What Makes a Beautiful Wood Finish?

It starts with your vision, what do you want it to look like?

Let’s talk about the starting point before we talk about what makes a great wood finish.  The actual starting point is when you decide what to build. You usually have a vision of what you want your piece to look like before you begin working on it. From this perspective, the finishing process begins with your conception of the piece.

• Do you envision a formal appearance, something more casual, rustic, or maybe something more modern?
• What sort of texture do you want? Do you want something glass smooth, rough, or somewhere in between?
• Do you want the pores to show through or do you picture a perfectly flat surface with filled grain? Would you like them filled clear or maybe with a contrasting color?
• What about sheen? Do you envision something that is shiny like a piano finish, something satin, or do you want something that is more matt and non-reflective?
• How about color?  It could be pale, rich, dark, or very light. Do you prefer wood tones, or do you picture something more colorful?

What’s important is to envision the end before you begin.  That said, many people prefer to “play it by ear” and let the piece evolve with the process.  It that’s how you like to work, then go for it! 

How Different Finishes Make You Feel

It might seem odd to consider how a finish makes you feel, but it makes a difference.

I consider the texture as part of the finish.  Of course, texture is also a design element, which is why I say to consider it before you start.  Think about the furniture and the ambiance in restaurants and bars. The designers who decide on those things are laser focused on how the furniture makes their customers “feel” when they are there.  If they want their customers to hang around then they might want the furniture to have a relaxed and casual feel to it.  The tables in sports bars are often made of open grained woods like oak and they might have a weathered look to them.  This promotes a more relaxed atmosphere where people don’t worry about whether they spill a bit of water.  

Rather than knotty domestic wood, tables in upper end restaurants might be made from “nicer” woods like mahogany.  They are less likely to have rough surfaces, and might have smooth highly polished finishes. This is more formal.  It is intended to make their establishment feel more exclusive and special, a place where people are on their best behavior. 

This isn’t the be all and end all of furniture design, but it’s worth considering what feeling you’re trying to convey with the pieces that you build. 

What Makes a Beautiful Wood Finish?

Except for pieces that are especially rustic or casual, a good wood finish is smooth; there are no bumps, lumps, dust nibs, or runs.

Consistency is something that I talk about in my finishing classes. A good finish has a consistent sheen; no areas are more shiny than other areas.

A good finish has consistent Color, and Value. I’m not talking about the normal color variations in wood.  What I mean is that the finishing process didn’t unintentionally add any light or dark areas to the piece.  Blotching is an example of an unintended dark area. Glue spots under the finish might leave some areas lighter than the rest of the piece. Uneven application of dyes, stains, toners, or glazes can also result in inconsistent color variations.  These are things to watch for as you build and finish your piece.

A good wood finish feels good to the touch.  A great wood finish has a nice buttery feel that makes people want to touch it. 

I’ll post articles in the future to explain exactly how you can easily achieve great finishes on all of your projects!

A final thought

I hope that you are enjoying this Free Wood Finishing Class. I put a lot of time and effort into this, but I don’t mind as long as people are enjoying it. I have so much wood finishing content that it will take me a while to post all of it here on my website.  Please let me know what you would like to see next!