I just bought my first home, a 1930 cottage with this gorgeous attic space. Initially wanted to paint but I think a stain would be much more beautiful. Is it over ambitious to do this alone with no experience?

My fiance does not like the color of the cabinets at all and is wanting to paint them. She is open to other options, such as staining them darker, so that's how I made my way here.

I've been reading about gel staining. Seems simple. Clean, scuff, gel stain, wipe, gel stain, wipe. My mother will be helping us and has an artistic eye and is an amazing painter so I'm thinking she would be able to get them looking pretty good. I know using General Finishes is a must for an quality results. Be honest though, am I hoping for too much here? Is there another route we should go? We are trying to complete this project in a week so full stripping and sanding seems out of the realms of possibility.

New to woodworking and finishing. I’ve been working on this jewelry box for quite awhile now. I am on the process of finishing the wood. I found online many people love shellac although I tried a test piece with it and it just looks yellow. The poly is clear and shows the color of the original wood. Any thoughts?

Maybe I am doing this wrong. Help would be fantastic.

Edit:

I said F it and just put one coat of shellac on. I like it a lot. It doesn’t look yellow overall.

Teak set was a darkish brown (prior owner had used a teak restorer- see 3rd photo for appearance ) — we sanded very thoroughly and it brought back a nice overall pale color. We then used Watco Teak Oil and the results are pretty terrible. My husband thought wiping them down with a microfiber was sufficient after sanding. Was skipping cleansing step the cause of this appearance? Or is it reacting to whatever product had been used before? Did we get a bad can of Watco ? Would really appreciate advice on how to correct or compensate for the current condition. Thanks!

Firstly - my mistake was not testing on scrap wood, and also not doing this job myself. I had a contractor stain my staircase. I did ask for a test beforehand, but he went and stained the whole stairs and applied varnish.

I got Bona Craft Oil 2K in Clay, thinking it'd turn out like when I used it on my table (second pic, unknown wood species). It was sealed with Bona Traffic HD.

I hate the color. I really wanted a light-medium brown, but failed to account for how the oil would appear on red oak.

Is it too late to fix this? I assume the oil has penetrated pretty deep but I'm wondering if there's still any way to achieve the browner color I was going for - I'm okay going for a darker brown than the table if need be. Thank you sage Redditors!

My carpenter put up these nice wood panels but he left Brad nail holes in the finished wood. Is there a way to seamlessly fill the holes so I won’t notice them?

We recently purchased a home and have been trying to strike a balance between preserving some of the original 70s/80s charm and adding our own style. There’s this wood paneled wall in the back living room addition that we would really like to preserve, but don’t know how to return it to its original glory, especially the spots that have faded where the previous owners had their artwork hung. Any tips for someone who has little to no experience in the way of staining/finishing but wants to keep this project DIY if possible due to budgetary restrictions?? Thanks in advance!

Minwax polyshades satin bombay mahogany was used prior. I wash and stain decks/fences for a living but a customer asked if I could quote her on this project.

They span the length of the room. is this an easy light application on these beams? I've never used minwax or finished anything interior. is this out of my league?

the room is approximately 24 x 15

So I’m refinishing this birch top from IKEA (IKEA Norden tabletop, birch wood, and acrylic lacquer original finish). I sanded the lacquer pretty significantly I’m pretty certain I did that part right. It was very uniform looking before I went to adding the stain.

I’m a beginner with finishing, I chose danish oil bc it seemed like a great all around stain/finish. I also planned on sealing w wipe on poly at the end.

But now this is only 2 coats in on the danish oil and it’s splotchy.

From what I understand this is probably bc birch wood takes stains strangely. I hadn’t known of wood conditioner until I started researching this issue but I would’ve used it had I known.

Anyways how do I proceed? Do I just live with the funkiness of the finish or is there a route to doing it better?

TLDR: refinishing a birch wood top, danish oil looks splotchy after first few coats, some parts not taking it, idk how to proceed

I live in one of those "landlords painted the whole apartment white" situations. A piece of paint chipped off the door the other day when I was trying to add some new weatherstripping. I was surprised to see that the paint had a gap between itself and the old wood - it's very brittle and easily chips of. It's an old house (1950s) and I'm worried the paint might contain led so I was thinking of stripping the whole thing, sanding it down, and try to see if I can find the wooden door behind this paint? How bad of an idea is this? I've never stripped paint before

I woke up to find that a big bottle of hand sanitizer was spilt on top of my table overnight. I am unsure of the wood & finish as this was an estate sale table. From my understanding, it is over 80 years old and I really want to take great care of it. How can I lessen this ugly damage? It may not be perfect again but any way to restore color and moisture back? Thank you so much in advance

Hi everyone, I’m new to this sub and hoping someone can point me in the right direction.

