Finishes and paint
How much finish to buy for a list of projects, shellac pound cuts and dilution, a stain colour mixer previewed on different woods, sanding progressions, and dry and recoat times.
Added
Works with
- Wood species Woodworkingwhich woods blotch, which are oily and resist finishes, and which need their pores filled
How to use it
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How much finish: add items — panels, boxes, tables, cabinets, turned pieces (cylinders), or a custom area — and pick a finish. Quantity = area × coats ÷ spread rate, with the first coat on bare wood allowed 25 % extra and a waste allowance; it tells you how many cans to buy.
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Shellac cuts: a "2-lb cut" is 2 lb of flakes dissolved in a US gallon of alcohol (about 4 oz per pint, or 240 g per litre). To dilute, add alcohol = volume × (current cut ÷ target cut − 1).
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Stain mixer: mix stains by parts and see an approximate colour and a preview over common woods. Screen colour is only a guide — test on an offcut.
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Sanding: grit progressions for bare wood, between coats, and the final rub-out, by finish.
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Dry and recoat times: typical figures at 70 °F / 21 °C and 50 % humidity.
Spread rates, coats, and times are typical values from manufacturers' data sheets; your can’s label wins. Units are shared with the other woodworking tools.
Sharing
Share link copies a URL that opens this tool exactly as you have it set up. It carries the items to finish and the mixing inputs. Opening a link replaces your own saved settings for the tool; a Restore my settings button brings them back. To write a link by hand, use finish, coats, units — for example /tools/finish/?finish=oilpoly&coats=3.
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