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This article was inspired by a question from Tom, who writes: I just read Bob Flexner’s book “Understanding Wood finishing”. I was hoping you could help…. On page 27 regarding cleaning brushes he states that the last step in cleaning ANY brush is to wash in soap and water. ...
This article was inspired by a question from Doug. He writes: “I am building a bar top from 8/4 Walnut for my son’s new home, and he wants to have a very natural finish on it – no film finish allowed. My first thought was to use BLO, but some research has led me to think that Pur...
... here: film thickness and color. Any oil-based product is going to give the wood some kind of an amber color. So if your goal is to keep the wood as natural-looking as possible, you might want to avoid oil-based products. What you want to go for is a finish that is known as “water-whiteR...
A beautiful natural-edge hall table....
...finesse to apply without bubbles or brush strokes. You need to use the right brush and it takes a little practice to get the technique right. Sponge brushes are certainly another option, but the results are not always a significant improvement. Most of the trouble comes from the fact that the ure...
...er cure enough that I can continue applying coats of Arm-r-Seal? What gives? What a Mess! Many exotic species, like cocobolo, have a certain amount of natural-occurring oils in them. When you coat them with an oil-based finish, the oil in the wood itself prevents the finish from curing properly. Th...
...und. The grill is a Sam’s Club special. There is also a dual gas burner which you can see (it has a cover on it). Everything is plumbed into the natural gas but you could do with Propane. Just depends on what your grill takes. I just like not having to worry about running out. Ok, now back to...
...look of Milk Paint. Mom picked Somerset Gold as her color and off I went. Sorry purists…. I applied the paint using a decent quality synthetic bristle brush from my local Home Depot. Since the paint is water-based, I first pre-raised the grain with a spray bottle of water. Once dry I light...
... wall panel carvings I observed at the Gamble house itself. I remember taking note of how the carver (one of the Hall Brothers I assume) utilized the natural grain lines in those panels and this frame clearly exploits the same natural properties of the wood. Here’s an excerpt from Tom’...
My Adirondack Chairs are reaching the final stages of construction and I’m sitting here enjoying a few swigs of YooHoo, so naturally this is a great time to ponder outdoor finishes. If you’ve been in the world of woodworking for a while, you probably already know that the only topic mor...
...to stabilize and repair the knot. And instead of trying to hide the knot, sometimes its just better to embrace it, and make it look look resinous and natural. And that’s the goal here. I use an epoxy/dye mixture to create a stable and decorative knot. ...
...loss finish, unless you perform a pore-filling procedure first (just my opinion). I then rub the wood a little to see if there is likely to be a high natural oil content, as this would create finishing problems. A brightly or deeply colored exotic is likely to have a good amount of naturally-occur...