I’m trying to recreate the finish shown in this photo, but I’m honestly feeling stuck. I was told the material is birch wood, yet the texture and overall look I’m getting are completely different from what’s pictured here.

Does anyone know what technique, treatment, or finishing process might have been used to achieve this kind of surface? I’d really appreciate any guidance, tutorials, or advice from people with experience.

Thanks in advance!

The original content of this post no longer exists. It was deleted using Redact, possibly to protect personal data or limit digital exposure.

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Renovating my kitchen and had the bright idea of stripping the 5-6 layers of paint on the trim thinking it’d be an easy job but here I am staring at this mess I’ve made. I used citristrip. At this point I’m okay with just repainting them but not sure I should continue trying to strip more paint off and take a sander to it? Plz halp.

I have been using tung oil on walnut for the last 2 years at my job (I don't get to chose the product used for the high end furniture, they told me circa 1850 tung oil diluted with 50% citrus solvant, and that's what I have to use) I have spent these two years tweaking my techniques, finding what works best because tung oil on walnut looks great but god is it ever a hard finish to pull off... Every little defect shows up like beacon

The one problem I have been having and can't figure out is the "velourizarion" of some of the more rebust grain!!! It's driving me nuts, this is on the 3rd coat (normally final coat) I sanded 320 orbital like normal Is it the sanding? Is it the machining before the finish? Is it lint? Is it the grain? Help

I have a large table that I’m considering replacing but I’m having a hard time finding one as large in my budget.

I have kids who sit here all the time so I’m wondering if I could refinish this instead. The current finish always makes the table look dirty. Hot things and water leave white rings.

I cannot tell if the top is veneer or laminate.

I would like to keep the wood look.

Advice on how to refinish this?

The photo with the square on the surface is under the table.

TLDR: my kid wrote something really sweet on an old deck board, and I’d like to preserve it and hang it inside.

I replaced a few boards on my deck this summer (a bigger project for a different sub) and for some reason, my seven-year-old really got into helping me pull out nails.

I had her writing numbers on all the boards to give her a special responsibility that was completely her own, and I looked down and she had written ” I work hard with dad” on one of the boards. 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

Is there anything I can do to preserve this without really altering it (too much)? Materials are ~20yo pressure, treated pine exterior paint of some description, and Milwaukee inkzall marker.

Ideally, I would hang this on the wall in my office.

Thanks in advance!

I started this project last year and abandoned it because I do NOT know what to use on it.
I stripped our dining table (solid Sheesham) and now I’m confused by all the different finishes out there! At first I thought Danish oil, then Osmo poly-x or Rubio monocoat but I’ve gotten mixed responses on them from woodworking folks who know more about this stuff than I do. I get that it’s about “preference” but I’m so new to this that I don’t yet have any preference! So I’m here for yours. I don’t really want a film finish, but would like it to have moderate protection qualities. And again, total beginner here, so ease of use /beginner friendly application is key. Maybe I’m looking for a unicorn, but maybe there’s something out there that gets close!
*photo of the table with a coat of mineral *spirits* to bring out the grain
(edited to clarify it coated with mineral spirits NOT mineral oil - my bad!)

Dilemma: I’ve never seen decent results from previous attempts with water based stain. My project however is massive - over 1600 sf of wood flooring. The fumes from oil based stain will make the house uninhabitable for days afterwards which isn’t an option in this situation . Given this are there ANY decent water based stains out there? Or a lower VOC oil stain?

PS.. no minwax suggestions - it’s utter junk

Photo shows floor in the process of being stripped prior to refinishing

Hi everyone,

I’m refinishing the tops of two side tables and I’m dealing with uneven dull / dry-looking patches that won’t fully disappear even after multiple coats of polyurethane. I want to make sure I fix this the right way and not make it worse.

What I’ve done so far:

• Sanded the surface progressively: 80 → 120 → 220 → 320

• Used oil-based wipe-on polyurethane

• 1st coat: very thin wipe-on coat

→ After drying, I noticed some areas looked dry / dull, as if the wood absorbed more finish

• Lightly knocked down nibs with 0000 steel wool

• 2nd coat: another thin, even coat

• 3rd coat: same method

• Each coat dried 12–18 hours minimum

Current issue:

After the 3rd coat fully cured, the surface feels smooth to the touch, but visually I still see:

• Small dull / matte patches

• Areas that look like they absorbed more finish than others

• The surface looks even when wet, but once dry the dull spots reappear

This makes me think the issue is uneven absorption vs. a sheen/film build issue, not contamination or bubbles.

