Never stained or sealed wood before and know practically nothing about wood, specifically, but I'm generally comfortable with tools.

I have a 32" x 80" x 1" piece of Canadian birch plywood getting delivered next week. I've got sand paper in a variety of grits but I'm getting tangled up trying to understand staining and sealing.

First, how do you pick what color you'll stain something? This piece will be my desk top on a silver metal standing-desk frame.

Second, can you comfortably stain wood in an apartment, or is this a outdoors/garage-only project? The same question goes for sealing it, because I do know polyurethane goes nuts with fumes and I'm really trying my best to not disturb others in the building with this project.

Third, once I'm actually at finishing and sealing, do you do just the top? Top and sides? Top sides and bottom? I'm assuming all but the bottom because who cares about the underside, except for drilling into.

I'm trying to get a bead on everything I'll need to do, in what order, and how so that I can make myself a nice solid list and limit how turned around I keep getting.

Really appreciate any advice and suggestions!

I just bought a pre-stained butcher block from Lowe’s and need some help on how I should go about sealing it. I have some wood working experience but no experience with any sealants or finishing in general. I’m looking for something that’ll be durable and hopefully easy to apply without messing it up. I’m happy to take as long on it as needed. Thanks!

I just used Rubio monocoat for the first time (and I don’t think I’m ever going back to anything else). Is there any benefit to finishing it off with something like a furniture wax polish or a maintenance oil. I know the maintenance oil is (obviously) for maintenance, but I think I like the slight shine it gives the surface.

I’m finishing a butcher block and this is my first time finishing anything. I’ve carefully followed all instructions and despite triple checking there was no stain excess… it looks like there was a few extra drops? I tried to tell myself it could be the wood, but there’s no way.

Now I’m wondering, do I just move on or is there anything I can do about this? would it be possible to sand down just this one area and re-condition, and re-stain, or would I have to do it all over again?

Any help is appreciated!

How do you whitewash an open-pore wood like teak without leaving white streaks in the pores?

I'm using General Finishes whitewash.

I tried bleaching the wood with a diy two part (lye with 12% hydrogen peroxide [couldn't find stronger concentration]), but it left the teak looking purple instead of just lighter.

I applied Osmo Polyx Oil thinly with a cloth, in three layers, to finish a two-component epoxy tabletop. In shaded indoor conditions, the surface showed no issues. However, after exposing it to strong natural sunlight for three hours (through a glass wall in a photo studio during the brightest part of the day), I noticed that the surface became extremely prone to scratches.

Even light pressure from a fingertip (not a fingernail) caused visible scratches, seemingly due to frictional heat. The issue persisted even after the surface had cooled down.

To investigate, I tried replicating the effect on other samples finished with the same process by applying heat using a heat gun and heat box (to simulate solar heat). Surprisingly, no scratches occurred under these conditions. This leads me to suspect that strong natural UV exposure might be the cause.

For context, the product I used was purchased about three years ago and stored carefully in an airtight container.

I’d appreciate any insights or similar experiences with this issue.

I don't know if I can link it here, but lots of brands have naming that goes like: BrandName +

- Waterborne Woodsman Penetrating Oil Stain << the sneakiest one

- Water based linseed oil stain

- Exterior Oil Stain Water Based

- Exterior Oil Stain Solvent Based (is this really oil based?!)

Some are better, others are worse. The description can sometimes be even more confusing. I don't know they are doing this. Most of them sell both variants like the last two examples in the list, and I do not see the benefit of them causing massive confusion..

This is a picture ofa savage Lee Enfield no4 mk1. The only info can find online says that savage used walnut and birch for their stocks but this doesn't look like either to me although I'm not that familiar with birch and how it would look with different types of finishes. So if anyone can identify this wood and/or finish used it would be greatly appreciated as I am wanting to find a rifle that looks like this one, thanks!

I have a natural rough cedar ceiling that's unfinished but darkened from aging. We had a painting accident that led to paint being spattered on the cedar (ugh!) I have been carefully scraping off the paint and using a 60 grit where necessary to get off remaining paint, but now I have all these lighter blotches. Is there anything I can do to match the colors again? Please and thank you for your help!

I’m in the process of refinishing about 20 pieces of furniture to go into a lakehouse. Most of it is from the 50’s and 60’s, and the stuff that isn’t is being made to look like it is from the 50’s and 60’s. I’m enjoying it, but it’s a lot, and I have a deadline, so I’m trying to save time where I can.

This is a nightstand from the late 60’s. The rest of the piece was fine, or close enough to fine that it didn’t warrant a complete refinish.

