Post Your Favorite Finish with Pictures and instructions!

Mine is simple:
Sand to 120
Spray on two coats of sealcoat
Lightly sand with 320
Spray two light coats of my clear coat (general finishes enduro clear poly)
Lightly sand with 320
Two more light coats of the enduro clear poly
Done.

-- He who dies with the most tools... dies with the emptiest wallet.

The wood is qswo sanded to 320G.
TransTint Reddish-Brown:TT Dark Walnut: Target WR40xxx::1:1:14 brushed on and wiped off
Lightly sand w/400G to knock down the raised grain
Spray w/Target EM1000 to give the finish a little more depth
Lightly sand w/600G
Spray w/Target EM6000 – 2 coats

This matched some existing furniture and really popped the grain IMO. More pix can be seen here.

-- Art

BLO ain’t a finish, it’s an accelerant for starting fires.

Shellac is archaic.

Real tung oil is OK if you’re too lazy or really don’t wanna do a real finish.

Poly, oil or waterborne, is fine.

Solvent lacquer is the best.

Anything over something else, unless something else is stain, is just dumb.

-- Clint Searl....Ya can no more do what ya don't know how than ya can git back from where ya ain't been

BLO ain t a finish, it s an accelerant for starting fires.

Shellac is archaic.

Real tung oil is OK if you re too lazy or really don t wanna do a real finish.

Poly, oil or waterborne, is fine.

Solvent lacquer is the best.

Anything over something else, unless something else is stain, is just dumb.

- Clint Searl

“Ain’t” isn’t a word.

Shellac, archaic and still around because it WORKS.

I’m entirely certain you’re trolling the thread. Reported.

Scootles, are you brushing on the lacquer or spraying from a can/HVLP?

For tool handles or anything that will be handled frequently in use, I sand to maybe 220 grit, 1 coat of 1# cut amber shellac applied with a rag, synthetic steel wool pad to knock down dust and scuff surface, several coats of 2# cut amber shellac (padding in-between), then a coat of renaissance wax with a rag (for good polish, fingerprint resistance, and grip).

I start most of my finishing processes with shellac these days as a pseudo pore filler, wood stabilizer, and grain popper. Thanks to this I usually have a few random fingernails shiny for several days after… man nail polish, I guess.

For higher durability, sometimes I’ll put a few coats of waterlox or thinned spar urethane on top of the shellac before waxing (applied with a rag again).

-- Allen, Colorado (Instagram @bobasaurus_woodworking)

Shellac isn’t a finish I’d use on its own unless it’s on a shop project and I just want to seal things up.
I use it under my clear coats because as a waterborne finish, it doesn’t do much to add to the character of the wood.
Sealcoat (dewaxed shellac) works great for that, and can be tinted with transtint for different coloring effects.

Why Clint’s vendetta against shellac, I have no idea, but to each his own. It works for me. :-)

-- He who dies with the most tools... dies with the emptiest wallet.

All my projects (so far) have been made from pine or poplar. (just can’t afford the “good stuff”). I tend to keep it simple. couldn’t post a pic but you can see my projects on my page.
Sand to either 220 or 320 depending on the project, (usually 220).
wipe and vacume entire project for dust.
Stain with a rag or foam brush, let stand for about 5-7 minuets, wipe off and allow to dry 24 hours.
Again clear dust and apply polyurethane with a GOOD foam brush. Allow to dry 24 hours between coats.
buff lightly with a very fine sanding sponge and again do dust removal. I use 2-3 coats of polyurethane repeating the process each time keeping the poly as thin as possible. Thanks for starting this blog. I too hope to learn something new. I see others projects and I marvel at their finishes.

-- We all make mistakes, the trick is to fix it in a way that says "I meant to do that".

Bobasaurus, I spray my lacquer through a cheap, but effective Harbor Freight HVLP gun that only cost me 15$.

Jeff, you do great work considering the materials used. A feel the people who can make the bad materials look good can make the expensive materials look amazing.

Scootles, thanks for the compliment. I hope to someday use some higher grade wood. But for now I make the most out of what I can use. My wife really likes purple heart, I may have to splurge and make a jewelry box for her with it.

-- We all make mistakes, the trick is to fix it in a way that says "I meant to do that".

Among the 49 projects that I’ve posted, a variety of finishes are represented….tung oil, alkyd oil enamel, latex, acrylic, oil poly, waterborne poly, auto lacquer, solvent NC lacquer, and CAB acrylic lacquer.

The choice of finish to use depends on several factors….the intended disposition of the project, durability, appearance, ease of application, and compatibility.

What I will not use is BLO, as it has absolutely no redeeming value in a finishing schedule. Nor will I use shellac, as whatever positive qualities it has can achieved with a different product without shellac’s shortcomings.

Read my blog for further thoughts based on experience.

-- Clint Searl....Ya can no more do what ya don't know how than ya can git back from where ya ain't been

Clint, I’m sorry and I will risk a warning/ban for this. You’re an idiot and a troll. I asked for people to post their favorite finishing techniques. not to insult others on theirs.

You did not post any pictures of your favorite, with a technique on how to achieve your favorite.

I create samples of all my finishes on 3”x3” tiles before using that technique on the actual project. All tiles are cut from the stock that is used for that project. I recently did 10 tiles using Black Walnut and various techniques involving BLO, Shellac, Tung Oil, waxes and lacquer. All the tiles were from the same board right down the line. I laid them out for my girlfriend to see. and told her to order them from most favorite, to least favorite. She knew nothing of the techniques used on each sample. I simply had numbers on the back that corresponded to a notepad with written steps to achieve each finish.

Her first 4 choices had BLO on them. The other 6 did not have BLO on them. She even chose the tile that simply had BLO and Johnsons Paste Wax before others. I asked her why, and she said the grain seemed more vibrant. BLO no its own is NOT a ‘finish’. I never said it was. However it fits into my finishes quite well. I tend to use it on almost everything I can get my hands on. If you do not, that is absolutely fine. POST YOUR FAVORITE YOU IDIOT.

...You are an idiot and a troll. I asked for people to post their favorite finishing techniques. not to insult others on theirs…

... POST YOUR FAVORITE YOU IDIOT.

Hear, Hear!

-- Art

I don’t know if I have a favorite but I have some I’ll share.

Here’s a before pic of a tool chest I made using mahogany.

And here is the after.

Sanded to 320 with two coats of Watco’s Teak Oil. End grain received 4 or 5 coats until a uniform appearance was achieved. Let it cure for 10 days and then applied several coats of Renaissance Wax.

Since this is a tool chest, it will get banged up so I wanted something that would be easy to repair.

-- "The only limits to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." - FDR

Scootles, just looked at your projects and would really like to read in more detail how you painted the office cabinets.

-- "The only limits to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today." - FDR

Scootles, just looked at your projects and would really like to read in more detail how you painted the office cabinets.

- CL810

It was sprayed via HVLP with thinned Sherwin Williams emerald acrylic latex paint. That was for the green and gold. You can’t tell from the pictures but there is a very deep brown that was flecked throughout the gold and green by dipping the paintbrush in the brown, and I ran a finger through the bristles to splatter it on the gold/green. I finished it off with a satin coat of Deft, via HVLP and then briwax was rubbed in with steel wool and buffed out with a cotton cloth.

Let me know if you need any other details.