A year ago the title of this thread could easily have been “why I hate finishing”. Like a great number of other woodworkers out there, I think it is fair to say that I really dreaded the finish phase of any project. Not only am I naturally impatient, I also get a degree of fatigue at the end of a project, a sense that I’ve been at it for some time and I want to get it done with and move on. Finishing can be complex as well, dependent on environmental conditions, and problems can be equally complex to rectify. It’s difficult to maintain clean conditions for finishing in most shops, and the space required for dedicated finishing booths can be prohibitive.
It occurred to me one day that my dislike for finishing was irrational, not only can the finish of a piece can make or break it, and a finish is likely to get the most attention from admirers and critics alike. So I made it my mission to conquer my distaste for finishing, or just resign myself to the strategy of sending work out for professional finishing.
I started by narrowing down my focus because the spectrum of finishes available to woodworkers today is staggering. For my work, I decided to stick with the water and solvent-based lacquer family (which is quite large by itself), shellacs (a favorite of mine), and some wipe-on varnishes. When I got to the point of comfortably proficient with these products I expanded to include tinting, and lately I have expanded to colored enamels for some MDF work I’ve been doing. On a side note, I really want to cut down on the vapors and waste products of solvents and have been gradually moving over to water-based products, however I started out with solvent-based lacquers because they seem to be more forgiving… my experience has evolved to the point that I don’t see much difference in performance or ease of application from water or solvent based lacquers, so I am now 90% water-based and moving to 100%.
Next up was equipment and organization. I started by contacting Jeff Jewitt at Homestead Finishing to get setup with a good gun, I opted for an Asturo Eco/S gravity gun setup, and while I was at it I replaced some of my old air lines and installed a quality inline water filter, along with a regulator on the gun itself. I cleaned out a corner of my shop where I could setup some storage cabinets just for finishing supplies, everything from abrasives to a supply of finishes “in stock”. I also fabricated a portable spray booth using 4×8 pieces of foil backed rigid insulation, an exhaust fan, and a rack for parts, and upgraded my lighting. For safety, I tuned up my air cleaner and invested in a good fitting respirator.
Over the last year I have read pretty much everything I could find on finishing, and most importantly, practiced and experimented continuously. Shooting finishes with the gun itself was a pretty straightforward learning curve, beginning with learning to use the viscosity cup to thin out the finish properly, and learning technique through simply doing it. I paid attention to temperature and air pressure, kept a small notebook where I could record my data, nothing more extensive than some simple notes about what I did and the results I got. I also practiced the finishing part of finishing, wetsanding and rubbing out the final product.
The most important skill I picked up over the year was patience. It’s really easy to cut corners and push the finishing phase, the results pretty much never turn out as good as they could. So I just got disciplined about it, taking my time between finish coats, not handling parts before they were ready, and letting the finish cure before sanding it down and rubbing it out. All-in-all, patience has resulted in more success and less occupational cursing than anything else I did.
Where I am today is that I actually look forward to the finishing phase of a project. I can approach a work piece with the confidence that the finsh will be predictable in both process and result. I have made a lot of progress in understanding the great variety of finishing products available, and more importantly, where they are appropriate. I know what I will need to do to achieve a uniform finish without bloches and streaks, and how to stain wood and tint finishes. There is still far more that I don’t know, but I’m comfortable in the notion that this aspect of woodworking is a lifelong education so I keep at my studies by reading and practicing before doing it on work pieces that count.
Replies
Jeff,
In my opinion finishing is the most importaint step in a project. I have seen many well designed and made pieces using excellent lumber that looked cheep due to the finish. However you can go to a decient furniture store and find mediocre cunstruction and really poor lumber that looks great because to finish is nice. Lumber selection is number two then design and construction. I suspect your feelings (both before and now) are common. Once you get a hold on the finishing process it allows your work to excell.
Mike
I am a professional carpenter by trade and amateur woodworker so I am usually over at Breaktime but cruise on over here from time to time. The people here are very different. There definately is much more of a community at Breaktime with more interest taken on the threads and the personalities of the posters. That being said however Breaktime posters can tend to get a little too close at times and things can get very heated. The egos are bigger there than here, or at least more flamboyant and the conversations can tend to lean towards a lower common denominator after the first 50 or so posts. The Woodshed Tavern is very political and tends to draw a lot of yahoos and riff raff which can be fun at times and quite the opposite at other times. This a much more quiet, conservative forum, very serious about your craft which is a good thing. The people here tend to be more on guard about their work and careful, much as a good woodworker is about their craft and final product. Woodworking is a much more careful, cerebral trade. The careful quality does not lend itself so readily to a tight knit community, especially in a world wide forum that anyone can join in on. I haven't been a member that long so I'm sure things were different in the beginning, as they were over at Breaktime, and there are always those pining for the good old days. I like this place. Breaktime suits me better, but I come in here for good sources of information, not so much to kick back and relax. Breaktime is a bar with a pool table, jukebox and easy domestic beer. Knots is more the gentlemen's club with cigars and leather bound reading chairs.
The Breaktime forum can get pretty heated at times, it must be all the Canadians! :)
Seriously, I really admire professional and dedicated carpenters because you continually impress me with the innovative solutions to problems you encounter on a daily basis. Woodworkers seem to take some measure of pride in the beauty and elegance of the jigs and fixtures they make and their problem solving, but carpenters value the utility and I respect that a lot. I think carpentry is also a cerebral task, and it's been my experience that if you don't pay attention to detail you will end up paying the price for that at some point.
As you know better than I, carpentry requires that you produce at a fast pace with consistent quality, and that ain't easy by any measure. Most woodworkers I know wouldn't cut it a day on a jobsite as part of a crew, but by the same measure, the opposite would be true as well so I guess in the end it's not fair to compare one to the other.
Thanks for your reply. I don't know how my post got onto this particular thread....it has nothing to do with finishing. Obviously I thought I was on another thread. Anyhow, thanks for the kind words. Woodworking will be my profession/hobby towards the retirement years. After 27 years and at 50 you start to feel the body rebel against the rigors of a trade such as carpentry.
Glad to hear that you've reached this level of confidence and expertise! A lot of people approach finishing as an afterthought and this leads to apprehension and anxiety. I admit that I still feel a little dread when approaching the finishing phase. I think having a dedicated finishing area in the shop would help. Just having a separate area to complete the project and not worry about getting spray on everything and dust getting on the finish would help a lot.
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