This might be the single greatest video I've seen on any channel in months. Absolutely got right down to the core of the issue, didn't add a lot of nonsense fluff to pad the video time, and was entertaining the whole way. I'm gonna make the other guys in our shop watch this video this afternoon. It might become required viewing for all new employees.

This dude has rapidly become my favorite woodworker. He keeps his videos short and to the point and cuts out the BS. Please don’t sell out and start pushing products

I’m so angry right now! You literally boiled down every important detail that I’ve learned about all of these finishes into a 13 min video! The problem is it took me probably 200 hours of research over the last 6 years to sift through all the other useless info about these products. Where was this video 6 years ago! 😂

If only all KZfaq videos were as informative and direct as this one, we would have more time to do our woodworking. Clearly one of the best videos I have watched. Right to the point.

What a great way to finish off the year!

Great stuff bud! Love these

I grew up in a custom furniture shop, learned finishing from my father, a master (lacquer, Danish oil, and wax) and in this 13-minute video I learned more than the prior sum total of my knowledge. And without giving away any of the really high-level secret techniques. Well done!

This is a pretty solid little workbench. While once you figure out how it comes together, it is physically Easy to assemble kzfaq.infoUgkxyFZUPFEey-PuqsPMxqaykBhgA1LWxFHh by yourself. But the diagrams explaining the steps are really pretty bad. I could not get the handle pins in all the way despite multiple attempts, so I just used a screw I had on hand for the 2nd handle. I could not get the first pin in further or pull it back out. You are supposed to hammer it in, but I had no leverage and the handle is plastic and I did not want to risk breaking it. I will get a lot of use out of the bench because of the convenient size and height. It does fold up nicely for storage. They even explain how to fold it so you don't get pinched...that is important!

“Tung oil comes from the nuts of the Tung tree” felt like such a missed opportunity 😂 Good video as always, I’ll continue to paint my stuff and leave the finishes to you pros

That throwaway joke about accidentally grabbing 2x4 instead of walnut gave me an unexpected guffaw that made me glad I wasn't sipping my coffee.

SO SO SO helpful! Thank you! I'm an amateur hobbyist woodworker and am almost done building my first tack trunk (for horse equipment). This is roughly my 5th or 6th project that I've built ever. I'm super proud of it and want to make sure it looks good and can withstand heavy use, but also want a product that - as more of a newbie - I won't be likely to mess up. Since I'm using birch plywood for the majority of the build, with pine planks and moulding for trim, with some cedar tongue and groove on the inside, and a thin strip of oak trim to cover the bare plywood edges on top which will be exposed when you open the lid, I have a bit of a mix....I may stain the outside of the box first (leaving the inside natural), so I have that to contend with first as well. Needless to say, having a comparison like this is going to help me immensely when I get ready to finish it.

As someone who just got into making his own picture frames, the variety of finishes is overwhelming. Thanks for the clarity!

Easily my favorite KZfaqr in the woodworking space. He cuts out all the bs, just facts and dry sarcasm, I love this dude. Keeping cranking out content my man 👊🏻

Great video! I’ve never found a video that goes as in-depth on finished as you just did, it provided a lot of clarity for me. Thanks for putting in the leg work and helping a novice woodworker like me understand finishes better!

Great video - thank you. My first use of Danish oil was on the New Guinea Rosewood bed I made for my wife. 20 years on that bed still looks the bomb!! Will never go back to poly ever again. Cheers.

I bought an unfinished pine dresser and finished it with Minwax Polyshades. The dresser has been through several cross-country moves since then and looks just as good as it did the day I finished it 19 years ago.

I've got a metallic flake blue box that I built and wanted a nice thick clear coat on it without having to do all the epoxy work. The Minwax Polycrylic looks absolutely fantastic in that application!

I have a handful of finishes and I've honestly been applying them with no strategy or reason. So much more clear now. Major props on another excellent video!

As others have mentioned in the comments, this is one of the best videos on finishing products. Thanks for the work and research you put into it. One thing worth mentioning about Odies ... you can get powdered pigments to mix with oil to achieve whatever colour you want. I find myself adding a bit of white to combat the yellowing of the oil when using it in lighter woods. Rubio also comes in different colours, but you have to buy each one separately and that gets really expensive.

