DIY Woodworking, Home Improvement, and Art Projects

Minwax’s line of oil-based laquers and polyurethane finishes, and water-based finishes has a great reputation. You can find their products almost everywhere; in small hardware stores, paint stores, the big-box home centers, and at lumber supply stores. The point is that they have a wide variety of products to provide protective finishes over almost any existing surface imaginable. They also have tons of stains, waxes, oils, and wood repair products; I’ll get into those other lines of products later on.

Minwax Polycrylic Protective Finish

Today I’m going to talk about the Polycrylic protective finish from Minwax. We got this in the gallon size, but I’ve also purchased it in the quart size for smaller projects. It’s not exactly cheap; at around $10 for a quart and $35 for a gallon; it’s worth it in my opinion. What you’re getting for the price is a low-odor, quick-drying product that is easy to clean up. Now those things may not seem like the most important aspects to judge a product on, but after you’ve used oil-based polyuerthane finishes, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

I got my introduction to this product when I was doing some paintings a couple of years ago. These were fine art paintings on both wood panel and regular cotton canvas. I wanted a simple, fast clear coat finish that would dry quickly and be easy to clean up. I tried it both as a multi-coat step to add depth to my panel paintings, and also as a protective clear coat on top of a finished painting. It worked great and provided ease of use as well as an almost perfectly smooth, bubble-less finish. I usually get the quart size for my art paintings and the gallon size for home improvement projects.
Most recently I purchased a gallon for our cabinet refinishing project. We wanted to coat everything with two coats of clear finish. Since these are kitchen cabinets we needed a strong, wear-resistant coating that wouldn’t change the look of the decorative finish underneath. After all the time we spent on the painting and glazing of the cabinets we didn’t want to hinder the look by having to clear coat them. The Polycrylic did a terrific job of protecting the cabinet surfaces while being almost imperceptible. You can get it in both agloss, semi-gloss, and satin finish and they both work well depending on which type of project you’re doing. We used a semi-gloss on our cabinets.

The fact that this product has almost no odor and is easy to clean up were huge benefits as well. We only cracked a porch door during the application of the product and that was more to help me cool down than to relieve any strong chemical odor. I did use disposable vinyl gloves when I applied the Polycrylic for ease of clean up and convenience. I used a synthetic bristle brush to apply the finish. If you’re doing a lot of surface area at one time (one prolonged coat) then I would recommend cleaning out your brush midway through. The liquid can dry and stiffen your brush near the ferrule, where the bristles are attached to the handle, if you’re not careful. It’s not a brush killer, but you’ll ensure a longer brush life if you periodically use soap and water to clean them out during application of the Polycrylic finish.

I also used a wet rag to catch any drips along the edges of the surface I was working on. As long as you catch the drips quickly they won’t dry into a clear dimple on your floor or other areas where you don’t want little clear bumps. Like any clear finish you do have to be careful, especially if you’re applying it to a vertical surface, to watch the drying process so you’re not left with drips and accumulations of the finish in corners. If you just do little touch ups here and there with a brush or rag as you go you’ll ensure an even coating with little to no drips or imperfections.
This is what the Minwax site says about this product:
“Minwax® Polycrylic® Protective Finish is a crystal clear, ultra fast-drying protective topcoat for use over bare wood, oil- and water-based stains, paint and wallpaper. It has very little odor, is non-flammable, cleans up easily with soap and water and can be recoated in only 2 hours.”

Polycrylic® can be used on furniture, trim, doors, cabinets and paneling. Its clarity makes it an ideal topcoat over Minwax® Water-Based Wood Stains and any wood surface, especially light woods like maple, ash and birch. Polycrylic® also resists damage from abrasion, scuffing, chipping, water, alcohol and other common household chemicals.”

Polycrylic® is not recommended for use on floors because it would require more frequent recoating in high traffic areas. Instead, we recommend Minwax^® Super Fast-Drying Polyurethane for Floors or Minwax^® Water-Based Polyurethane for Floors.”

