epsilonwoodcare-blog

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Caring for Wooden Garden Furniture

A quick guide to cleaning, treating, oiling, staining, painting and varnishing wooden garden furniture.

Garden furniture sees all weather conditions and so over time will start to look scruffy.  It's often quite expensive furniture to buy, especially wooden stuff, and so it is good to give it a bit of TLC occasionally. Garden furniture though is very easy to forget/ignore, plus there are just so many products out there that it can be a nightmare knowing where to start.  Hopefully, this blog will help a little towards demystifying those rows of products….

 Cleaning

Commonly, garden furniture will have cobwebs, bird droppings and green patches (moss, lichen, algae). Types of mould and rot might also be present, depending on its environment.  Cobwebs and bird droppings will keep reappearing, usually for bird droppings just after you’ve done the cleaning, but a good clean can keep the green stuff away for a while.  Unfortunately, once the green stuff has appeared, it can often be almost impossible to fully remove, but thankfully it's usually worse nearer the floor or on unused/shaded parts so not too obvious, plus moss, lichen and algae don’t damage what they’re attached to so the green stuff might be a bit unsightly, but at least it doesn’t mean your garden furniture is rotting away.  

 There are various options for cleaning garden furniture and the choice will depend on what you've got available, how much time you can be bothered to put in and how perfect you want the end result to be.  A lot of the time, warm soapy water will be fine.  For non-wooden furniture, warm soapy water and a rag will work well for most surfaces.  For wooden furniture, a bit of something slightly abrasive can help and so I tend to find a kitchen pan scourer sponge ideal rather than a rag, but for non-wooden furniture it's best to keep away from anything abrasive as a first option (abrasive means scratches which means rust for metals and for non-metals means a good place for dirt to collect in future, wood isn't smooth and so this isn't a problem). Anything more ‘scrubby’ than a pan scourer though, such as a stiff brush, can be a bit too much for wood and cause damage to the fibres of the wood.  It might help short term, but longer term it will reduce the life of your wooden furniture. If soapy water isn't enough, then the next most aggressive option is something like sugar soap or general household cleaners.  Sugar soap is slightly abrasive (and definitely not good for your skin) and for household cleaners keep in mind that most contain bleach so wear scruff clothing. Glass cleaners are obviously good for glass, but they work on other surfaces too - they usually are a little acidic which can eat through some dirts.  Vinegar and lemon juice are other acidic things that might be available.  I would recommend being careful with whichever cleaning option you pick because it is very easy to splash, plus they all are aggressive towards skin, so consider safety glasses, scruff clothing and gloves such as marigolds.  You will look odd, but who cares.  

 Pressure washers give a fast cleaning option without needing much elbow grease, just try not to focus too much on a single point as the spray can dig into the surface.  

 If the item has been oiled, a wipe with white spirit is a good idea before re-oiling.  

 If in doubt, go for the gentlest option, in terms of cleaner and in terms of how you use it on the surface (eg rag, scourer).  It might take a bit more effort, but the chance of degrading the surface is less so your furniture should last longer.  Wood is fibrous, so in the same way a jumper will get damaged by overly aggressive cleaning, so will wood.

  Wood preservation treatments

Wood is surprisingly durable stuff outdoors, but depending on the wood and conditions it can rot. There are a stunning range of wood preservation treatments out there, but it is hard to say how much benefit they offer.  If the wooden item has been oiled, stained or varnished from new and well cared for, a preservation treatment is probably not needed, same if you're not too bothered about the item for example if it was cheap, gets very rarely used or is likely to be replaced in 5 years or so.  After that is it a tough call about preservation treatments because they usually need annual or regular reapplication and they're not cheap. Some are also not that good for the environment or need to be kept away from pets until dry (Valhalla Lifetime Wood Treatment is an eco, pet friendly option).  I think of them like a warranty you can pay for when buying a new electrical item - you've no idea at the time of the money is going to be well spent or not and so it's a judgement call.

