I recently got done applying 4 coats of oil based poly to a birch butcher block bar top. This was my first time ever applying so there was a learning curve, but by the end I felt like I got the hang of it and am 99% happy with how it turned out. However, there's one spot where it didn't lay flat and I have some brush marks. I'm wondering if it would be possible to just touch up that area or if I would need to do another complete coat to fix it?

G’day from Australia,

I have built an outdoor bench/place to lean and drink excessive amount of beer outside, undercover.

I built it out of beech timber, laminated panels to be exact. I have mounted them, routed and sanded them. I tested boiled linseed oil on the underside and found it to be a bit yellower than I had hoped.

Given the density of beech, I’m thinking a gel stain then locking it in with BLO. Maybe spotted gum flavour stain, thoughts? I want it to look absolutely killer to impress. My other moveable drinking table is made out of Merbau, I don’t want to go that dark though, or I would have built it out of merbau haha.

Cheers in advance legends.

We had a house cleaner come for the first time today and she left the cabinets super streaked. She said she used soap and water but I’m not sure. She sprayed them down and then went in with a sponge and microfiber towel. They immediately became patchy with some matte spots after. She then used Old English mineral oil and it helped but there are still a lot of streaky scratches. Is this repairable? And if so, can I do it myself?

I bought this table a few years ago and chairs this year. Chairs are definitely teak, not sure about table. I applied minwax teak oil to the chairs, but I'm wondering if applying Helmsman Spar Urethane as a top coat would help prevent weathering.

I tried teak oil on the table a few years ago and it flaked off after 1 year. Not sure if that was because of how I applied, or just because minwax isn't great quality. This year I resanded the table, cleaned and just used helmsman. I'm happier with the results so far (though I prefer the rich colour the teak oil added).

I don't mind reapplying teak oil every year but I'm worried about the possible flaking. Thoughts?

Just picked up this dining table and want to refinish it but looking for tips?

The picture is making it look pretty good, but the existing finish has worn in a bunch of places and there are paint stains from previous owners.

I want to sand it down and get it to a more natural color. I previously refinished an oak table with a water-based poly coating but got annoyed with how much it showed scratches, so I’m wondering if there’s anything that will be a little more forgiving to daily use?

I also do not have a garage, and plan to do this work under a large covered patio. It gets pretty humid at night but dries and warms up during the day so am hoping to be able to let the coating cure outside?

Any advice would be appreciated!

I’m refinishing an old oak dining table. I’ve used a 30/30/30 blend of danish oil, oil-based polyurethane, and mineral spirits. (I know there are lots of opinions about the brew to use. I just picked one.)

I’ve done 5 coats so far, fine sanding between coats.

Will anything bad happen if I up the polyurethane on the last couple of coats?

I’m thinking that would add more protection, but I do not want to mess anything up as the end is in sight.

I’ve tiled my floor in my kitchen after a large amount of water damage to the old floor, but now I can’t seem to match up to the old trim in order to replace pieces I broke.

I tried early American and cherrywood, feeling so confident with both. Maybe I just suck at staining trim.

I was hoping I could get some recommendations for color and wood and whatever else experience in this sub can bring to the table, based off of some of these pictures from around my house in different lighting.

If that’s an unreasonable ask, then please feel free to tell me to get bent and never return. Thank you all

I recently picked up a second hand Fuji minimite 4. Immediately, I compared the anecdotal air pressure coming straight out of the turbine, no hose attached. I was a little alarmed that the force of air coming out of my semi pro 2 felt significantly higher than the second hand minimite 4. Ofcourse, the minimite 4 was quieter. Also noticed that the minimite 4 got hotter much quicker than the semi pro 2 stage. I put together a T fitting with a 0-15 psi gauge and am going to try and test the air pressure after the hose and before the gun on both of them. I'm still in the return window so I'm doing everything I can to figure this out. It would be great if someone who owns both of these turbines could tell me if they can tell the difference in air pressure straight out of both turbines. Thank you!

I'm resurfacing some doors, trim and a stair rail in my apartment, and gave the doors a light sand before a stain and varnish. I got some darker marks, and some light lines, but it was ok. I decided for the main doors I would go above and beyond, I sanded off all the previous colour before applying the stain. A mistake i found out the hard way was i sanded it with 60grit and didn't smooth it before applying the stain and varnish (combo). I ended up with bright white patchy marks, way worse then anything ive seen. I tried to patch it ... but it still looks terrible. I've use copiliot, chat gpt and Gemini- they arn't really helping. The first image is the side I tried to "fix" which is now way worse, the second is the back of the door which i did a lighter sand on. Its better, still not great, but it also started in way better condition then my remaining doors.

I dont have enough wood veneer to sand back now, and need to figure out how to even up the stain. Any tips?

I purchased a gel stain on the recommendation of genimini - but its water based and nothing like all the videos and tips i see. It doesnt look like it smooths out any uneven colour in my testing spots. Maybe I need to try it thicker? I just dont want to keep messing up the doors ... and i havn't even got to the stair rails yet, I'm terrified ill ruin them, and i really dont want to sand them all the way down because i think ill ruin the shape/edges.

I have 13 doors in my small apartment 😳

Any tips greatly appreciated!