I have been looking for a video like this for years. You explain the massive finish options without wasting my time. Subscribed.

Great comparisons. One factor that should also be included though is toxicity, which is a long term health concern for applicators, as well as requires more PPE which adds to the annoyance of using some of these products, particularly lacquers. There is also a not insignificant fire hazard associated with using lacquer products.

Your approach and nature has become one of my preferred places to find information. I love how both polite and abrupt you were about Odie's .... and how you did it anyway. Thanks for this, and keep it going. There's a number of wood channels I'll watch and like, but you, I'll subscribe to.

I have been playing at woodworking for 25 years. During that time I have repeatedly consulted books and videos and magazine articles to try to get my mind around the differences between the different kinds of finishes, but never succeeded in organizing the info in a way that was memorable (i.e., useful). Your video swept all the jumbled, useless scraps of info out of my brain and replaced them with a clear and concise explanation not only that I understood, but also that I could remember and easily refer to. Thank you so very, very much. This is the first video of yours that I've seen, and I just subscribed.

Best 13minutes I've spent on a woodworking related video! Thanks for making straight to the point content.

It took me 7 years of trial and error to come to the conclusions provided in this super informative video. Great job. I'm going to recommend this to anyone who asks "what should i use to finish my project?"

I'm just getting into making some wood working gifts and choosing finishes feels overwhelming sometimes. Thank you for this video as it really helped clear up a lot of questions I've been having. The side by side comparison of a dozen or so finishes on 4 popular wood types was a perfect way to test everything out.

Thank you! I've progressed in my woodworking journey from the poly finishes to Tung oil and now use only the hard wax oils. I've been going between Odie's and the Osmo products lately. For my cutting boards, I've settled on Odie's as my go-to. Simple to apply, easy fixes, looks great, and makes the product easier for my customers to maintain. Since they're mostly end-grain, I will generally flood with mineral oil, then cover with Odie's for the sheen. I really appreciate your diligence on this video. Thanks again for taking the time!

I've always used Linseed oil on my workbenches, followed by paste wax. My reasoning is that no finish, no matter how "durable" is going to stand up to the abuse that a workbench is subject to, so I want something that will seal the pores, that glue is easy to scrape off of, and is easy and fast to reapply.

Videos like this are why I'm subscribed to this guy. Concise, well done, and extremely informative.

This is the best video I've seen on wood finishing. The two follow up finish videos that I'd love to see you make: 1. Durability testing (like Project Farm). 2. Color change over time (polyurethane turns yellow-orange over time, etc).

This guy is great. I am really a busy person (job, exercise, victorian house etc) so I need guys like this who know their stuff. Thx

Hands down the best video on this topic. You speak really well and mix normal lingo and industry lingo throughout. I truly appreciate you making this video.

I had a finishing shop for years and primarily used Nitrocellulose lacquer for everything. I restored antiques to more modern furniture. A finish for an antique could vary but when using lacquer you can mimic many finishes. I NEVER used a poly. I only preferred a finish which could easily be removed or touched up in the future. For durability on tables we often used a Catalytic lacquer. But as you stated. There's no best finish because of the many variables. There's more to a finish than just wiping some product on and off. Some more sophisticated looks require staining, glazing and shading as well as a top coat.

Regarding shellac, if you don’t want the amber color buy blonde or super blonde shellac. Also, shellac makes a great first coat. Use it as a sanding sealer, you’ll get a glass smooth finish. Complete the job with the arm r seal water based poly. I have a kitchen island with 15 years of steady use and after a quick wax it looks brand new. If you want a satin finish, still use gloss material but rub it out with very fine 3m pads to a uniform satin. To make a satin finish they add stearates to the material which softens the finish and can make it look cloudy on figured woods.

I made red oak cabinets for my kitchen, and I used clear shellac and several coats of clear water based poly for the finish. They came out beautiful and held up well for many years. They were inexpensive and easy to apply and clean up.