If you’ve used this product and have success or horror stories about it please let us know. We hope to create a resource of product reviews and actual user comments to help anyone that comes to this site. Thanks!

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Sometimes I catch myself daydreaming of wonderful things that could never be: I imagine fanciful scenarios that never could, nor should, exist.  Though like in my nighttime dreams about houses, my daydreams about houses are mostly fun, and hopefully will exist eventually.  This post will be about some of the things that I imagine for my home someday.

Probably the biggest and best thing that I could want would be a massive open area with a four sided balcony above.  The airy space above would be about 20-25 feet tall and probably have some skylights with remote shades.  The balcony would wrap all the way around the space and offer a generous view to the space below.  The walls and columns would either be made from invisible mortar joint stacked stone.  I love the look of that thin, horizontal stacked stone.  It reminds me a lot of the materials that Frank Lloyd Wright used in many of his Prairie/Crafstman-style homes.

Open, soaring, uncluttered spaces really make me happy for some reason.  When I walk into a room that has high ceilings and imaginitive architecture that allows for unbroken, tall spaces, I just feel different.  Many restaurants have this effect in spades.  I was just in an Italian place in Utah and they had tall ceilings, amber globes casting a romantic glow around the room, and these high wooden racks that wrapped around the walls just beneath the exposed beams of the ceiling.  On the racks were a few knick knacks and also some half-barrels of wine made to look like they were stacked in rows above your head.  In this case the atmosphere was much better than the food.

So give me wide-open spaces with exposed beams and expansive windows to open the space up even further.  I’d sacrafice overall square footage just to have a feature like that…it gives you all the drama and individuality that you could want for an interior without the extra floors to vacuum or miscellaneous stuff to dust.  Now throw some Brazilian hardwood floors with a dark wood stain and you’re really talkin’.  I also like the idea of combining travertine tiles with that stacked horizontal stone, especially around a fireplace.  There would be a nice wide stripe of stone that surrounds the fireplace and follows it all the way up to the peak of the ceiling.  Then on either side would be this nice, earthen travertine.  Add a couple of wrought iron sconces on the walls, a good, hefty rough-hewn beam for a mantle, and hang some fun contemporary art above it and I’d be all set!

Then I’d bring the same motif — open space, rich earthy materials, and an eye-catching fireplace — into the adjoining library.  I’ve been collecting books for a long time now and I have quite a few volumes that I’m proud of and deserve to reside in their own beautiful, private library.  There would be tall cherry bookshelves built in to the walls and then that travertine tile on the walls above the shelves, following them all the way to the crown molding on the twenty foot ceilings.  There would also be a little reading area above, accessible by an iron spiral staircase.  Nestled between the bookcases would be another ample fireplace in stacked stone.  Clerestory windows would line the walls just below the ceiling, while indirect lighting, and hanging pendant lights, would illuminate the space dramatically.

Well that’s a little bit of my home daydream.  They’re all a series of images and ideas in my head that I keep around to inspire me and help me to reach my goals.  Everyone wants nice things of course, but part of my philosophy is that if I have to give up too much to have a home like this, then it’s not worth it.  If I can live comfortably and not have an overwhelming heap of debt, then I’d want a house like this.  But I wouldn’t want to stretch myself thin just to live there…and then not be able to afford to heat or cool it.

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The first time I drove by this house that matched what I dreamt I didn’t have my camera with me. Also since I was lost, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find it again…on purpose. So I went out with my camera later in the week and I cruised around the beautiful neighborhoods at the foot of the mountains. After about ten minutes I came across the house! I parked nearby and snapped some pics to share and to be able to show my future architect how to construct my future dream home.

My dream home - image 1

My dream home - view 2

My dream home - view 3

As I mentioned in my previous post, this house is for sale, but for some reason I couldn’t find it for sure in the listings at the time. It’s on Skyline Dr. in Orem, UT. But as I said, it wasn’t apparent in the real estate offerings I found on the interenet last week. Oh well, it’s not like I’ve got 1/2 a million right now anyway. If anybody has a house like this in your neighborhood let me know. It’s fun to collect pictures of architecture or designs that inspire you. It all contributes to defining your style and what you’d like for your own dwelling. Cheers!

