Shellac como sellador bajo laca Los profesionales debaten los detalles de la aplicación de una capa selladora de goma laca al repintar muebles. July 11, 2005
Waterborne lacquers How quality measures up against other finishes. December 26, 2002
Tinting Toner Tips A longtime furniture finishing pro offers tips on toners for tinting. March 12, 2002
Troubleshooting Wrinkled Shellac A refinishing job consists of a wiping stain over the existing finish, then two coats of shellac. What's making the second shellac coat wrinkle? Pros weigh in with advice. August 30, 2005
Touchup Fix for Sanded-Through Veneer Ways to patch a sand-through problem using touch-up products like an air-brush, shellac, colorants and pencils. December 8, 2006
When Lacquer Goes Bad... Finishers explain why a lacquer finish would fail after prolonged exposure to moisture, and suggest how to go about refinishing the affected cabinets. April 18, 2006
Touching Up Furniture that Won't Take Stain Sometimes a piece is still sealed, or has been sanded down to a glue-saturated veneer ply. Here are tips on restoring color to those pieces. May 24, 2006
Touching Up Natural Maple Here's an extended discussion of using colorants and finishes to blend a repair into a finished Maple piece. March 26, 2013
Touching Up Table Edges When the color wears off a table edge, specialty markers are available to fix the problem. April 2, 2013
Stripping and Bleaching Oak After trying several suggestions, a finisher hits on the right solution to clean and brighten some old oak drawer fronts. November 11, 2006
What's the best HVLP system? Finishing forum participants chime in with their feelings about the best HVLP spray finishing systems. May 29, 2000
Touch-Up Repair for Cherry Veneer When a sanding mistake burns right through a cherry veneer, quick or easy fixes are scarce. Here are a handful of suggestions for making the best of a bad situation. December 15, 2005
Wrinkling of a Shellac Re-Finish Pros advise on what could have caused the trouble in an application of shellac to an already finished wood bench. July 28, 2008
Waterborne Lacquer over Solvent Lacquer Product reps won't promise good performance, but some finishers have had good results by cleaning and sanding for a strong mechanical bond. September 3, 2011
Waxy Stripper Residue Problem How to get stripper residue off imperfectly stripped and sanded doors, before spraying an opaque finish. May 7, 2009
Stripping-Tank Basics Quick advice on flow-over tanks and dip tanks for stripping cabinet doors. January 9, 2007
Salvaging a Bad Shellac Job When a customer's efforts at tinted shellac finishing go haywire, how can a pro help? Here's advice on approaches to a fix. July 29, 2007
Stripping Veneer How to get old finish off a veneered desktop without damaging or lifting the veneer. April 30, 2009
Stocking a Furniture Touch-Up Kit Here's a nice look at what you might want in your starter kit for furniture touch-up and finish repair. July 14, 2010
Stripping Stain It's hard to get pigment stain out of deep grain without sanding through a whole layer of veneer. Here are tips for a difficult refinishing challenge. May 5, 2011
Toning While Refinishing a Floor Finishers discuss various ways to add toner over an existing floor finish, without stripping first. August 30, 2005
Stripping a Tough 1960's Finish A finisher runs into a 1960's-era finish that resists stripping, and gets advice on how to tackle the job. June 28, 2005
Safely Cleaning Finished Cabinet Doors Safely working your way up to a solvent that will dissolve the contaminant without damaging the finish can be tricky. June 30, 2014
Troubleshooting Unwanted Crackle Crackle shows up in a catalyzed primer over vinyl sealer on stripped furniture. Why? October 17, 2012
Spray Toning Furniture Advice on achieving good adhesion and maintaining some grain definition when darkening the existing finish on a wood desk. September 3, 2010
Slow Drying and Curing in Refinish Jobs Troubleshooting the cause of splotchy curing, where some areas in a refinished piece don't cure or dry for a long time.September 3, 2011
Stripping Tanks: Build or Buy? Finishers discuss commercial sources of stripping tanks, and ways to rig up your own. October 28, 2005
Sealing Up a Bleeding Finish Shellac is the go-to barrier coat for evil spirits that soak through topcoats. But don't sand the shellac or you'll defeat its effectiveness. June 18, 2013
The Use of Wax Finishes on Pre-Industrial American Furniture Here's a scholarly paper on the history of wax finishes applied to early American furniture, and the difficult challenges of identifying and restoring original wax finishes. December 11, 2007
Finishing mahogany Producing the dark color expected of mahogany. February 12, 2003
No-blotch dying Methods to achieve uniform finishes. March 5, 2003
