Wood Finishes

If you are thinking of doing your own wood finishing there are a few things you will need to do. The first step is to get your project well sanded and all the defects out of your wood. You may need to fill small nail holes with a putty, but be careful of what you use. If you are going to stain it, be aware that some putties will not take a stain. Then with a coarse sand paper (180 grit) you can remove small imperfections from your project. Then you will want to us a fine sand paper like 320 grit. This will take a little time but you don’t want to rush the prep work. It is very important to do a good job on your sanding and will give you a nice smooth finish. After you have sanded then wipe it down remove all the dust.

The next step you should do is use a wood sealer. This will take care of uneven staining and you want to be very genres with your sealer. One thing about sealers you can’t put to much on. Some wood will really soak it up and you may want to put on other coat. If you are using a softwood make sure you use a lot of the sealer. Softwood will really have and uneven look if you don’t use the sealer correctly.

To really protect your stained wood, spray a lacquer over the stain. Lacquer is a excellent protector for all wood finishes, but should be sprayed on. If you do not have a sprayer they do sell lacquer in spray cans for small projects. This finish is the best for durability and is very hard and is a excellent finish.