The Complete Guide to Wood Finishing: From Preparation to Perfection

After 25 years of finishing furniture, I’ve tried just about every product and technique out there. This guide covers everything I’ve learned about making your projects look their absolute best.

Understanding Wood Finishes

Before you pick up a brush, you need to understand what finishes actually do. They serve three purposes: protection, enhancement, and durability. The best finish for your project depends on which of these matters most.

Protection means keeping moisture, dirt, and wear from damaging the wood. A dining table needs serious protection. A decorative box might not need much at all.

Enhancement means bringing out the beauty of the wood grain. Some finishes pop the grain dramatically. Others barely change the appearance. Neither is wrong – it depends on what you want.

Durability is about longevity. Some finishes need reapplication yearly. Others will last decades with minimal care. Consider how much maintenance you’re willing to do.

The Major Finish Categories

Penetrating Oils

These soak into the wood rather than sitting on top. Think Danish oil, tung oil, and boiled linseed oil. They’re easy to apply, forgiving of mistakes, and create a natural look.

Pros: Easy application, repairable, no brush marks, enhances grain beautifully. You can touch up worn spots without refinishing the whole piece.

Cons: Limited protection, needs periodic reapplication, can take days to fully cure. Not ideal for surfaces that see heavy use or moisture.

Best for: Furniture that won’t see heavy wear, pieces where you want a natural look, projects where repairability matters.

Film Finishes

These create a protective layer on top of the wood. Lacquer, varnish, polyurethane, and shellac all fall into this category. They offer more protection but require more skill to apply.

Pros: Excellent protection, durability, can build to high gloss. Many sheens available from dead flat to mirror shine.

Cons: Harder to apply evenly, shows brush marks if you’re not careful, can’t easily repair – often need to refinish entire surface.

Best for: Tables, chairs, anything seeing daily use. Kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, high-traffic furniture.

Wax Finishes

The oldest finish known to woodworkers. Paste wax creates a soft sheen and silky feel. Often used over other finishes as a final step.

Pros: Easy to apply, creates beautiful soft luster, smells great, completely non-toxic when cured.

Cons: Minimal protection, needs frequent reapplication, can build up in corners. Not suitable as a standalone finish for functional pieces.

Best for: Antiques, pieces that already have a finish, situations where you want a maintenance-friendly topcoat.

Surface Preparation: The Secret to Great Finishes

Here’s what separates amateur finishes from professional ones: preparation. I spend more time preparing surfaces than actually applying finish. It shows in the results.

Sanding Sequence

Start coarse, end fine. But the exact grits depend on your finish choice and wood species.

For penetrating oils, I typically go 80-120-180-220. Going finer than 220 actually reduces oil penetration and can leave the surface looking washed out.

For film finishes, I go 80-120-180-220-320. That 320 grit gives a smoother foundation for the film to bond to.

For open-pore woods like oak or ash, consider stopping at 180. The finish will fill those pores better if they’re not burnished closed.

Raising the Grain

Water-based finishes will raise the grain no matter how smooth you sand. Get ahead of this problem.

Wipe the sanded surface with a damp rag. Let it dry completely – usually 2-4 hours minimum. The grain will feel rough again. Now sand lightly with your final grit. The grain won’t raise nearly as much when you apply finish.

For oil-based finishes, this step is optional but still helpful. It gives you a smoother final result.

Dealing with Defects

Now is the time to address any problems. Dents can often be raised with a wet rag and a hot iron – the steam swells the compressed wood fibers. Small cracks can be filled with wood putty or a mixture of sanding dust and CA glue.

Be honest about what you see. Any defect visible now will be more visible after finishing. The finish acts like a magnifying glass for problems.

Applying Penetrating Oil Finishes

My go-to for most furniture is Danish oil. Here’s my process refined over decades.

First Coat

Flood the surface. I mean really soak it. Apply with a brush, rag, or foam pad – whatever works. The wood should look wet everywhere.

Wait 15-20 minutes. The oil will soak in and you’ll see dry spots appear. Apply more oil to those spots. Wait another 10 minutes.

Now wipe off ALL the excess. Every bit of it. Oil left on the surface will dry gummy. Use clean rags and keep wiping until no more oil comes off.

Subsequent Coats

Wait 24 hours minimum between coats. In humid weather, wait 48 hours. The oil needs time to cure.

Apply the second coat the same way, but you’ll notice it soaks in less. That’s normal. The pores are filling up.

Most projects need 3-4 coats for good protection. Some dense woods like maple might only need 2. Porous woods like oak might want 5-6.

The Wet Sanding Trick

For an incredibly smooth final surface, wet sand the last coat. Apply oil, then sand with 400 or 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper while the surface is still wet. The slurry fills tiny pores and creates a glassy smooth feel.

Wipe away the slurry and excess oil. The result feels like nothing else.

Applying Polyurethane

Oil-based polyurethane remains the most durable finish available to home woodworkers. Here’s how to get professional results.

Environment Matters

Temperature between 60-80°F is ideal. Humidity below 50% if possible. Work in a dust-free area or you’ll be picking nibs out of your finish.

I keep a dedicated finishing space in my shop. Before finishing, I spray water on the floor to knock down dust. Then I wait 30 minutes before applying any finish.