Fish-Eye Reducer: Is It Addictive? Legend has it that if you use fish-eye reducer once, you have to use it forever. Here, finishers argue the point, pro and con. November 27, 2007
Fish-Eye Problems in a Table Refinishing Job Here's a detailed and comprehensive thread about the causes of fisheye and the options for fixing it, from simple to advanced.June 18, 2013
Furniture Refinishing Basics A beginner gets advice on cleaning, stripping, and refinishing several pieces of furniture. October 13, 2008
Glazing and Toning over Clear Lacquer Detailed advice on formulas and application methods that will achieve a dark walnut tone on oak cabinets that already have a coat of clear lacquer. May 17, 2005
Refinishing Old Pickled Oak A finisher needs to strip and refinish a 100-year-old staircase that has been "pickled" with white stain. A lively discussion ensues about dyes, stains, toners, strippers, samples, and the risks you take on one-of-a-kind old work. October 28, 2005
Fine Crackle Finish Products and techniques for achieving a fine China-like crackle. May 19, 2004
Reducing finish overspray Methods, additives and equipment for minimizing this problem. October 30, 2002
Filling Dents with Burn-In Sticks Detailed advice from experienced pros on how to touch up dings and dents in furniture. November 8, 2007
Recoating Over a Mystery Finish We're not sure what's on this table, but it might be polyurethane. Can anything safely go over it? Now that's a messy subject. October 14, 2006
Praise for HVLP Has HVLP outgrown a bad reputation? Here's why some swear by it. (Finishing Forum) May 19, 2003
Hardwoods in the Bath Finishing Tips When Installing Hardwoods in Wet, Humid Environments October 22, 2001
Matching Old and New Floor Finishes A floor refinisher struggles with achieving a visual blend between old oil-finished floors and a waterborne refinish job. November 3, 2010
Faux marbling Creating a decorative finish to match a marble mantel. November 22, 2003
Refinishing a Silicone-Contaminated Antique Silicone-containing furniture polish residue can be a refinisher's nightmare. Here, pros discuss the problem and suggest ways to cope. March 2, 2006
Re-Painting Kitchen Cabinets Finishers discuss the options for painting cabinets in a home, while the owners are living there. August 24, 2008
Finish Stripping Basics Tips on stripping finishes without damaging the cabinet or furniture piece. March 3, 2010
Refinishing Reproduction Furniture A finisher gets advice on how to make repairs to a piece that's not really an antique, but looks a lot like one. December 23, 2014
Eliminating Scratches in Glaze Stubborn sanding scratches appear when a piece has been glazed... can this be avoided?January 6, 2005
Refinishing Kitchen Cabinets on Site Here's an in-depth discussion of the difficulties of re-finishing a kitchen full of cabinetry in place. June 30, 2014
Protection for On-Site Spraying Advice for avoiding overspray damage when refinishing cabinetry in a furnished house. April 18, 2015
Renewable Finish for High-Traffic Doors Finishers discuss how to finish some old doors that take a lot of abuse, so that maintenance staff can periodically do touch-up repairs. October 14, 2006
"Refreshing" a Very Old Table Top Thoughts on how to clean and re-finish very old table tops still in active service, without lessening the value of any historic existing finish they may have. March 12, 2009
Paint Peeling Off Manufactured Cabinets Troubleshooting a particulary bad case of paint peeling away from mass-produced kitchen and bath cabinets. December 23, 2014
Refinishing Over Plastic Laminate The challenge is to apply a new coating over existing laminate restaurant tables. Finishers weigh in with advice. April 17, 2010
Linseed Oil Finish for a Period Home The clients want an authentic old-time linseed oil finish. A contractor gets advice on how to make it work. July 9, 2005
Recoating Old Cabinet Doors Adhesion, compatibility, and durability are concerns when applying new spray finishes to old cabinets. March 3, 2006
Fixing a Too-Dark Stain Job A finisher tried to match a stain color, and erred on the dark side. Colleagues offer advice and suggestions. July 11, 2005
Fixing a fisheyed finish Troubleshooting fisheye problems in a conversion varnish topcoat. June 24, 2001
Fisheye in a Kitchen Re-Finish Cleaning and seal-coat advice for a kitchen refinish job plagued with fisheye problems. March 3, 2010
Refinishing a Conference Table A discussion about the challenges and potential pitfalls of restoring a high-build finish on a business conference table.June 16, 2014
Refinishing Teak Outdoor Furniture The table in question might not even be Teak. But here are some thoughts about the choices for a natural-looking refinishing job. January 28, 2013