 If you decide to do a wood treatment, they're usually like water so not the easiest to apply.  A brush or sponge is probably easiest. Make sure every part of the piece of furniture gets coated, including the underside of feet.  Rot tends to start anywhere that stays wet so feet and anywhere water can pool are the essential parts to treat.  I wear gloves and safety glasses when using preservatives – I know I look stupid, but I really don’t want to stuff in my eyes or on my skin.  Some products tell you to do more than one coat, but thankfully most dry pretty quickly.

 With time, bare wood will go grey (or silver if you want to make it sound posh).  This is due to the sun bleaching and degrading the surface. There are treatments available to try and revive the wood, but I've never used any.  Has anyone tried treatments for grey wood?  If so, what was it like and what difference did it make?

 If wood has started to rot, it may feel spongy, it will often stay damp when the rest has dried and it may crumble away.  Don't worry too much, just consider dealing with the rotten bit and then decide what to do to stop more rotting (eg treatment, oil, varnish or stain).  The best way to deal with rot is to remove the rotten bit, for example by scraping it away.  You'll probably then have a dent, but that can be filled with wood filler for an easy option or for a prettier option you can cut away the section with the rot and replace it in wood.  If the part is structural and replacing it in wood isn’t an option, wood filler is not strong stuff, so car filler (such as Isopon) is better.  There are treatments that can be applied to rotten wood to stabilise it, such as Ronseal Wet Rot Wood Hardener.  These treatments react with the wood and make it solid again so are pretty impressive, though be prepared to bin the brush you use for application because it usually ends up solid too.  I’ve found that the rot hardener can make the wood go a darker colour, but the change in colour usually isn’t visible if the wood then gets stained (I’ve not checked if it’s visible with other finishes).  This bench had started to rot a bit as water had got through its stain (visible as the dark patches on the top of the back rest).

  Finishes

If in doubt, the easiest option is to always use the same finish that's been previously used. Unfortunately, knowing which finish was last used isn't always really obvious.  These are some hints to look out for….

 Paint is probably the easiest to spot because it won't look like wood, the bits that see sun are likely to be paler and it can flake off revealing wood underneath.  Vibrant colours with no wood grain visible means paint.

 Varnish - varnish gives a clear coating over wood so the item will look wooden, but it may have some shine to it (gloss or satin varnish) and may feel smooth.  As varnish degrades, it will flake off revealing duller looking patches and giving the surface a scruffy look.  The parts where the varnish has come off will be a similar colour to the rest of the item.

 Stain is between varnish and paint.  There are a lot of stains out there including some that say they’re for garden furniture and others that just say they can be used for external items.  Stains usually maintain the look of wood, so show grain patterns, unless they’re very dark or applied in a lot of coats.  Stains make wood darker (only bleaching or painting can make wood paler) so look out for very dark wood.  If pale wood is visible in patches, but the darker stuff hasn't flaked and instead looks like it's curled up or shrunk that's a good giveaway for stain. Stains should feel more natural than paint or varnish to touch.  This garden bench had been stained, but the stain had got a bit scruffy.

There are some stains that are closer to paints, for example Cuprinol Garden Shades.  They don’t mask the texture of the grain, but do obliterate the colour of the wood.  They’re matt finish and often slightly drab colours.  I’ve included them under stains rather than paints because they apply the same.

 Oil - if there's no obvious finish, the wood looks uniform colour (ie no patches), has grain visible and there are no grey patches then it's probably oiled.  Sometimes cheap oil can feel a touch tacky, but decent oil dries fully.  Oiled wood should have more texture to it so run your hands over it.  Oiling tends to happen for more expensive furniture so if it's handmade there's a good chance it's oiled, versus mass produced which is less likely to be oiled (unless it was very expensive).

  Applying wood finishes for outdoors

Before applying a finish, make sure the item is clean, plus ideally give it a light sand all over. If the old finish has degraded, it might need stripping or heavier sanding to give a good foundation for the new finish and to take away flaky bits that will continue to flake even after the new finish has been applied.