You have become my favorite YT woodworker, Congratulations on your success! Like you said, the best finish depends on the use of the item to be finished. Because so many woodworkers finish their shop furniture and fixtures with water based polyurethane, I finished my "small bench tools" bench for portable grinders, a small drill press and band saw, bench sanders, etc. with Minwax Semigloss Polycrylic. I quickly learned what a huge mistake I had made. Even after allowing several days for the finish to dry before using the bench. The rubber feet of the sanders, grinders and the like stuck to the finish in a new spot every time I moved a tool. Ultimately I had to sand as much of the Polycrylic off as I could without removing the birch veneer and refinished with Varathane oil based Polyurethane. All of my harder use bench and tool stand tops are finished with Varathane Polyurethane. Interestingly, the circular foot marks in the Polycrylic telegraphed back through the Varathane even though all visible evidence of them had been sanded off. Lighter wear tool stands like those for the miter saw and jointer are finished with Deft Brushing Lacquer since there is no movement of tools or materials across those surfaces. The brushing lacquer provides a stain resistant, attractive finish that is very easy to repair should it be necessary. I'll eventually use the remainder of a gallon of Polycrylic but only on shop fixtures, French cleat tool hangers and other light duty applications. It's also good for the sides of tool stands and benches that get no wear at all.

I used Real Milk Paint Co's "Dark Half" on the butcher block counters we installed - it's food safe. I used shellac on the underside before installation. The Dark Half was great (I did three applications), it gave the counters a nice mid-grade (as opposed to folks leaving it the bright birch) tone, as a contrast to the white walls and the 'Lily Pad' (also RMPC) milk paint on the stripped/primed/painted cabinets. I did throw a little Howard's Cutting Board Oil on it, since oil burns into oil...as we put the house on the market. I'm a weirdo that loves shellac. In that same house (from 1910), I went and sanded, topped up the stain, and shellacked all of the stained wood trim downstairs (it was all painted up...by prior folks). Thanks for this side by side. Each project definitely has its own needs. :)

What a great comparison. May a suggest in the follow on including how each of the final list age and handle UV exposure? Some finishes like to yellow after a some sun shine ...

What an amazing video. Short and straight to the point. Love the way you compare each finish and note eah single detail for us! All around 10/10, keep it up!

This was fantastic! I have a small side table to do, which is new raw wood, and I have to research a ton before I get started, and you answered so many of my questions. Thank you! The only thing I wish you had included was best for beginners and best for budget projects.

Great video. I would add that while shellac is technically a varnish, it is quite often used as a “sanding sealer” or before grain filling to prevent color bleeding from the filler. I switched from the Minwax as a typical Home Depot armature woodworker (you know the kind that thinks OAK is a fancy hardwood) to the Arm-R-Seal. There really is no comparison between the two. Arm-R-Seal lays flatter, soaks in better and lasts better over time . Minwax can chip away in high traffic areas.

Good video! I always advise people who ask to use the finish that's easiest for them. It's so subjective. I was disappointed you didn't mention my favorite finish: Waterlox Original. But there are so many finishes out there! You did a good job, good production values and fast paced

Great stuff!! Thanks for all the information! My wife is currently refinishing an old single-room schoolhouse era desk and this is very timely information!

This is the only time I’ll ever thank you, KZfaq! Thanks for finally recommending a video worthy of watching time and time again.

Well explained! Thank you. For many years I have used Odie's exclusively. I have gotten fabulous results and my customers love it. It's not expensive considering how much mileage you get from it. Technically, it's cheaper in the long run considering it is equivalent to 1-1/2 gallon of poly. Plus, no issues with dust nibs or having a sterile shop. I use a 6" car buffer to apply it and buff it off. No respirators either. It's a no-brainer.

Outstanding!!! You did a great job reviewing all of the major wood finishes with great detail. I've used them all myself. Let me add one idea. I am 72 yr old, been wood working over 60 yr, and just finished an end table with lacquer. This is the same finish used with custom autos, so I worked with an auto body shop for a little extra guidance. I ended up wet sanding with 3500 grit sand paper to get that great glossy finish. I have a variety of paper grits, powders and even a buffer for finishes. This is just an idea for you for a future video. You do a great job with good home work. Best wishes on the next vid.

