemishes along the grain and how do I correct them?
I have a dining table made out of Acacia Wood. The process of preparation was:
Mill the table flat
Sand the table to 180 Grit
Spray Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Lightly sand back
Spray 4 heavier coats of ...
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How to Fix Wood Tabletop (Finish stripped off by bottom of bug spray can left on overnight)
After leaving a bug spray can on my wooden table overnight, I went to remove it the following morning. When I did the wood seemed stuck to the bottom of the can. As I removed it, the finish was taken ...
