I think a good book that covers 19th century wood finishes is greatly needed since most finishing books only cover modern products and application processes. In some ways this book fills some of the gaps and has answered some questions I have been wondering about. For example, the author explains how to make (or rather cook) varnish. The author also explains how to make your own paint and even how to make your own paint brushes.
I do however feel that this book has a few short comings (that could easily be remedied in future editions of the book). First, I found the first few chapters of the book extremely difficult to follow, which is unfortunate for me since these chapters covered two of the topics I was most interested in (shellac and linseed oil). Some of the illustrations are a little too small to be able to understand and the illustrations lack numbered references and captions so it isn't entirely clear what each illustrations is meant to convey. Another difficulty was that some concepts where introduced in early chapters but then where not well explained until much later in the book (e.g., moth atomizer and pipkin where explained a few chapters after they were first referenced). In all the primary draw backs are mostly related to the difficulty I had with the organization and not necessarily with the information itself.
The book has a pretty comprehensive section on painting and graining, however, I have never applied or attempted graining. The author actually provides some color photos for this section and then in the text gives detailed explanations of how he achieved each finish. The author's experience with refinishing really comes out in this book. I appreciate all of the author's historical research and the fact that he has compiled some many historical varnish, paint, and stain recipes into a single book.
I am only aware of one other book that focuses on similar finishing techniques which is a book by Sam Allen entitled Classic Finishing Techniques. I haven't finished reading Classic Finishing Techniques yet but from what I have read so far it seems to better cover topics such as French polishing. Classic Finishing Techniques doesn't cover any paint related topics.
In the books current form I would primarily recommend it to anyone interested in making their own varnish, paint, or paint brushes. I would also highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the paint and graining chapter since this chapter seemed to be the most comprehensive.
Pages: 160 Publisher: Full Chisel Press ISBN-13: 978-0983851400