What a comprehensive coverage of all the commonly available options, well done!

I am a 68 year old American man. Retired. I painted 300 houses. If you need to seal anything that will be outside, consider Unboiled Linseed Oil. It dries very slowly, so penetrates deeply. Usually, you will have to order it.

Good info. I've used all of these and a few more except for the hard wax oils. Time and expense were the immediate deterrents on those. I even tried a brush on lacquer that specifically said "do not spray", best results were from thinning and spraying. Water based varnish is indeed just fine for light colored wood, on the darker woods it looks like a plastic wrap. The search for a "one size fits all" finish continues, it's more likely to end with two or three does almost all.

Excellent, no nonsense, light hearted and helpful video. Well done!! 🇨🇦

I’ve watched lots of finishing videos and I really like this one so far. A quick gloss over all the finishes mind they pun.

I've used Minwax Polycrylic on numerous projects where I wanted a clear finish that didn't change the wood color. I use a fine-bristly brush and thin the Polycrylic slightly. It does take a few coats but the dry time is short. Glassy smooth.

4:11 I use Polycrylic as a finish over stained wood. I find it performs very well in that application.

Wow, thank you! So refreshing to actually get helpful information vs. a commercial, and your jokes were an unexpected gift.

Thank you so much! Been refinishing furniture for years but had a stencil situation I want sure how to top coat and you helped me to figure it out. Such a well done video on top coat, thanks again. 😊

Tried and True finishes. I mostly turn bowls now and use them exclusively for their food safe compatibility. No extra anything in them. The Shellac you showed is not simply Shellac. It is not recommended as food safe because of the additives. I know you weren't going for food safe but I figured I'd throw it in there. When I DO make furniture I generally use Lacquer. It's relatively tough and dries quickly. Great video, loved the content and production.

Good video. Lacquer is hands down the best in my opinion, and have found the Sherwin Williams Pre-cat lacquer to be excellent. It seals the wood amazingly, cabinets built back in the 70's still look incredible, even over the stove. Sanding it is pretty easy and doesn't gum up sandpaper the same way poly does which is incredibly annoying. And the durability is hands down the best, penetrating into the layer underneath creating a single substrate is the best way to go.

This is THE type of comparison I wish everyone would adopt. Top notch video right here; thank you for taking the time to do this! The editing is amazing lol!

Very informative. I have used most of the products shown. Most of them have a place in my shop depending on the piece. Time permitting I prefer an oil undercoat on most finishes. Happy to have found a new channel to watch.

A few brief notes, oil polyurethane is usually either linseed oil based (amber tone) or soy bean oil based (clear, not amber). As far as it being a finish that sits on the surface, that isn’t actually due to the product itself but how wood workers tend to prep their pieces prior to finishing. Most guys tend to sand out to 220 or higher, which closes the pores of the wood. I sand to 100 grit, thin the poly to 30% and do two coats in an hour which soak in. Wait 24 hours and then sand. The poly penetrates quite deeply especially on white oak, cherry, sycamore , etc. Basically my finish sanding of a piece is incorporated into the finishing process not prior too. It densify’s the surface for one and also won’t chip.

Very nice concise yet detailed comparison of these finishes. I find picking the right finish for a product the most time consuming and overwhelming yet it's the most enjoyable part of the process for me. It's where you get to see if all of your hard work up to that point is going to pay off, or if you're going to have to toss the project on the burn pile and start over. As a side note, I'd love to see you compare Maker Brand Simple Finish to the other hard wax oil finishes. I'm not convinced it's as good as Rubio or Osmo.

Most thorough, technical analytical video on wood finish coatings. I love this guy. My father said he has used Minwax longer than I have been alive.... Dad loved this guy's video and analysis. What a great smart utilitarian video on finishing wood. Thank you for this. You are great.

I’ve never been able to use only one finish. A combo of BLO, shellac, and arm r seal is my go-to for walnut.

For wooden cabinet doors: spraying precat lacquer is my favorite. It dries extremely fast, it's highly durable and gives wood a superb finish.

This is such a brilliant comparison video. Really helpful to see how each product affects four different woods. Only improvement would have been to have had a strip with the four woods untreated next to the treated ones to compare with what it looked like originally.

