Furniture finishers create beautiful surfaces for new wood or metal furniture. They give the furniture a specified colour or finish. Finishers work in furniture manufacturing plants and retail furniture stores.
Refinishers replace the finish on old furniture. They work in furniture refinishing shops or are self-employed.
As a finisher, you use brushes or spray guns to stain or finish the wood. You apply stains, paints, toners, highlights, glazes or shades developed with special solvents to obtain the desired look. You also use lacquer or other sealers.
Much of your time is spent sanding and touching up the surfaces of wood or metal furniture to prepare them for the next finish or stain to be applied. The furniture must also be cleaned and polished. To create special effects, such as giving the surface an antique look, you may need to use hand or power woodworking tools.
As a refinisher, you are required to perform any of all the tasks of a finisher. In addition, you may hae to make minor repairs to the furniture. You strip wood surfaces using steel wool, sand paper, solvents or dip tanks. Your duties include matching colours to get the original look and applying the appropriate finish to the stripped wood. You polish and wax refinished surfaces, and sand or grind metal surfaces to prepare them for coating. To paint metal surfaces, a refinisher uses an electrostatic method, spray guns or other painting equipment.
You begin as a finisher or refinisher by working in the sanding and stripping area. It's difficult and messy work and involves working with chemicals. If yo stick it out and develop your skills, you will eventually be moved to more responsible and rewarding tasks.
Generally, you are paid at an hourly rate reflecting your level of experience.
This work will appeal to you if you love woodworking, furniture and antiques. The work can be demanding and the results must be perfect because clients' expectations are very high. You must be good with your hands and have an eye for colour and detail. For the truly intricate jobs, a lot of patience also helps.
You can get a lot of pleasure from transforming a battered piece into a beautiful antique. No one can take away that moment of satisfaction when you step back and see what you have done with it.
There are no college courses that focus on furniture finishing or refinishing though the subject is taught in some colleges as part of the furniture woodworking curriculum. There are no additional educational or training requirements for furniture finishing or refinishing. Licences, certificates or registration are also not required.