On January 1, 2004 the wood industry throughout North America has ceased to produce pressure treated wood treated with CCA (chrome, copper and arsenic) for residential use, replacing this chemical with what is generically called 'non-arsenic' treatments, primarily ACQ and Copper Azole (CA), both ...
Dee from Leduc, Alberta wants to bring the shine back up on an old marble sink.
There is a marble restoration kit available for DIY'ers from a company called BrightStone. Of note is that it is probably the easiest way to get the right kind of polishing compounds in a cream base for bringing the ...
Mark from Toronto, Ontario is looking at a good paint stripper that will remove multiple layers of paint from his doors.
Professional
In a trip to Ross Furniture Refinishing. in Toronto, Ontario, Gino Piazza gave us some tips about how the professionals do it, then we talked about doing it your...
revised Spring 2009
WEATHER
Follow this link for details on critical weather specifications for applying water repellents to outdoor wood.
MOISTURE PROOFING
Although pressure treated wood, cedar and redwood will not rapidly develop rot, any wood left totally unprotected outdoors will grey wit...
Various Abrasives other than sandpaper are often used for finishing and polishing.
Rather than regular steel wool, you can get stainless steel wool that will not leave little fibers behind to rust. The nylon pads used in the kitchen are good applicators where you need a little abrasion, and yo...
Butcher blocks are either not finished at all, or are finished with oil.
There exist special 'Salad Bowl' oils that work well for butcher blocks, in that they are totally non-toxic, but they can be difficult to locate.
Probably the easiest finish is mineral oil from the drug store. The key is t...
Cleaning stone
People often create hazed patches on polished marble surfaces simply by using the wrong cleaner. Anything like vinegar or most glass cleaners will actually etch the surface of marble, requiring re-grinding of the surface. This is not just some substance sitting on the marble th...
Whenever I watch a master do his job, I am always impressed by his special equipment, like this diamond polisher, his special products and his series of graded grinding and polishing compounds. But what I really look for is the little tricks that make the work go so easily.
In this case, it was ...
"How can I paint my concrete floor when there's white powder on it?"
White powder is salt deposits called efflorescence that is there because high quantities of moisture are migrating through the floor. You need to solve the water problem first or no paint will stick. So find out why there is wa...
I bet you can imagine how many manufacturers send me products hoping that I will put them on TV. Well, here is one where I called MinWax and asked them to send me over some Wipe-On-Poly. I have fallen in love with this stuff.
It is simply a clear polyurethane finish, but formulated to not gum up...