Polishing Out Polyurethane Hand-rubbing a polyurethane finish with fine sandpaper or pumice can overcome poly's "plastic" or "removed" look, and bring back some of the wood's natural tone. October 19, 2005
Refinishing Silicone-Contaminated Furniture Suggestions for stripping, cleaning, and sealing furniture that may have been contaminated with silicone-containing furniture polish. February 21, 2011
Refinishing a Wax-Finished Table Top Advice on removing and existing wax coating, sealing the piece with shellac, and applying a compatible lacquer topcoat. December 30, 2007
Restaurant Table Refinishing A beginner gets advice on stripping and refinishing some restaurant table tops. July 29, 2007
Removing Furniture Polish Tips on restoring the sheen to a catalyzed finish that was made to look "waxy" by application of furniture polish. November 25, 2008
Repairing a Scratch in Old Veneer If it's not a scratch but an indentation, then steaming would be wiser than sanding. February 21, 2013
Paint Over Pre-Cat for Kitchen Cabinets Can you paint over a pre-catalyzed cabinet finish when the customers change their minds? Sure. Should you? Not so sure ... July 3, 2008
Refinishing Plantation Shutters Here's advice on how to handle the refinishing work on movable louvered shutters, and how to charge for the complicated labor that's involved. January 2, 2012
Refinishing Old Church Pews Thoughts on how to figure out what the original finish is on some church pews, and refinish with a compatible formula. February 13, 2009
Finishing Over Laminate Finishers discuss the application of pigmented topcoats to existing laminate countertops. June 18, 2013
Primer Adhesion to Vinyl Sealer A finisher gets help finding the right primer that will stick to vinyl sealer for a recoat job. August 26, 2006
Fisheye with a Rattle-Can Repair Advice on cleaning and sealcoating to prevent fisheye in a repair to an existing finish. February 1, 2015
Refinishing Melamine Cabinets Whether you want a solid color or a faux wood finish, melamine makes a decent substrate for a number of available finish coatings. July 3, 2008
Gel Stain over Lacquer — in Place A customer wants a built-in piece darkened after installation, without removing it. Will gel stain work over pre-cat lacquer? July 29, 2011
Grey Pore Problem in Refinishing Jobs When pores show up gray after a refinishing job, the culprit turns out to be insufficient stripping. April 21, 2008
Re-Coating a Scratched Conversion-Varnish Table Top Conversion varnishes take time to fully harden, and a customer used this one too soon. Luckily, repair is feasible: in this thread, finishers provide advice on sanding and re-coating. July 24, 2005
Repairing a Water-Damaged Lacquer Finish If it's nitrocellulose lacquer, you can use specialty sprays or denatured alcohol to remove the white water damage. May 24, 2006
Fisheye Killer for Spar Varnish Cleanup and remedy advice for silicone contamination affecting a spar varnish re-coat application. July 3, 2008
Removing Black Streaks from Maple Advice on getting the last remnants of a previously-applied dye stain out of a maple door before refinishing. July 24, 2006
Recovering from an Epoxy Snafu Epoxy table-top coatings should be self-leveling. But what if it doesn't level? Here are tips on repair for an epoxy job gone haywire. September 10, 2007
Post-Stripping Treatment with Oxalic Acid Wood that is turned gray by stripping agents can be restored to natural color by a combination of sanding and oxalic acid. June 18, 2010
Refinishing Waxed Table-Tops with Polyurethane A furniture-maker waxed some bamboo restaurant table tops, then had performance issues. Now, how to strip the wax and prep for polyurethane? May 23, 2007
Finishing Old Furniture: Veneer Sand-Through Here's an interesting set of photos of an old furniture piece that shows some discoloration when stripped and refinished. The problem? The veneer was sanded through.September 18, 2012
A Clear Topcoat over Antique Paint Old paint (maybe egg tempera) on antique corbels presents a puzzle for finishers — how to protect it without damaging it? February 13, 2009
Darkening a Danish Oil Finish on Walnut Thoughts on tweaking the color of Walnut after it has already been coated with an oil-based home brew.September 18, 2014
Adding Glaze to Factory Cabinets Recommendations for glazing stock cabinet doors in a way that will be compatible with the existing factory finish. April 24, 2014
Burning Off Water Damage Wipe the white discoloration with alcohol, touch it with a lit match, and Bob's your uncle. January 7, 2010
Appearance Match for an Epoxy Patch Epoxy won't take stain like the original wood, so... amaze your clients with these professional tricks. August 9, 2005
Cleaning Old Cabinets Before Re-Finishing Finishers share their secrets to remove old wax, cleaners, polishes, grease, and grime from existing cabinets before re-finishing. November 25, 2006
