Woodwork Finish

Woodwork for your home has many rewards. It creates the finishing touch in a room. Also, the finish on the woodwork is very important. There are many different finishes.
The first step would be to sandpaper the woodwork. After sanding, you have to put a protective finish on the work.

There are oil based and water based protective finishes. Oil finishes are easier to apply and don't show any mistakes. However, it will not give a glass smooth finish on oak or mahogany like lacquer will. The oil finish needs to penetrate the wood. Polyurethane is the most popular of the finishes.

If you are doing a woodwork project for the outdoors, you must protect the piece from the elements. This can be accomplished with a gel stain finish. You can also use a lacquer finish, which protects against water damage.

If your woodwork piece needs to be stained, apply the stain first before shellac, fill in the nail holes and cracks with wood putty filler and remove all the dust with a dampened rag. When applying stain on softwood like pine or fir, it might not go on smoothly and adhere to the wood so you must condition the wood first.

If you want to "glaze" or tint the wood, you must dry brush color, spray tint and then wipe the glazing. Professionals sometimes use dry dye power and artists brushes to help blend colors. You may want to refinish an old piece of woodwork. This might not require stripping and refinishing but just cleaning and refurbishing.