Q-I have an old painted chest that I want to put in a spare room. I know you can paint old furniture to give it a wood-grain finish without having to strip down to the raw wood. Can you tell me how? A ...

It takes one bad decision to learn an important lesson about wood: The wrong stain can ruin it. For me, that lesson came with the deck my dad built on our house when I was in high school. After a ...

One of the appealing things about crafting a piece of furniture from wood is that it already has a pleasant color and texture. You might not want to hide it under a coat of paint, and a good stain can ...

Next time you’re working on a project that needs a durable wood finish, don’t grab the polyurethane. Follow [Victor Ola’s] advice and raid your grandparent’s record cabinet for some old 78 records.

Q: I found a nice wooden chair at a garage sale, which I purchased very cheaply. The only problem is that I need to refinish it. How do I go about stripping off the old finish? A: There are different ...