Varnishing Wood – Steel Wool

If you read my post about “Varnishing or Sealing your Wood” you’ll see how I mentioned that you need to use steel wool to give you varnish a smoother finish. Well, here’s more info regarding that, after doing this a couple of times…

The reason you need to use the steel wool in the first place before varnishing (preferrably using a sealer), is to make the surface a bit rough so that the sealer sticks to the wood or previous coat of varnish/wood sealer. Of course, if it’s the first coat your’re applying, you use the steel wool just to make the wood slightly smoother than it’s natural self.

If you’re varnishing wood that is not that “delicate”, such as your garage doors or garden gates, don’t worry about getting steel wool that is TOO fine. After you’ve put on the first coat of wood sealer, and it’s dried, you will just need to take the “gloss” or “shine” off of the coat, making the next coat easier to stick. This way, you have a thicker coat of varnish on your wood, which means more protection. And believe me, fine steel wool does not make this an easy job.

If you’re varnishing delicate wood, like your wooden patio table, then use a finer steel wool, especially before the last coat. This will give the wood a very smooth look…

If you read my post about “Varnishing or Sealing your Wood” you’ll see how I mentioned that you need to use steel wool to give you varnish a smoother finish. Well, here’s more info regarding that, after doing this a couple of times…

The reason you need to use the steel wool in the first place before varnishing (preferrably using a sealer), is to make the surface a bit rough so that the sealer sticks to the wood or previous coat of varnish/wood sealer. Of course, if it’s the first coat your’re applying, you use the steel wool just to make the wood slightly smoother than it’s natural self.

If you’re varnishing wood that is not that “delicate”, such as your garage doors or garden gates, don’t worry about getting steel wool that is TOO fine. After you’ve put on the first coat of wood sealer, and it’s dried, you will just need to take the “gloss” or “shine” off of the coat, making the next coat easier to stick. This way, you have a thicker coat of varnish on your wood, which means more protection. And believe me, fine steel wool does not make this an easy job.

If you’re varnishing delicate wood, like your wooden patio table, then use a finer steel wool, especially before the last coat. This will give the wood a very smooth look…

If you have any tips or suggestions, please let me know. We could all use your experience to learn from.