Learn to Finish Furniture with Diane Shattuck

This weekend class provides hands-on experience on finishing techniques and tools. Learn why you finish wood, how to choose the right finish, and explore all the different types of coatings available that will give your piece a professional-grade finish.

By the end of the class, you will know how to colour with dyes and pigments, how to apply varnish, shellac, and oil finishes, as well as spray finishes while demystifying the many colour and finishing products. You will also learn how to select the proper abrasives and sanders. The art of finishing is as simple as learning to cook.

Once you understand the essential tools available to work with and how each element can shift the results, you will marvel at the endless possibilities. Repeating the successes is simply following the same steps of your step-by-step panel.

The class is a combination of lecture, demo, and hands-on. We will practice on panels provided by the School so you can have take-home reference tools.

Class Objectives:

• the importance of design
• wood preparation
• creating step-by-step panels
• colour and how to choose which stain or dye 
• what finish is best suited for the project
• how to apply three go-to finishes (oil & wax, shellac, polyurethane)
• Tips and troubleshooting methods

Materials & Tools Needed: Plan on bringing a face respirator with organic vapors filters

Books Needed: Understanding Wood Finishing by Bob Flexnor

Syllabus: Finishing Syllabus