How We Build a Rocking Chair — Finishing

Finishing is addressed in full detail on the page How We Apply Our Oil Finish.  In short:

We apply our oil finish by hand outside on our finishing porch.  We flood oil on the rocking chair and rub it in  (#1).

After letting the piece absorb finish for 20 minutes or so, we wipe off the excess from the surface and blow out any excess  (#2) from the intersections.

We carefully and completely rub any finish into and off the surface  (#3).

After 48 hours drying time, we sand with 600-grit sandpaper and repeat the steps above.  Letting this second coat dry 48 hours, we sand with 1000-grit sandpaper and repeat the steps.

The next day I inspect the chairs with the aid of strong backlight.  I look for, feel for, and remove any imperfections  (#4).

previous page — sanding