It’s a veneer, but it looked to be about 1/8th of an inch thick, so I palm sanded and applied “Dark Walnut” WATCO Danish Oil hoping to sort of match the color of the rest of the piece. I was pleasantly surprised how close it got.

This pic was taken 15 minutes after I started. I did end up applying a few more coats of the Danish Oil, which I understand has hardeners in it, but it didn’t darken much.

My point? I don’t have one. It’s just that half of these projects have turned into furniture repair jobs so it was nice to encounter an easy one.

I've heard folks say that if you paste wax (say, over Osmo PolyX) then you are "locked in" -- what are the drawbacks? Does that just mean you can't easily apply a new hardwax or oil without stripping it down? Or are people implying that you then have to re-apply paste wax periodically (and would that not be true if you hadn't applied it in the first place?)

I'm writing up some care/maintenance text for customers and while I haven't put paste wax on my Osmo or Rubio monocoat pieces, I am going to mention this low-VOC paste wax as something they /could/ do if they want: https://www.greenbuildingsupply.com/All-Products/Paints-Coatings-Wood-Stains-Sealers/Bioshield-Floor-and-Furniture-Hardwax

I like how wood ages and gets stained and such, so I'm encouraging customers to embrace graceful aging rather than try to keep a museum-quality finish. And many customers simply won't maintain pieces, that's natural and I think it's OK as long as they don't use a box cutter on them. But I want to think about the long-term implications of suggesting a paste wax. What exactly are the different considerations? Thank you.

Update: for context, I make tables from fir, hemlock, pine, tamarack

I am about to finish a 6ft birch butcher block for a desk. As I have been researching how to finish one of these, I’ve been very interested and hope this is the start to many projects.

I just want to confirm my instructions with the professionals before turning this into a total disaster.

Here’s my process I’m going to follow:

1. Start with 120-grit, then 220-grit sandpaper, sanding with the grain. Clean the surface with a tack cloth.
2. Apply stain with a staining pad • Wipe off excess after 10 minutes. • Let it dry for 24 hours. • Sand with 220-grit before continuing
3. Apply Polyurethane: • Use a foam brush to apply thin, even coats with the grain. • Wait 4–6 hours between coats (I’m using a water-based polyurethane). • Sand with 220-grit between coats and clean off dust.
4. Repeat this 2 more times (3 total). Allow the final coat to cure for 24 before use.

Since I have to do 2 sides, I plan on waiting 4 hours after the one side for stain before moving onto other side (then letting rest for 24 hours). For the Polyurethane, I plan on doing all 3 coats on one side and the all 3 on other rather than flipping back and forth.

Please let me know if there is anything I should adjust. Thanks in advance

Hi! I need help figuring out how to finish this butcher block for my desk. I don't really have any experience in woodworking, and I wanted to finish this (Sparrow Peak 5-ft x 30-in x 1.5-in Natural Wood Birch Butcher Block Countertop) from Lowe's. I wanted to use mineral oil, but im not too sure where to start. I know I need to sand before I start, and I purchased these, but I'm not sure if i need both for mineral oil 1. Minwax Fast-Drying Polyurethane Oil-based Clear Transparent Satin Interior Stain (1-quart)
2.Howard Clear Food-grade Mineral Interior Butcher Block Oil (12-oz). i'd really appreciate some guidance, possibly all the steps i need to take after pick up. thank you!

I've painted a guitar body in solid poly, then sprayed a clear with holographic sparkle over it (a few coats). I can feel the roughness of the sparkle coats.

The question is, do I flatten this down before spraying the next clear top coats or should i just spray enough coats to cover the roughness of the sparkly pigment? I'm worried about losing the sparkle if i sand this back.

Thanks in advance

My dad made a bed frame for my little boy but the stain smell is still really strong. It was complete 2 weeks ago and has been sitting in his shop, I thought the smell would be gone by now? How long does it usually take and do you have any tips for how to make the process quicker? Is it super toxic?

This is coffee table top sanded weathered white pine.. I want to protect top from water rings and accidents, but I don't want to darken wood or make glossy.. how should I finish the top? Please help, also I am trying to keep proces safe for kids to eat off of. Thanks for advise.. sorry about picture...no room

We recently had new internal doors fitted and we had solid oak. My partner wanted to paint them white, which I have been against because what’s the point of getting solid natural wood doors just to paint them? So we decided to keep them looking natural and went with danish oil. So far we have only done the one set of double doors downstairs. Since applying the first coat my partner is not keen on the colour (dark oak) and says it makes the wood look “old”. We have dark wood furniture and floors, so feel they fit with everything else.

What are my options now if I want to change their appearance? And what’s best. Ideally just a shade lighter.