How to Finish Pine (and not go crazy)

Pine can be one of the most stubborn types of wod to finish. The soft, porous grain soaks up finish fast and erratic, and can leave blotches and streaks across the surface. For some people, this is enough reason to avoid using pine all together.

In this section from my How to Build Anything series, I think I can convince you that pine is a surprisingly easy wood to finish—If you follow a few simple steps in preparing the wood before the finish goes on. More on that later.

The best part is that I've taken the dizzying selection of products out there and narrowed them down to just three choices that work best on pine, along with the more "green" alternatives to high-VOC finishes, stains, and paints.

What You Get

This downloadable ebook contains 26 pages of step-by-step instructions for finishing pine, including:

How to Prepare Pine for a Perfect Finish
How to Apply a Clear Finish on Pine
How to Stain Pine
How to Paint Pine

Bonus Pages

Side-by-side comparisons of common finishing products and their relative toxicity. I've also included an overview of two of my favorite alternative finishes, milk paint and shellac.

Good for You - Good for the Environment
Why So Many Finishes?
Water-base vs Oil-base Finishes
Compare VOCs - Buyer's Guide
What's in a Can of Finish? (if you really want to know).

Alternative Finishes
Milk Paint: The All-Natural Finish
Shellac: An Oldie but Goodie
Compare VOCs - Buyer's Guide
What's in a Can of Finish?