Home Improvement Stack Exchange
Home Improvement Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [wood-finishing]

87 questions
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What is the proper procedure to apply multiple coats of Polyurethane?

Polyurethane is confusing me. ;) I'm finishing a table top with polyurethane. I've sanded down the original finish to bare wood down to 220 grit paper. I vacuumed and wiped it all down, then did a final wipe with a rag and some mineral spirits.…
DA01
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Why is my clear wood finish drying orange?

I bought an outdoor wooden planter online. It wasn't sealed so I wanted to treat it to help protect it from weather and water. The wood was already stained gray so I went with a "Clear Transparent Waterproof Wood Finish" meant for decks and fencing…
David K
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How soon can we stain a freshly-sanded deck after it got drenched in the rain?

My family and I are refinishing our deck. We live in area with wild weather so, even though it called for a week of sun, immediately after finishing sanding our deck (to a very beautiful underneath) it got drenched from rain. It took 5 people 3…
Patrick
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Are small air bubbles on the surface while applying wood finish normal?

While finishing my door, I've noticed a lot of small air bubbles after applying the finish. I asked a painter about it and he told me it's normal, but it doesn't seem normal to me. Is this normal or should I hire some other person?
Krish
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How can I handle dry-looking areas in the table I'm refinishing?

I've stripped and sanded my dining room table, and have put down 5 coats of minwax gloss one step (classic oak color) lightly sanding between coats. The problem I'm having is that there are small areas that aren't taking the poly and leaving "dry"…
Cape Cod Scott
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Paint Exterior Door that is in Sun

I have a Mahogany door that costs me about $700/year to keep it stained and covered in urethane. It is in direct sun and just takes a beating. I don't want to put a storm door on it because the storm door will just raise the temperature even…
Be Kind To New Users
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How can I protect pine from yellowing?

I have read that pine can begin to yellow very quickly. I am wanting to use pine as an office desk top and want to prevent this yellowing from occurring. Would a oil- or water-based sealant be the answer here? Would a stain help in "masking" the…
Dave New
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Oak doors stripped of paint - need to fill holes underneath before revarnishing/oiling

We've recently sent our doors for stripping of many years of gloss paint and lead based varnish. The oak doors came back looking largely fantastic. As the doors are very old, understandably they have lots of old screw holes on their fascia which…
Adrian Charlton
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How do I finish a pine wood floor so that it can be waxed?

My house has pine floors in the kitchen and upstairs, and its finish has almost entirely rubbed off, and is now showing bare wood. I'm interested in applying a wax (or maybe oil?) finish on it (mostly so that scratches can be buffed out). How do I…
Pigrew
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Gooey build up on sandpaper when sanding

just started my first DIY project of finishing my 3 year old IKEA Gerton Beech Wooden table top. I have been using this as my computer table and it has become very dirty so I thought I'll use this opportunity to also try to make it look like a…
rsure
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What to use to finish my desk from IKEA?

This may be an easy question, but everything I am finding on the Internet is kind of confusing (I am a computer guy not a carpenter!). Essentially, I want to know what I could use to finish my tabletop I purchased at IKEA. For reference, here is…
Sethen
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How do I know if my wood front door's finish is weather proof?

We just moved into a new home. The wood front door is semi-sheltered by a small porch. The front of the house has southern exposure and has the most exposure to the weather. There was an unsightly screen door on the outside that we removed. The door…
John
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How to clean a 100 year old piano

I have recently inherited a 100 year old piano that has not had any love in a long time. I have tried to clean it with vinegar and water but it persists in being VERY sticky. I don't want to harm it but I want it clean. Any suggestions?
Christine W
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Refinishing particle board with vinyl veneer

I have an old cabinet that is made from engineered wood with a laminate finish that resembles wood, but is definitely not hardwood. I am not sure what the finish is called but it is paper thin and not made of any real wood. See attached photo. From…
user522
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How to stain bleached wood to match its original natural colour (and then finish)?

Similar to this post, so apologies if it fully overlaps and I'm just misunderstanding. I used sanding & oxalic acid to lighten / bleach out a dark cat urine stain from our 1952 hardwood floors (wood species unknown, San Francisco Bay Area,…
dez93_2000
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