Thinning for First Coat

Thin your first coat 50/50 with mineral spirits. This sanding sealer penetrates better than full-strength poly and gives subsequent coats something to grip.

Apply with a good quality brush or wipe on with a rag. Thin coats are better than thick. Sand lightly with 320 grit when dry.

Building Coats

Second and subsequent coats can be full strength or thinned slightly (25% mineral spirits). Apply thin, even coats. Watch for runs and drips – they’re hard to fix later.

Sand between coats with 320-400 grit. Not to remove finish, just to smooth it and give the next coat something to grip. Wipe away all dust before the next coat.

Three to four coats provides good protection for most furniture. Tables and other high-wear pieces might want five or six coats.

Rubbing Out

For the ultimate smooth finish, rub out the final coat after it cures for a week or more.

Start with 400 grit wet/dry paper used wet with soapy water. Progress through 600, 800, 1000, and 1500 grits. Then buff with automotive rubbing compound followed by polish.

The result is a finish you can see your face in, smooth as glass, without any of the plastic-looking glossiness of straight-from-the-can poly.

Shellac: The Underrated Finish

Shellac doesn’t get enough love anymore. It’s fast-drying, beautiful, and has been protecting furniture for centuries.

Understanding Cuts

Shellac is sold in “pound cuts” – the pounds of shellac flakes dissolved per gallon of alcohol. A 2-pound cut is good for most finishing. A 1-pound cut works better for French polishing.

You can buy pre-mixed shellac or dissolve flakes yourself in denatured alcohol. Fresh shellac works better than stuff that’s been sitting on the shelf for months.

Application

Brush shellac quickly – it dries fast and doesn’t tolerate overworking. Lay it on and leave it alone. Runs can be sanded smooth between coats.

Drying time is about 30 minutes in warm, dry conditions. You can build multiple coats in a single day, which is a huge advantage over other finishes.

Shellac is also an excellent sealer under other finishes. A coat of shellac prevents knots from bleeding through, seals oily woods, and provides a known foundation for topcoats.

Coloring Wood: Stains and Dyes

Sometimes the natural color isn’t quite what you want. Here’s how to change it.

Oil-Based Stains

The most forgiving option. Apply with a rag, wait 5-15 minutes, wipe off the excess. Longer wait = darker color. These are pigment-based, so they’ll slightly obscure the grain.

Good for hiding mismatched woods or evening out color variation. Not great for figured woods where you want the grain to pop.

Gel Stains

Thicker than regular stains, so they don’t run on vertical surfaces. Also good for blotch-prone woods like cherry and pine. The thick consistency helps even out color absorption.

Dyes

Water or alcohol-soluble dyes penetrate deeper than pigment stains. They enhance rather than obscure the grain. Stunning results on figured woods.

Harder to apply evenly. Water-based dyes raise the grain. Alcohol-based dyes dry so fast they can lap and streak. Practice on scrap first.

The Blotch Problem

Some woods – pine, cherry, maple, birch – absorb stain unevenly. You end up with dark blotches in soft spots.

Solutions: Use a pre-stain conditioner. Try gel stain instead. Use a dye instead of a pigment stain. Or embrace the variation as character.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

Brush Marks

Thin your finish more. Use a better brush. Apply thinner coats. Make sure temperature is in the right range. Some brush marks will flow out – don’t keep brushing trying to fix them.

Orange Peel Texture

Usually means the finish is too thick or the environment too cold. Thin the finish. Warm the room. Apply lighter coats.

Fisheyes

Circular craters in the finish indicate contamination – usually silicone from furniture polish. Clean thoroughly with naphtha. Add fisheye eliminator to your finish. In bad cases, seal with shellac first.

White Rings

Moisture trapped in the finish. On shellac, you can often repair by applying more shellac or rubbing with alcohol. On lacquer, use lacquer thinner. On oil finishes, the whole area may need refinishing.

Runs and Drips

Let them cure completely, then sand smooth. Trying to fix wet runs makes things worse. Prevention: Apply thinner coats, especially on vertical surfaces.

My Finish Recommendations by Project

After all these years, here’s what I reach for:

Dining tables: Oil-based polyurethane, 4-5 coats, rubbed out for smoothness

Coffee tables: Same as dining tables – they get just as much abuse

Bookshelves: Danish oil, 3 coats – easy to apply and touch up

Jewelry boxes: Shellac French polish for the ultimate in elegance

Outdoor furniture: Marine spar varnish or exterior poly – the UV blockers are essential

Cutting boards: Food-safe mineral oil, reapply monthly

Chairs: Lacquer if you have spray equipment, otherwise oil-based poly

Figured woods: Dye stain followed by Danish oil to really make the figure pop

Final Thoughts

Finishing is where good woodwork becomes great woodwork. Take your time, prepare thoroughly, and don’t skip steps. The effort shows in the final piece.

Practice on scrap before committing to your project. Every wood species takes finish differently. Better to learn on scraps than discover problems on your finished piece.

And remember – you can always add more finish, but removing it is a pain. When in doubt, go light and add another coat.

Questions about finishing your specific project? Leave a comment below and I’ll help you figure out the best approach.