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Wood Restoration & Refinishing

Old Windows Made Easy: The Simple Way to Restore Wood Windows

From the owner of The Craftsman Blog - Scott A Sidler. This book is a greatly expanded version of Old Windows Made Easy, incorporating the text of the original book as well as 120 additional pages of tutorials and information to help you dig into the details of window restoration. This book covers the basic order of operations for the standard restoration of a double hung wood window, but doesn’t stop there.

Understanding Wood Finishing : How to Select and Apply the Right Finish

by Bob Flexner This book has excellent reviews on Amazon. The images would be better if they were in color or more clear.

The Practical Guide To Decorative Antique Effects

by Annie Sloan, This book will show you a variety of simple techniques to create an antique effect on furniture etc. Crakle-glazing, graining, using waxes etc. are featured for creating an antique appearance. Caution: First read the Weekend Refinisher before you mess with an antique. (you may think there is no hope for the existing finish, but in most cases you will be wrong – read it first, then thank me!)

The Art of Faux: The Complete Sourcebook of Decorative Painted Finishes

by Pierre Finkelstein, This book will show you a variety of simple techniques to create an antique effect on furniture etc. Crakle-glazing, graining, using waxes etc. are featured for creating an antique appearance. Caution: First read the Weekend Refinisher before you mess with an antique. (you may think there is no hope for the existing finish, but in most cases you will be wrong – read it first, then thank me!)

Professional Painted Finishes

by Ina Marx, This book contains the most information on Graining Techniques. Personally I do not like the way it reads, however it will give you all the information you will ever need. When I purchased this book it was $40.50 and I was hesitant about recommending it. Now it is half the price new. (If I had only waited). This is a good book for someone really serious about this stuff. THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO DECORATIVE ANTIQUE EFFECTS listed above, gives you a good overview which is sufficient for most.

The Weekend Refinisher: How to Make the Most of Your Furniture

A Step-By-Step Guide by Bruce Johnson IF YOU ONLY BUY ONE BOOK ON Furniture Refinishing, this is the one. It will save you a lot of unnecessary work and PREVENT YOU FROM DESTROYING AN ANTIQUE. You will learn the most valuable lessons NEVER mentioned in any other book.

The Furniture Doctor

by George Grotz A great how-to book that shows you how to deal with particular problems with furniture and refinishing.