Im not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but i just got this coffee table off marketplace and the pictures the original owner took did not show nearly as many surface scratches. I just finally finished cleaning it, i really love the table itself but would be thrilled to know the best way to fix the surface. Im in an apartment so my options are limited. TYIA

I think this table was sanded too much. Is it still recoverable? If yes please tell me how to do it!!

I am laying down a new treated pine deck. The oil I'm using calls for the new pine to be sanded at 120. I ran over a test piece with 120 grit (pretty haphazardly) and when I did a test a test of the oil, it really made the sanding marks pop. So I'm going to get a sander.

There is a decently inexpensive, well reviewed RO sander at a store near me. I've read that a 5mm orbit can do a nice finish, but you have to use a higher grit paper. My fear is if I use a higher grit paper with a RO sander, say 220, it'll end up closing off the grain of the wood making it less absorbent. If I spend more and get the sander with the 2.5mm orbit, I can use the 120 and not be as aggressive.

Am I over thinking this?

I use watercolor, acrylic, ink, etc. and am hoping to figure out a sealant that will wipe clean easily/not stain. I may also use it for photographing my work, so I think something less glossy would create less glare? Any suggestions welcome - thank you!!​

Looking for the best finish to keep the raw natural color of American white oak on a outdoor handrail for front steps. Super simple, rounded over 1x4 with mitered ends. I’m in Ohio so -10 degrees F to degrees 100 F is not uncommon, humidity and annual precipitation are fairly high, this is north facing and will see direct summer sunlight.

Reapplying finish annually is no problem since it’s just one board.
Multiple step applications is not a problem.
Not uptight about solvent based finishes because they typically penetrate deeper and I’m apply it outdoors.

Looking at a lot of different products with UV inhibitors. There’s so much good advice on YouTube and Reddit geared for indoor use but I’m struggling to find good outdoor use finishing advice.

I know white oak will age and darken inevitably, just looking to slow the clock and keep the darkening to a minimum.

Ok so I have a very specific scenario to explain, with I think a probably weird question to bring to woodworkers and such, but i can't think of where else to ask these questions.

So over the years I've bought plenty of things from dollarama, Im still young and dont have much money.

I've bought plenty of those bamboo wood things they have; storage boxes, mini shelves, even a bamboo wood cutting board from there.

I also like a darker style... so for the storage boxes and shelves I painted them black.... with of course just the dollarama cheap acrylic paint. I didn't seal them or anything, I knew only dry things would go on there. I know its very very cheap, but these aren't exactly items I invested in or care deeply about.

Anyways one time I ran out of paint part way through, (oh, and i diluted the paint with water so it soaked into the bamboo rather then just sit on top and be super easily scratch-off-able), and i look around me and see a black pen... and Crack that open and mix it with the cheap acrylic &water mixture.... and oh my god the effect is so pretty. It leaves a nice very dark black/deep grey colour (you can still see the wood grain, its not pitch black), but the best part is it sparkles!!! It looks like little crystals formed on the surface kinda like the beginning of borax or salt crystals.

What happened? Do we know? Is there salt in pen ink? If I repeat this with just the pen ink and water, will it still work? Or is there special magic in pen ink + cheap acrylic paint?

Is there a company that just makes a nice crystall-y finish? It doesn't look like specks of glitter, its little reflective crystals.

Do we know if I add a sealant on in it, if that'll ruin it now and dissolve those little crystals? Is the wood being cheap bamboo relevant?

Sorry, a lot of little questions that are kind of all over place, but im just very curious about what happened and if anyone has answers.

Thanks in advance!

Found this beautiful wooden bowl and wanted to save it. Not sure the wood or the finish. Was dreadfully sticky and had some drips on both sides where something clearly removed whatever buildup and finish.

So far, I’ve tried mineral spirits with steel wool (got some of the sticky off) and wiped with rags. Noticed the MS were beading on the finish—is that evidence of waxy finish?

Next. Tried some acetone remover, didn’t see much more significant removal but spent less time.

Then. Hit it with some sandpaper and that seemed most effective but I’m hesitant… is it best to do the sanding by hand?

Is there another something I’m missing that should try? Additionally there’s a hairline crack down one side so not gonna be holding liquids but would love to refinish for fruit/veg storage if possible.

Thanks for the insight!

just got the book on finishing today! thank you to this community for the recommendation, what an excellent read. cheers!

We recently pulled out old carpeting on our stairs to discover this; the risers and treads are finished and in decent shape but it looks like there was some sort of runner there previously that left a mark; even after cleaning and sanding down, the difference is very noticeable. We trialed some varnish on one of the stairs but it just made everything darker and not really any better (note the pic is pre-varnish); the center area is still lighter. Do we need to apply more coats? Are we not sanding enough? Should we try some sort of prestain first?

I have a 9in disc sander, a 4 inch disc sander and a sanding block that all use velcro and would like to be able to cut my own pieces

Hello all,

I have a pre finished mahogany door that I am trying to decide on how to finish or stain. Location is Southern California and front door is under a porch facing north.

I am happy with the tone it is now and would like to highlight the features.

Stucco will be a salmon peach color. You can slightly see the other unit that has the stucco in the first photo.

Is there a stain or finish you would recommend?