Traditional Wood Finishing

Service Description

In this 2 day course you will gain confidence and knowledge on how to make informed decisions when choosing a finish for your project and new skills in applying finishes. There will be an emphasis on learning about and using traditional finishes. Learning finishing to a level where you can be confident in making choices for your projects is very difficult with books, articles and videos alone. This course functions to demystify what these materials are, wading through the dodgy marketing names and learning about what raw materials make up these stains and finishes. We will have sample boards to learn techniques with different finishes and timbers. Having studied at West Dean College of Arts and Conservation I gained an appreciation for the importance of understanding the materials we use, and how they might act as they age. We will cover: Surface preparation (Incl. scraper sharpening) Staining and colouring (Incl. making our own with pigments) Oils Varnishes and resins (Incl. intro to French polishing) Wax (hard and paste) Fillers Other ways to finish wood (Incl. Paint) Notes on restoration and a chance to discuss your own projects as a case study.