contents Introduction ?Just who is this book for??. . . . . . 6 CHAPTER e You and your finish. . . . . . . . 8 The Solvents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Turpentine ? Paint Thinner Acetone ? Denatured alcohol VM&P naptha ? Toluene Lacquer thinner ? Xylene The Stains, paints and colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Penetrating oil-based stains Gel stains ? Water-based stains Aniline dyes ? Paints Joe Knows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Wood fillers ? Wood glue Touch-up markers ? Putty pencils The Finishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Oil-based finishes ? Polyurethane Poly-stains ? Varathane Oils Well ? Wood conditioners Sanding sealers predate wood conditioners Shellac finished ? Acrylic polyurethane (water cleanup) Sandpaper and abrasive pads The Other Stuff You?ll Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Steel wool ? Dust masks ? Gloves Point strainers ? Tack cloth ? Wire brushes The Brushes and Applicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 CHAPTER r What wood you like? . . . . . . . . 32 Woods the amateur woodworker likes to use . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 White pine ? Plain-sawn red oak Quartersawn white oak ? Rift-cut red oak Poplar ? Walnut ? Cherry Yellow birch ? Maple Prep Work for the Wood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Because of glue ? Clamps and glue Time to prep ? Wear-through Joe Knows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 More Sanding tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Joe Knows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Edge treatments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Wire brush, why not a chicken? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Full of Fillers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Fill holes with colored wax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Fill in for fill sticks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Get steamed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 CHAPTER t Starting to finish . . . . . . . . . 54 A stain by any other name is messy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Penetrating oil stains Joe?s Old-World finish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 The process ? Don?t fret the sweat Fear of drying ? Fear of smears Sandpaper scratches ? Dry brushing Gotcha blotch! ? Gel stains Water-based stains ? Water-based clear finished Rust from the dust ? Talk and no one listens End grains ? Silicone infection Dewaxed shellaac The Art Supply Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Artist?s oil tubes ? Japan colors Tempera colors ? Dry pigments Varnish brushes ? Fine brushes Disposable pallets Container with handle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Cleaning aerosol can tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Plumber?s tape on jar assures easy open . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 How to clean your brushes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Dissolving foam brush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 CHAPTER u Seven sure-fire finishes . . . . . . 80 or ? limited shminited Limited shminited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Simple shellac and wax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Tips ? Oiled finishes ? Polyurethanes ? Polyshades Watco oil and wax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Homemade wax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Coloring your homemade wax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Albert?s bar-job finish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 French polishing tampon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 In a pickle (whitewash on oak or pine) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Strictly Stickley Oak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Poplar and Walnut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 My cabinet has the blues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Method for spraying or brushing on the level . . . . . . . . . . . 118 Rubbing out and polishing a finish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Questions and Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122 Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127 Book of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128