I have started woodwork classes in São Paulo, with basic Portuguese. This was a good way to get theory on finishes prior going to my class . I have started a few little projects on my own and wished I had seen this video first! Thank you!

The only clip I found so far that is informative and to the point. Many videos nowadays are very lengthy just to get views with non-sense talking.

Great video and examples. I've tried most of those finishes and still have the 2 hour debate with myself on what I'm going to use on my project when I'm finished building it.

Excellent work! Just in time for my first serious wood working project, a set of shop cabinets using maple plywood. I think I will go with the Danish Oil. Thank you!

I use all these products and each has it's own special place. Good video. I'm sure a lot of guys that are new to woodworking will find this very beneficial.

Probably the most condensed and useful video I have ever watched ! Thank you

There's a very old technique for applying shellac known as french polish. In my opinion, it produces the most beautiful, rich, smooth textured finish available. It's not incredibly durable, and takes forever to apply, but it's well worth the effort, especially for smaller pieces.

Minwax oil based poly in satin is my go to. You might want to consider Water Based Oil Modified Polyurethane, it’s beginning to win me over. It seems the best of both worlds so far. I also use Danish oil or linseed oil on certain projects depending on what I’m looking for, I usually will final finish them with a minwax paste wax. Good vid. Thank you.

Okay, this video is great. I have searched for a ton of videos and try to understand the differences between all the finished, this is just the clearest among all. Thanks!

As an Australian who has virtually no access to any of these products, and almost never uses the timbers you've featured, I still enjoyed your video! We have equivalent products easily available, and knowing what makes up these four styles of finish is very helpful even for non-Americans.

As a hardwood floor finisher for 35 years i've used almost all of these products. Danish oil is lovely but it wears out quickly in high traffic areas and water droplets on it can turn white and need to be touched up with the oil after buffing. The wax will be similar but waxing another coat is relatively simple and easy compared to coating the oil again. Polyurethane is the most popular choice with three coats of satin being my standard application. Waterbased poly is stronger than oil based poly, but it coats so thin that it looks incomplete with only three coats in my opinion, but that was the standard practice because the product is very expensive for a quality waterbase that has good coating time. Minwax waterbase is the absolute worst product I ever used. I only used Bona products and had great success over the years. Minwax satin oilbased poly is not the worst, but it takes a long time to dry properly and tends to have tiny sections of the finish bubble on dark section of boards where there must be some drying issue. I used only Dura Seal oil poly for the last 12 years and never had the drying issues again. I used the Rubio monocoat one time and I thought it looked cool but wondered how it will hold up to wear. There are some crazy floor finishes out there like Glitsa that are amazingly strong but they are no fun to work with

Can’t wait to see a durability test on the hard wax oils. One thing I’ve found is that odies will absolutely water spot, contrary to the text right on the label! You should definitely do liquids as one of the tests.

Brilliant video! After watching roughly 30 videos on finishes I came upon yours and wish I'd seen it first. Thanks for your invaluable insights. 😀

This was unbelievably helpful. Thank you for the clear breakdown.

Great vid. I loved using Osmo Matt finish for my hardwood butcher block 4metre long kitchen counters. I've used their water protection by osmo first, then osmo hardwax. 1 year later it's still looks same as the day I finish it. Even with busy family usage. Looks so much better than the polyurethane from the 90's. These vids are cool. 👍

I agree the Osmo Polyx used alone can indeed look dull on Walnut, but not if you use Osmo 1101 Thin Oil first as a pre-treat. This 2-coat wipe on 1101 penetrates more deeply than the regular hard wax oil, and significantly enhances the look of the Osmo Polyx 3043 I use as a final coat (or two). This combo is now my go to finish choice.

Thank you! I’ve received so much flak for using Minwax satin poly, it’s good to see it getting vindicated. I also use some of the other products shown in your vid, and came to the same conclusions. As a newbie, it’s really reassuring to watch such an informative video and realize I’m doing things right!

Dude, in the first ten seconds of your video I said YES!! this is what someone needs to do. Having already enjoyed some of your woodworking tips, this gets a SUB! Also, you get bonus points for the Ed Bassmaster snippet!