Dent Repair Debate Pros compare steam treatment to sanding and refinishing for repair of a compression mark in a finished cherry piece. March 29, 2006
Diagnosing a Glazing Error One party to a problem wanted to blame kitchen heat for a dark discoloration of some cabinetry. But an application error during the glazing process turns out to be the cause.March 13, 2014
Dye Stains for Exterior Door Refinishing Some finishers have had success pairing stain or pigment components with well-known exterior semi-transparent coatings. February 21, 2011
Dark Refinish for Existing Maple Cabinets Advice on using sealcoat and toner over a factory finish to darken maple cabinets — a tricky process that may yield unsatisfactory results. January 28, 2013
B-72 Acrylic Detailed information on the properties and use of B-72 acrylic, a versatile sealant widely used as a barrier coating in furniture restoration and conservation. April 10, 2008
Dulling Down a Poly Finish It's hard to remove gloss by sanding or polishing. A new topcoat may be the only practical answer. July 3, 2008
Cleaning Finished Cabinets The pros debate soaps, detergents, cleansers, and polishes. Are they all just bad, or should your finish be able to take anything? Or is the truth somewhere in between? July 10, 2005
Assessing an Old Bedstead Before he tries to refinish it, a furnituremaker asks for advice on a bedroom piece's worth. October 13, 2008
Dealing with Silicone Damage A refinisher asks how to get silicone off a conference table he's refinishing, and gets a handful of ideas. June 28, 2005
Door Shrinkage Issues in Refinishing A cabinet refinisher gets advice on how to limit the problem of wood drying shrinkage causing unstained edges to become visible. September 3, 2010
Can Spray Finishing Co-Exist with Hand Brushing? Yes, in an on-site refinishing situation, some pros have success removing the doors for spraying in the shop, and brushing the carcases on site. Here are some details. April 21, 2008
Clear topcoats Basics on post- and pre-catalyzed finishes and more. January 16, 2002
Darkening Cherry in Localized Spots Advice on using artificial light to darken small areas of a Cherry cabinet that have been kept in the dark while the rest of the piece changed color with age and exposure to light. September 3, 2010
Bleaching to Remove Dye Stains Adding alcohol to the solution may help remove some dyes, if straight household bleach doesn't do the trick. July 3, 2008
Colored Spray Finish for Steel Roll-Up Doors What's a good aftermarket color coat to apply to steel storage-shed doors that already have a coat of clear polyester on them? Pros give advice. July 3, 2008
Cleaning Before Re-Coating Kitchen Cabinets On Site Removing dirt, grease, and contaminants without damaging the appearance of the existing finish is the problem. Here are tips and suggestions. August 15, 2011
Color-Matched Caulk Repairs With a little ingenuity, you can custom color your own off-the-shelf caulking. January 14, 2008
Bleaching Water Stains Out of Oak A refinisher succeeds in restoring oak cabinets using a hot, saturated solution of oxalic acid. August 14, 2007
Cleaning Up Latex Paint Tips for getting a latex paint drip off a polyurethane finished surface. August 30, 2005
Coloring Cane Work A furniture restorer gets advice on toning new cane-work to match the existing piece. October 2, 2005
Ammonia-Based Stripper Darkening Wood Don't use strippers that contain ammonia for wood you don't plan to paint: the dark staining from the stripper will not come out. June 30, 2007
Color matching Rectifying the color difference between a cherry table top and its stored-away extension leaf. March 30, 2000
Shellac as a Sealer under Lacquer Pros discuss the fine points of applying a sealer coat of shellac when refinishing furniture. July 11, 2005
Toning a Table Top This finishing problem is really more of a customer relations issue. But it's worth reading just for a look at the table top (a lovely piece of work). August 22, 2013
Wrinkles in Lacquer Recoat window? Catalyzation? What could be causing this defect? December 9, 2004
Solving Lifting in Catalyzed Lacquer Finishers address the persistent problem, experienced by one of their own, with wrinkling and lifting in catlac. February 8, 2005
Safe sprayroom setup Advice on everything from finish type to disposal of hazardous materials. December 17, 2003
Stripping and Refinishing Pricing Stripping furniture is laborious and slow — and so a fair price may create some sticker shock. March 26, 2009
Teak Finish on Kitchen Cabinets Teak may be naturally water resistant, but in a kitchen environment, even this tough lumber needs some help. February 26, 2005
Refinishing Failed Thermofoil Doors Is there a reliable way to strip and paint RTF doors that are delaminating badly, or is it wiser just to buy new MDF doors and start from scratch? May 12, 2013