 Oiling

An older treatment for wooden furniture to help it survive outdoors is oil.  Teak oil and Danish oil are the common types and reasonably similar. I tend to opt for Danish oil and I like Blackfriars Danish oil because it's a touch thicker than some oils making it easier to apply, soaks in well and dries pretty quickly.  

 It's worth wiping the wood with white spirit before applying oil because that cleans the surface of things that will stop the oil soaking in properly.  Applying oil is pretty easy because there are no problems with overlapping or applying too much.  I use a brush and do sections at a time.  Apply it reasonably generously because it soaks into the wood.  Clean the brush with white spirit.  It should make the wood look brighter and perhaps a little darker in colour.  I think it also tends to make the grain more defined.  If it's the first time it's been oiled then it is worth doing more than one coat.

Staining

Big brands for wood stains are companies like Cuprinol, Ronseal, and Sadolin etc.  Most commonly the colours are described as wood colours and they give a protective layer over the wood whilst keeping it looking like wood. The pigment in the stain helps to protect the wood from sun damage, but means you end up with darker coloured furniture than the natural wood.  Usually they need more than one coat and with every coat they'll get darker.  For this reason, when picking a colour allow for the fact that you can make it darker by doing more layers, but if the initial colour is too dark you have no options.  If the surface has been stained before, it is worth some light sanding with high grit abrasive paper if the surface is good, or more sanding or even stripping if the surface has degraded.  The viscosity of the products varies by brand with some being runny like water and others thicker.  Most these days are water based, which makes cleaning up a lot easier (warm soapy water) and also means they dry pretty quickly.  Water based may seem odd for something that’s going to get rained on, but legislation to control nasty emissions to the environment has meant that paints, stains and varnishes are now all going towards water based.  The end result is just as good as the old stuff, it just smells less.

 Painting

Painting outdoor furniture has got less common now stains offer more colour options, but for vibrant colours gloss type paints are still the only real option.  Normally for outdoor furniture it's easiest to apply by brush because there are usually lots of small sections rather than a nice flat space.  It's worth doing a primer first to help with durability.  If the surface has been painted before, sand lightly with high grit abrasive paper before repainting if the old paint is in good condition, but if the paint has started to flake it will need more sanding or stripping to give a nice finish.  Be careful of old paints because they can contain lead so wear a dust mask when sanding. Chalk paints do get used outdoors, but I don’t know how durable they are or how well they resist fading in sunlight.

 Varnishing

Exterior varnishes often have a slight yellow tint, but their aim is to maintain the wood in its natural colour and just give a protective layer over it.  As varnishes don’t contain any pigment they don’t stop sun damage which makes wood go grey.  That’s one reason why stains tend to be more common finishes as well as the fact they’re easier to apply.  Brush application for varnishes is usually easiest.  If the wood has been varnished before, lightly sand with quite a high grit abrasive paper before varnishing to help the varnish key into the surface. If the old varnish has degraded, it might need more sanding, or even stripping, to give a nice, smooth, final result.  Varnish usually is best with a few coats (eg 3).  Exterior varnishes still tend to be solvent based which means cleaning brushes with white spirit, slow drying and strong smells.

  Realistically, a clean once or twice a year will be fine for the majority of furniture and uses. Oiled furniture is worth re-oiling once a year and for stained/varnished furniture probably every other year refinishing will be fine (ideally just before the old finish starts to break up). This all does depend on environment and usage.  If garden furniture can be protected when it’s not being used, for example over winter, it will help it last.

  Has anyone got any good tips for looking after garden furniture?

[epsilonwoodcare-blog]

Paint and Varnish Stripping

What are paint/varnish strippers and how to use them.

