Finishing Materials: The Stuff Nobody Explained to Me
When I first got into woodworking, finishing was this mysterious final step that everyone glossed over. Build the thing, then just finish it. As if that explained anything. Took me years of messy experiments to actually understand what all these products do.
So here is my attempt to explain finishing materials the way I wish someone had explained them to me – without the technical jargon that made my eyes glaze over.
The Big Categories
Paints and Coatings
The obvious ones. Paint covers the wood completely – no grain showing through. Sometimes that is what you want, especially for furniture that matches a room or for covering up less-than-perfect wood.
I painted a bookshelf white once because the wood was ugly plywood and painting was cheaper than using nice boards. Worked out fine. No shame in paint.
Within paint, you have got matte, satin, semi-gloss, and high gloss. Matte hides imperfections best but shows fingerprints. High gloss looks sharp but shows every little flaw. I usually land somewhere in the middle.
Stains
Stains change the color but let you see the wood grain. I use these when I want pine to look like walnut, or to make boring wood more interesting. They soak into the wood fibers, so you still see the texture.
There is a whole science to staining evenly that I am still figuring out. Different wood densities absorb stain differently. End grain sucks up way more than face grain. Pre-conditioning helps sometimes. It is a learning curve.
Clear Finishes
This is the big category for woodworkers. Polyurethane, lacquer, shellac, varnish, oils, waxes – all the stuff that protects wood while letting the grain show through.
Each has trade-offs between durability, appearance, ease of application, and drying time. I have tried most of them and still do not have a single favorite. Depends entirely on the project.
Wood Fillers and Putty
For when you mess up. Gaps, holes, dents – filler fixes them. Or at least hides them. I use this more than I would like to admit.
The trick is matching the color to your wood, which is harder than it sounds. I keep several shades on hand and mix when needed.
My Personal Preferences
For furniture that will see daily use – tables, chairs, desks – I lean toward water-based polyurethane. It is durable, dries relatively fast, and does not yellow over time like oil-based poly.
For things I want to feel more natural – cutting boards, tool handles, anything I will touch a lot – oil finishes are my go-to. Danish oil is probably my most-used product.
For outdoor projects, I use exterior-grade products specifically designed for weather exposure. Marine varnish for the really important stuff. Learned that lesson when a planter box I made rotted after one winter.
Application Methods
How you apply the finish matters almost as much as which finish you pick. Brushes, sprays, wipes, dips – each has its place.
Brush application is the easiest for beginners. Use quality brushes though – cheap ones shed bristles into your finish. Ask me how I know.
Spray application gives the smoothest results but requires equipment and practice. I spray lacquer now but ruined a lot of pieces learning.
Wipe-on finishes (like danish oil or wiping varnish) are the most forgiving. Hard to mess up if you wipe off the excess. Great for beginners.
The Environment Angle
This matters more to me now than it used to. A lot of traditional finishes have nasty fumes and chemicals. VOCs are real and worth avoiding when possible.
Water-based finishes are generally friendlier. Natural oils like tung and linseed are about as green as it gets. Low-VOC options exist for most product categories now.
I work in a garage with the door open anyway, but switching to lower-fume products has made finishing sessions more pleasant.
Cost vs Quality
You get what you pay for, mostly. The bargain bin polyurethane from the discount store will work, but premium products usually go on smoother and last longer.
That said, expensive does not always mean better. I have had bad experiences with some pricey boutique products that underperformed basic hardware store options.
My advice: start with mid-range products from known brands. Move up if you hit limitations, but do not assume you need the most expensive stuff right away.
Just Start Somewhere
The best way to learn finishing is to finish things. Grab some scrap wood, try different products, see what happens. You will make mistakes. Everyone does. But each project teaches you something new.
I still experiment on test pieces before finishing important projects. Twenty years in and I still learn stuff. That is part of what makes woodworking interesting.
