Wood Finishing

Film-forming and penetrating finishes protect wood through different mechanisms at the molecular level — and this difference determines everything about

The distinction between thermoplastic and thermoset finishes is the most consequential division in finishing chemistry — and the one most

Water-based and oil-based polyurethane cure through two fundamentally different mechanisms — oil-based hardens via oxidative polymerization, a chemical reaction with

Oxidative polymerization is the chemical reaction that converts liquid drying oils — linseed, tung, danish oil, oil-based polyurethane — into

Every property that matters about a wood finish — how durable it is, whether it can be repaired, which topcoats

Tung oil and linseed oil are both drying oils that cure by oxidative polymerization rather than solvent evaporation — they

Shellac and NC lacquer are both thermoplastic film finishes that dry by solvent evaporation rather than chemical cross-linking — which