Sometimes the finish on an item of furniture can get too scruffy and in such case, stripping it is often the only way to save it from the bin.  Paint/varnish stripping is also needed when the finish needs changing, if the colour of the wood needs adjusting or in the case of paint if it's got too thick.  Stripping is a messy task that doesn't always work as well as you'd hope so I'd suggest you leave it as a last option.

I love this cabinet, but at some point I’m going to have to give in and strip the top because it has water damage that’s gone through the finish.  In the meantime I’m doing the alternative approach of just covering up the mark with ornaments and ignoring it!

Some of the times I've done paint/vanish stripping (as examples of when stripping is needed).

·         - To colour correct a badly sun faded card table.

·         - To remove an original dark stain from a bookcase to return it to its natural wood colour.

·         - To recover a pot cupboard to its original french polish after it had been varnished (plus carry out some other small repairs eg on dents, scratches and pale areas).

·         - To re finish a display cabinet because its varnish had degraded too much, plus other issues such as dull grain, mould, chipped veneer etc.

·         - For a dining table top because the original stain/varnish had worn through in places with daily use.

 European directives on nasty chemicals mean that these days, paint strippers cannot contain methylene chloride (dichloromethane).  This is a good thing because it's not a nice chemical, but unfortunately other chemicals just aren't as good at stripping paint and varnish.  Also, paints and varnishes have changed, becoming harder wearing and tougher, meaning some strippers struggle.  To make life a little harder there are also cellulose finishes that require their own type of stripper.

  Paint and varnish strippers

There are a variety of paint strippers (they do paint and varnish) on the market, with some manufactures even offering a range of options, but in general they'll say they're none drip and offer some impressive claims.  I've tried Nitromors paint and varnish remover, Rustins Strypit paint and varnish stripper and Wickes own brand paint and varnish stripper and in my opinion the Wickes product is actually the best despite being a fraction of the price.  Each product excels in slightly different conditions, but I've found the Wickes stuff to be easy to use, the most effective at stripping paint and varnish, not too smelly, as non-drip as the rest and pretty easy to clean up after.

 Has anyone got experience of any other paint strippers?

  Method

Each tin/bottle will tell you how to use the product and if in doubt follow that.  These are just some generic steps and hints that might help.

1.    Remove wax.  Sometimes wax based polishes seem to inhibit the stripper so I give the item a wipe with wax remover or just white spirit before stripping - it seems to help.  I've not tried it yet, but a sugar soap clean might work well too, especially as it's mildly abrasive so might help the stripper get into the finish.  Has anyone else got a good method to remove wax and surface build up?

2.    Set yourself up.  Get the item of furniture to where you're going to strip it (ideally outdoors due to the smell and mess), put down any dust sheets and plan your order of attack.  Remove any fixings if you can though paint strippers don't seem to mess up metal or glass.  Get together the bits you're going great to need.

3.    Safety.  Paint strippers are designed to eat through paint and varnish and so they are nasty.  I always wear safety glasses and marigold-type gloves and well as scruff clothing.  I know I look ridiculous and I do get odd looks from my neighbours, but some things I just don’t want in my eyes or on my skin.  I also ensure I have a bucket of water and some rags handy so that if I did get some on my skin (or anywhere I didn't want it) I can remove it straight away.  The bucket and rags come in handy later anyway.

4.    Begin.  Shake the tin.  Apply the stripper generously over the area you want to strip.  It is possible to mask off areas with masking tape, but it's not perfect so it's best to do whole sections rather than patches.  I apply with an old brush - I spread it over and then stipple it a bit (dab it with the tips) to try and push it into the surface.  The strippers will suggest leaving it for a while at this point and all say different times.  Whatever time they suggest, allow for weather because if it's warm they can dry out and you need them wet to work (if it dries, just add some more) and if it's cold they work slower.  After so long the tin will suggest adding more and at this point stipple and brush the stripper into the surface.  If the stripper is working well, paint/varnish will be coming up as you apply the extra layer.

