These forgotten finishing steps are why old furniture still looks better today.

Traditional oil and wax finishes penetrate deep into wood fiber rather than sitting on the surface, making them far more resistant to cracking and peeling than modern coatings. Shellac — a finish used ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Over the past twenty years of working with wood, I have applied many finishes such as soap, shellac, oil, varnish, lacquer, ...

Q: We just stripped six layers of paint off the front door of our 1820s house. I think the door is made of chestnut. We don’t want to repaint it, and we don’t like polyurethane. What’s the best ...