Finished to sustain more

than just a piece of furniture.

The main purpose of a wood finish is to protect the work which lies beneath.  However, nothing lasts forever; everything degrades over time.

We believe that chemical finishing should embrace the optimum middle ground between overall protection of the furniture and the environment.

Taking advantage of the most recent advances in finishing chemistry + technology, we utilize only the highest quality water borne finishes on our furniture.

The purpose of wood finishing.

The main purpose of a wood finish is to protect the wood beneath.  You may be wondering whether wood, one of the most durable, time-tested

materials on earth really needs a finish.  Well, it doesn’t actually need anything.   Some species, such as white oak, cedar, redwood, and mahogany,

contain naturally occurring oils which resist water penetration.   You can leave a piece outside for a decade, cut the surface off, and it may be perfectly

fine on the inside.  This is especially true with oily tropical hardwoods, such as ipe’, teak, or rosewood, which can potentially last upwards of fifty to one hundred

years outdoors, unfinished.  The reason we finish wood is that after we spend much time preparing and smoothing the surface, we want to keep it that

way.  While your table won’t rot away, it will not stay in a nice, clean, attractive state unfinished.  An unfinished piece of wood will quickly

absorb spilled liquids, stain from pieces of food, and become very rough…not the ideal tabletop surface.

The science of wood finishing.

Every piece of wood has a measurable moisture content.  That is, the ratio of the weight of water in a piece of wood compared to

the weight of the wood if it were 100% dry.  Wood fibers are constantly absorbing and releasing moisture through water vapor in the air,

depending on the relative humidity of the environment that the wood is in.  It’s this constant exchange that can wreak havoc on furniture over time.

As the wood fibers physically shrink + swell, the wood itself is actually in motion.  This puts stress on the joints we use to build furniture and

over time can cause a joint to fail and even degrade the cell structure of the wood itself.  The goal of wood finishing is not to

completely stop this moisture exchange, but simply to slow it down; effectively decreasing the overall movement.

Finishing first starts with smoothing the wood.  This is accomplished using scrapers, planes, and various grits of sandpaper.

We then use a layering process, applying multiple coats of finish.  The first few coats seal off the wood fibers from the moisture

in the air, and the final layers, known as a topcoat, create a very thin film which is extremely durable.

Wood finishing, solvents, +

protecting the environment.

Going back to the 19th century,  shellac, a natural resin secreted by lac bugs, was by far the most popular finishing material.  Shellac forms an excellent

barrier against water-vapor exchange, it dries very quickly and very hard, + it’s non-toxic.  The downside to shellac is that is has a weak resistance to heat,

water, solvents, and chemicals.  It also abrades relatively easily.  Throughout the 20th century, the most durable, and thus the most popular wood finishes have

been primarily petroleum derived.  Finishes such as varnish, nitrocellulose lacquer, and conversion finishes.  While these finishes do a great job of protecting  the

wood, they come with a severe downside.  The solvents used to keep them in suspension are incredibly toxic, and very damaging to our environment.

Again, we believe that chemical finishing should embrace the optimum middle ground between overall protection of the furniture and the

environment.  We only utilize shellac along with the highest quality water borne finishes,  taking advantage of the most recent advances in finishing

chemistry + technology.   Our main topcoat is an ultra clear, water based acrylic lacquer that utilizes advanced polymer resins and HAPS-Free

solvent technologies.  This finish creates a nitrocellulose-type appearance and performance in an ultra-low VOC , 100% water-based system;

specifically designed for professional, production application.  And at only 41g/l of VOCs, it’s one of the safest chemical finishes available.