5.    Scrape.  Once the stripper has made the paint/varnish bubble up use a paint scraper, cabinet scraper, tooth brush or whatever the tin suggests to scrape away the paint/varnish. An old toothbrush is ideal for small areas.  Try to scrape gently because it is easy to dig into the surface of the wood.  Some finishes will scrape beautifully, but others are a pain and form a snotty, gloopy mess that gets everywhere. A word on wire wool.  Steel wool or wire wool is suggested by some brands and not by others.  It can be good for awkward corners, but if it doubt be wary of using it because some woods can react with it to give dark patches (eg oak).  I find a toothbrush works just as well with an additional advantage that it can be used more than once.

6.    Unless the stripper has worked really well then repeat the application process.

7.    Clean the surface.  The tin will say what to do, but I find having 2 buckets of water good.  I use an old kitchen scourer sponge pad to apply plenty of water to the surface to wash away the stripper (the scourer side is good for the sticky remaining lumps of paint/varnish and stripper) and then when it feels like it's all gone I use a rag and the second bucket of water to give the item a final wash down.  Strippers tend to feel slimy even through your gloves so I use the scourer sponge until the slimy feel has gone.  As an alternative, soapy water (with washing up liquid) can be used instead of the first bucket of water and sometimes it works better at removing residual stripper. Still follow it with clean water though. Dry off the water with a rag.  Some strippers suggest wiping with white spirit and in which case do.  The idea is to remove residue so whatever they suggest is worth it so that your next finish doesn't get messed up by residual stripper. It’s easy to forget (I find), but at this point it’s good to clean your tools, either with plain water or ideally soapy water.

8.    Final step.  Some woods will feel a little rough after stripping because water lifts the grain.  Whatever the wood, it's worth sanding after stripping because it removes the last tracers of paint/varnish and smoothes the surface.  Often there will be patches of paint/varnish that stubbornly will not shift and so sanding is the only option at this point to get it off the surface.

9.    If the paint or varnish hasn't stripped at all, it might be cellulose so try a cellulose stripper or if it's done a very bad job it might be the stripper you've got so try another brand.  Paint/varnish strippers aren't as good in cool weather so if the stripper has done a bad job, try again.

  Alternatives

Industrial stripping often uses a caustic solution to remove the paint or varnish.  This is fast, but can damage or stain the wood and can leave a residue.  For something like a door it will be a lot faster and easier than stripping it by hand, but you have to be wary of the risks.  Paint can also be stripped using a hot air gun, but I'd only do this for something low value because it's easy to burn the wood.

  Have you got any other good hints?

[epsilonwoodcare-blog]

Wax polishing wooden furniture

What does wax polishing mean and how to do it.

Wax finishes are pretty much the easiest to use of all the finishes and create a warm tactile appearance on wood.  Wax doesn't give a high shine, but does age beautifully, giving antiques the much prized patina (the appearance of age). This is created as some parts of the furniture get wear and develop a shine and other parts don't get wear so dirt gets trapped in the wax creating dark patches.  Based on the stuff you can buy from shops, I tend to think of wax polish in terms of 3 types.

 Types

Spray polish

Be careful of this type of polish.  It is very easy to use and gives a quick shine, but it's incompatible with other wax finishes (it degrades them and so will spoil any patina you've built up) and it’s pretty impossible to remove which means with time it will make things look less good.  These sprays are things like Pledge, Mr Sheen etc and are labelled as furniture polish. Personally I think they're fine for the occasional application to veneered chipboard (flat pack furniture) because they help deter dust and give the surface a bit of a spruce up, but I'd keep them a mile away from anything made from real wood or with any value (financial or sentimental).  Application is just spray on and buff with a cloth.

If you have applied spray polish, don't panic, I’d just suggest you try and avoid using it again. You will see a benefit to using real wax polishes that outweighs the ease of the spray polishes.

