Wood Finishing Videos

Krylon Spray Stain

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" WOW … That's the best word I can use to describe the new spray-on stain from Krylon. When I first heard of this product I was a bit skeptical, after all how could someone actually put a stain in a spray can that wouldn't clog up the nozzle. Well, someone at Krylon figured out how to do it, and it works like a charm!
I am quite familiar with Krylon products, I have used a number of them and they are all excellent. This new spray-can stain is another excellent product. The reason a spray stain is so attractive is because there are a lot of projects that are difficult (and messy) to get at with typical paint brush or wipe on stains. This new product is not only a welcome addition, it is going to replace some old standbys in my shop.
I was truly amazed at how well the product sprays on, penetrates the wood and leaves a very even coating. The can says that you can spray the stain on and leave it or you can wipe some of it off to allow the wood grain to show through. We tried both methods and both worked, but being woodworkers at heart, the wipe off method colored the wood nicely and still left the grain showing through. The other bonus is that it dries very quickly which is handy if you are going to put another clear coat on top.

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Using Wood Scrapers

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For many woodworkers today, scapers are a bit of a mystery. Many of us have heard other woodworkers extoling the virtures of scrapers and how wonderful they are. Well, we decided that it was high time to spend some time on scrapers and explain how and where to use them ... and most of all how to keep them sharp. I can tell you the absolute most useless tool you will ever have in your workshop is a dull scaper. On the flip ... a sharp scraper is irreplaceable.

Before sandpaper became popular, scapers were the item that woodworkers used to put a fine finish on their woodworking projects. In fact, scrapers were so useful and popular that there were people who circulated the woodworking shops with the sole purpose of sharpening scrapers for woodworkers. Because of the sound they made when sharpening scrapers they were called "clickers".

As it turns out, scapers are a VERY useful tool in finishing wood, and in many cases, especially with highly figured woods, particularly those with open grain, sandpaper can actually supress that three dimensional aspect of highly figured wood ... but scrapers can restore the look.

 

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The Lost Art of Fuming Wood for Color

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 We are in an age when changing or enhancing the color of wood simply means using one of the fine stains or dyes are readily available. It wasn't all that long ago that the to change or enhance the color of wood was something called Fuming. It's the same thing that mother nature uses, oxidization.
Mother nature does it naturally with oxygen, but we don't have decades to wait, so we can speed up the process with ammonia. The benefits of fuming wood is that you always get a consistent color, no need to worry about dye lots or color names on the can, and the coloring can penetrate the wood up to an eighth of an inch deep for a rich permanent coloration (not longer fuming is required for deeper wood penetration). The disadvantage is that different hues and tones are difficult to control because of differing wood types and length of fuming time and even colors withing the same woods, but we can see these with stains and dyes too.

To fume wood you only need four things, ammonia (more on this later), a plastic or glass (NOT metal) container (with a lid) for the ammonia to aerate from, and some sort of a sealed plastic tent or container in which to fume the wood.

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