Lots of really good info, and really appreciate the time and effort to do all of the sample applications. One thing I think is important to clarify is "Tung Oil" Finish and actual 100% pure Tung Oil (with no additives) are very very very different things. Tung Oil Finish can even be a significantly different product between the various vendors as they all add their own concoction of dryers, distillates, etc and usually contains very little actual Tung Oil . Same applies for pure Raw Linseed Oil (RLO) vs BLO. Great video!!

I have used Danish Oil on most of my projects over the years. It is easy to work with and provides a good finish. There is really nothing to compare with seeing the wood grain come out when a good finish is applied. That is the pinnacle of woodworking.

Thank you, for people like me who don't do a lot of woodwork it's great to learn the differences!

This was such a good video. I've spent hours watching KZfaq on different types of finishes, trying to mull over what to finish my bed frame with. I know this type of video takes a lot of effort, but dang it was exactly what I needed. Educational and entertaining. You earned a subscribe from me! Thanks!

I'd like to know how each finish withstands a hot cup of coffee in a ceramic mug and a damp glass of cold water on a humid day. Maintenance measures would be a convincing test of a proper finish.

I tend to lean toward the hard wax finishes, and I have used Rubio, OSMO and Odie's - all of which are great products. I like the ease of application with the Rubio and OSMO, but I really appreciate the flexibility of the Odie's. Odie's products allow you to work your way up past the 240-320 grit sand paper to develop a higher sheen, if that's what you are looking for in a finish; they also have a variety of finish products that you can use in steps to build more and more protection.

I could not have asked for a better, concise video. thank you so much 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

😂😂😂 I do what I want!! NICE!!! Love it. Honest and transparent, goes a long way. Well done

My preference: use two on furniture. I use a natural oil first because I feel like they do a better job of accentuating the grain. I then add water-based varnish to act as a protectant. Sometimes I add a layer of shellac just to provide a sealer layer between the transitions. I usually do the shellac if I don't have the benefit of time to let the oil cure.

Great Vid- I use raw linseed oil and wax finishes on my work- it performs way better than most would say. I wish more woodworkers considered toxicity and environmental impact when doing their work. None of these plastic finishes existed 100 years ago but the furniture still does- give old school finishes a try! Good for everyone involved and easy to maintain

Best comparison and explanation of finishes I’ve seen yet. Bravo!

i have been working profssionally as a carpenter for almost 20 years. Never really looked into finishes, i just used Laquer or Poly, once or twice i have used Tung oil for food surfaces. Thanks for this video never knew there was so much to know about finishes

I have tried pretty much every finish there is over the years, and I pretty much use lacquer exclusively, some exceptions being wood counter tops I will use a water based poly, The pros of that is that they dry quick so you can get the job done faster, and they keep dust out because they dry so quick, also when done right they're a beautiful finish. the cons are, you have to have spray them and have to have a booth. danish oil will give you a nice looking finish but it takes forever to get a build on it. Never been a fan of the hard wax oils, they're popular because they're easy and everyone on you tube gets free product and pushes them.

Great video as always! Two things to bear in mind: 1. Lacquer hardens and becomes brittle (I.e. cracks) with time, which is why it's no longer used in the automotive paint world. Cool if you want a chippy look in a few years, I suppose. But, no, nobody really wants that; 2. Always build coats with gloss for optimum clarity. The final coat--Satin, for instance--would be the sheen you're after. Alternatively, you'd use only gloss and sand back to desired sheen if you're after the highest quality finish.

This is just an incredible amount of useful information in a relatively short time period. Very, very well done. Thank you.

I recently scraped an old antique table and coated it with Carnauba wax finish, it came up great and the owners were very happy. Good thing is it's also easy to maintain as required.

Cannot believe you do not talk about finishes like walnut oil. I use walnut oil almost exclusively with my turned wood product and my charcuterie boards. It drys and hardens well. It is reasonably inexpensive and it is an all natural product. Application is easy with a paper towel and can be re-applied at any time. It gives a nice natural finish. If you want more shine you can buff with any number of wax finishes. It’s food safe.