 Hard wax and creams

Real wax polishes come as a quite hard paste, often in a metal tin, or as a cream, which is usually sold in jars. They both contain wax and some amount of a solvent.  Their application is the same and they overlap on uses so you probably don't need to own both.  Beeswax is the best known wax component, but it's expensive so other waxes may be present such as carnauba wax (this one actually improves beeswax by giving a deeper sheen), paraffin wax and synthetic waxes.  Beeswax has a characteristic smell that people often love or makes them feel nostalgic.  On anything old or antique (or even just anything solid wood), if you're going to apply wax, apply hard wax or the cream, not spray polish.  

 I've never compared cheap wax with expensive wax, but I suspect the difference will be small in reality.  Has anyone got experience of cheap versus expensive wax?

 Hard wax

Hard wax usually comes in tins such as Liberon Black Bison.  It naturally has a yellow tinge, though it is possible to buy 'antique’ waxes which are coloured.  I’m not sure if coloured waxes are helpful because the colour risks obscuring the grain.  Perhaps they help cover pale patches though I'd rather deal with the colour difference and then wax using one uncoloured wax over the whole item.  Hard wax is like butter straight out of the fridges and it’s best to use it quite sparingly.

 Cream wax

Cream wax is an emulsion of wax, solvent like turps, water and other bits.  It gives a thinner wax layer and less of a waxy shine versus hard wax, but on the plus side it cleans as well as polishes and takes less time to use.

  Uses

Once wax has been applied to a surface it's pretty impossible to fully remove it - white spirit can dissolve most, but there will always remain some in the pores and grain.  That means that you need to think hard before applying wax to anything especially on bare (stripped or new) wood in case you think there's a chance you'll ever want to varnish, stain or whatever in the future.  Wax is also not at all durable, with low water and heat resistance, and can be degraded by sunlight, so it's a bad idea for in kitchens and bathrooms.  That all sounds very negative, but I actually like wax as a finish.  For some woods it's perfect, such as oak or anything rustic because it gives a lovely dull sheen that makes you want to feel the wood (for very defined striking grains other finishes are better).  It is one of the oldest forms of finish and is very easily revived.  It's even handy for things like drawer runners to keep drawers working smoothly (pure beeswax can be used for this - just run a stick on the drawer and the runners to help drawers pull out smoothly).  Although it isn't ideal to apply wax over other finishes, it is good to tone some down, for example applying wax along the grain with fine grade wire wool can take some of the harsh shine away from gloss varnish.

  Method

Waxing is an easy method, but it does require a little patience. I like using old t-shirts to apply and buff wax because they're soft and don't shed fibres, but are mostly cotton.  I wear disposable gloves such as nitrile or vinyl because the chemicals in wax are not that good for your skin and will dry it out - I prefer a safe than sorry approach.

1.    Apply. 

Get a little wax onto your rag.  The aim is to apply it quite sparingly, especially as it's something that should be done regularly so even if you miss a bit you can get it next time. Spread the wax on the item of furniture and as soon as you can't see the dull area it creates get a little more on the rag.  At this point you're not aiming for shine, just coverage so don't bother with more than laying down the thin layer of wax.  Aim to cover the whole area to be polished.  If you're using cream wax, your rag will get dirty so change it or change the part of the rag you're using so the dirt doesn't scratch the surface.  This is less of a problem for hard wax because it doesn't clean, but it's still worth checking the bit of rag you use in case it has got dirt on it.

On this picture the dull area can be seen where wax has been applied and where it’s shiner is where it hasn’t been applied yet.

2.    Leave it alone. 

This part is hard because you want to get on with making the furniture look good, but if you try polishing too early it'll just make a mess.  For cream wax it doesn't need leaving long, say 15 minutes, but hard wax needs longer, say 30 minutes.  You're aiming to leave it until the wax has hardened (you can test with your finger if in doubt).  It helps if you're waxing a few things because by the time you've applied it to everything you can usually start polishing at the beginning again.

