Unique Woodworking...
Hand Rubbed Finishes
This kitchen is walnut with a honey maple stain and a hand rubbed with a satin finish.
We use a unique 14 step finishing process that features a hand rubbed finish. Hand rubbing a finish on is exactly how it sounds. Rather than use a one or two coats of a heavier spray on finish, we use applicators to rub the finish into the wood in lighter coats. In between each coat, we sand the prior finish lightly with 400 grit to give it a super smooth finish. By hand rubbing the finish on, we can show off the wonderful grains of the wood. With a spray on finish, the heavier coats cover up the woods natural beauty.
This bathroom is a beautiful cherry with red mahogany stain and a hand rubbed satin finish
The real key to our finish though, is in the preparation to the hand rubbing. Before any piece has any stain or finish applied, it has to be sanded completely smooth. After assembly of frames and doors, we run them through a dual drum sander where any chips, scratches, saw marks or burns from the cutting and shaping are removed, and it also assures a nice flat, even piece. This process sands the piece up to 220 grit.
This is the dual drum sander. The first drum is sanding at 120 grit while the rear drum sands to 220 grit.
This is where most production shops would be ready for finish, but the problem here is the wood was sent through in one direction through the machine, causing small scratches from the sandpaper, usually from top to bottom. Now in a production shop, they just use heavier spray finishes to cover up the scratches, but this also covers up the wood. We, on the other hand, have to sand each piece with random orbital hand sanders, and even by hand alone, to assure all the scratches are removed. This is the only way we can use thinner hand rubbed finishes, since they do not hide scratches very well at all. In fact, any imperfections are magnified, so to speak, by hand rubbing. The benefit is that it also brings out the beauty of the wood, and shows off the depth and colors you would never be able to see with a heavy finish.