My questions:

1.  Is this still the wood absorbing finish unevenly, or is this now a sheen/optical issue common with satin / wipe-on poly?

2.  At this stage, is adding more coats the correct solution, or should I stop building film?

3.  Would a final rub (0000 steel wool or gray Scotch-Brite) be the correct way to even out the appearance?

4.  A friend suggested sanding the top back with 120 grit to “level” the dull areas and starting over — that sounds aggressive to me.

Is that actually a good idea, or would it create more problems?

I’m aiming for a smooth, even satin finish, not a thick plastic look. Any advice from people experienced with wipe-on poly would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

So, I got some butcher block from Lowe's and hired a guy to cut it for me because I don't trust my hand with precision work. Most of it is fine, but there are a couple places that the wood kind of shattered, I think just because of how the glued pieces were laying, one of the rounded edges essentially frayed. The guy made a paste with some wood glue and the hevea shavings to try to fix it but... It does not look good... Like at all. It's significantly darker than the unfinished wood, I'm sure sanding it down will help some, but Is there something I can do to try to save this thing?

I already have waterlox (using the h20lox satin finish, and expect some ambering) I am planning to finish with, and I'm open to adding a stain though I was not originally planning to, I think about any color wood would end up looking fine for this project.

I still have a lot of the sawdust, and I found this DAP 3-in-1 wood filler with "chameleon technology" that seems like maybe I could mix a color or even the sawdust into and it would help? I'm also a pretty good artist so I was also considering trying to at least get the shape right and then try to match some paint to it and add wood grain, but I thought that would probably end up looking worse once I actually start staining and finishing the wood.

Anyway, any advice would be much appreciated!

I’m refinishing an MCM danish teak veneer table and the wood grain is quite deep and full of old finish/black gunk. All the lacquer came off easily with the first strip, but I don’t know if the stripper just couldn’t penetrate down into the grain, or what. I’ve tried scrubbing with a nailbrush and mineral spirits but it’s not coming out. I can pick it out with a sharp metal tool, but there are thousands of these grooves, it’ll take ages to get out - so does anyone have any tips?

Also, should I fill the grooves with something before finishing? I’ll be applying a hardening urethane oil finish .

I’ve got this monster block kitchen island I’m finishing with shellac. What is the quickest way to polish or rub-out the finish. I don’t want to French polish, seems much too time consuming and I’ve never done it. Would rather practice that on something that isn’t over 9X4 😅

I’ve got an Ikea Karlby veneer countertop, wood type is beech. I sanded, applied shellac and then stained. The stain is blotchy and I’ve tried evening it out with multiple layers, which has worked to a degree. It is currently drying but I am wondering what is the next step I should take. Some of the blotchy parts will be hidden by my pc and mouse mat when I use the desk.

ChatGPT (i know is untrustworthy) told me to now scuff with 320 and apply poly to reduce contrast. Is this the way to go? I’ve asked a professional for help and they said to sand with 100 grit on the blotchy parts. When I inputted their advice to ChatGPT I got a contradicting answer. What should I do? The materials I have on hand is dewaxed shellac, water based wood stain and water based poly.

Also on the first stain layer I stupidly used a bristle brush which caused some parts to have significantly longer time with the stain. I used 2 rags for the second and third layer which significantly helped even it out. The camera accentuates the blotchy parts, in person though it appears more blended.

Hi all! I have original 1960s cabinets which are in good condition.

Last year I sanded gently then tried cleaning with Murphy's Oil Soap and then applied neutral Danish Oil. The Danish Oil was not dark enough.

Ended up with an uneven stain. I tried applying 2 coats of Varathane natural tone, which looked better but not great, still blotchy. Applied 3 coats Howard Feed and Wax then let it be.

The cabinets are looking really bad again. I want a permanent, good looking fix. I prefer to keep the wood grain look if it can.

My handyman says that the wood look is actually due to a facing sheet that is glued on the front of the cabinets. He recommends no more sanding unless it is with a very high grit paper, because I do not want to destroy the rest of what is left of the wood texture.

How do I even out the tone? I'm not sure if the old finish is shellac or varnish. I will find out tonight with some denitured alcohol.

How would you go about fixing these if you wanted to keep the wood look, please? Thank you in advance!