3.    Buff. 

This is the rewarding part.  Using a clean cloth rub it on the surface, circles, stripes or whatever you feel like, though go over each area a few times to ensure you've buffed every bit of wax.  The dull streaky wax will disappear without much effort to leave a lovely soft glow.  If it doesn't disappear it probably needs to dry for longer so just leave it alone for 10 minutes and then try again.  If it's a struggle to buff then you probably applied a bit much wax so persevere and next time remember to use less.

4.    Stand back and admire.

  Cleaning

Over time wax builds up and traps dirt and gets sticky.  At this point it's worth removing some of the wax.  Ideally for something old you don't want to remove all the wax because it will spoil the patina, in which case clean carefully, but for anything without patina clean away.  White spirit dissolves wax, but it stinks and I find can leave steaks so I use a wax polish remover such as Liberon or Rustins Wax Polish Remover.  The wax polish removers are quite gentle, but do strip away some of the wax.  Whichever you use, wear gloves because they will strip any oils and moisture from your skin (and leave a smell).  Get some of the cleaner onto a soft cloth like an old t-shirt and rub on the item.  Use a clean cloth to wipe after to remove traces of the cleaner and wax.  Aim to do a little area at a time.  After this, wax away again and you should see more defined grain and get a much better result.  If you're a keen wax polisher, you might want to do this twice a year, but for everyone else less often if fine (and for antiques only do it if necessary).  The difficult balance is between leaving a natural patina and avoiding it getting sticky and dull.

 Has anyone experienced any problems using wax?  

What wax do you prefer?

Has anyone used wax on other surfaces like leather (I’m just curious about what things benefit from wax polishing)?

[epsilonwoodcare-blog]

Some books I’ve found useful

This is just a short list of some books I’ve found really helpful on wood finishing and repairs. 

I generally like books that give you straightforward information with plenty of good diagrams, but also that make you feel that you can have a go and are not too heavy on jargon.

The best book I've read and the one I use as my go-to book is ‘Furniture Restoration’ by Kevin Jan Bonner (part of the practical crafts series).  The front cover may look dated, but it's written in a very user-friendly way with short but clear sections on things such as repairing veneers, different finishes and a whole section called 'fixing odds and ends’.  My version’s a year 2000 reprint, so it's a little dated for water based varnishes, but other than that I find it a great little book.

Another one of the practical crafts series with an equally dated front cover is 'Woodfinishing Handbook’ by Ian Hosker.  The book is just about wood finishes (as the name suggests I guess!) and is a bit more of a technical style book, but it still has lots of photos and is well laid out.  Its age means it again hasn't got much on more modern varnishes, but for a decent background it's a great little book.

Another small book, but one I've found very good is 'Wood Polishing and Finishing Techniques’ by Aidan Walker.  It's only a thin book and let down by not having an index, but it is very readable with a nice range of information.  One things I like is that it includes common problems when doing various techniques and what you can do about it, which is refreshing.  It's dated with not the greatest number of photos, but the diagrams it has got are good.

For a larger book, I like 'Care and Repair of Furniture’ by Albert Jackson and David Day. It has lots of good diagrams and photos and covers more than just wood (there's a section on upholstery for example).  Like the other books I find good, it isn't just focused on antiques and doesn't try to scare you.  It is a little dated though.

 I've read a few other books and when I find ones I like I'll add them into this list, but one book I didn't get on with is 'The Illustrated Guide to Furniture Restoration and Repair’ edited by Kitty Grime.  It's hard to put my finger on what I didn't like, bit it felt like it made tasks too complicated.  For the books I've liked, I read some and felt I could go away and give something a go, whereas with this book it was the opposite and things felt intimidating and beyond my skills.

As you probably tell, most of the books I've got are older.  When I was looking for books I wanted to buy a few in case I didn't like any and to make sure I covered as much of a range of topics and opinions as possible, so to save a few pounds I bought older books.  Has anyone got any more modern books that are good?

Are there any other books that you've found good?  Are there any books you've found unhelpful because sometimes it's as important as knowing books that are good?  Please let me know your thoughts!