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The other day I was dreaming, and in that dream I came upon a house.  This isn’t altogether unusual because I dream of houses all the time.  I also dream of particular neighborhoods again and again.  When I came upon this neighborhood I recognized it, and I even recognized the house.  In a previous dream it was just starting to be built, it was only foundation and structural components.  When I came back to it in last week’s dream, it was almost complete with only a few final pieces missing.

So I went in through the front door and started to explore.  I didn’t remember the inside from my previous dream, so it was all new to me.  Inside it was beautiful, spacious, and lavish.  The expansive foyer led right into the massive, open great room.  The ceilings were at least 12 feet high and there was a large fireplace with a marble surround.  Instead of just plain crown molding, there was a 45 degree angle where the walls met the ceiling and there were two rows of molding at each intersection.  I walked around that area for a while, then I went to the stairs leading up the second floor.

When I began walking up the stairs I felt like something was out of place.  One section of the staircase led around a tight corner and down through a semi-false passage.  The main staircase continued up to the main area of the second floor.  I decided to take the offshoot staircase that led down and around.  It curved and dipped and came out on a small landing.  Then another staircase led further into the basement.  Here’s where things got interesting.  The basement was absolutely amazing.  The ceilings were about 25 feet high and in the process of being covered with carved walnut panels.  It’s the kind of rich, beautiful wood you’d find lining the walls of a study or library in an old mansion.

There was also a large, open kitchen filled with commercial-grade appliances.  Everything was finished in a brushed stainless steel and the accent colors were earth tones.  Opposite the kitchen was a large lounge with a wall from floor to ceiling of little shelf cubbies filled with bottles of liqour and wine.  There had to be 600 bottles on the entire wall.  In front of the bottle wall there was a wide, long bar with a deep brown granite top, six or seven beer taps lined up behind that, and there was even a bartender in a tux cleaning up glasses and polishing the granite counter.  In the lounge area itself there was about 600 square feet of space with leather club chairs, cool lamps, little serving trays, and gorgeous hard-wood flooring.

I didn’t get to explore the entire basement level in this dream, but from what I saw this time, and the glimpses I got of the rest of the floor, it seemed like it had to around 3,000 square feet at least; in just the basement!  Who knows how many SF in the rest of the house.  I hope I get to go back in another dream and explore the remaining areas in detail.

I am in Utah this week on a business trip.  As I was driving from my hotel to the business complex where I am going for training, I passed through a nice, quiet suburb of Provo.  It’s a wonderful, clean, colorful place with nice architecture, wide streets, and smiling faces all around.  As I was driving along, actually lost, I came across an amazing home perched on a corner lot.  It was majestic and it commanded the attention of everyone passing by.  Other homes on that street were nice, but this house was king.  I am guessing that it was around 5,000 square feet.  It was covered in cinnamon-colored cedar siding and had exposed exterior beams framing the entryway, and large windows to drink in the view outside.  This view I should say is of this breathtaking mountain range less than 5 miles away.  As I passed this house I said to myself, “That’s it…that’s my dream house, and I’ll have one like it someday.”  I just knew that it was exactly what I had been privately scheming about for years as my ideal, elaborate dream home.  The saying goes that sometimes dreams do come true…well the first part did; I found the house in my dreams; the rest of it will hopefully come true as well where I get to actually own that house, or one like it, someday.

Cheers!

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You know, it can be hard to determine your own decorating style. When it comes to clothing, music, cars, etc., we generally don’t seem to have a problem distinguishing ourselves, and choosing a style. Ask most anyone what kind of music they like and you’ll get an immediate answer. Ask them what kinds of clothes they feel good in, and look good in, and they’ll either grab a catalog, name a store, go to a website, or show you their closet, to describe and demonstrate what “does it” for them.
But, I bet that if you asked the average person about their decorating style, or favorite architecture, or favorite color scheme, they wouldn’t have an answer; they’d probably look at the ground for a minute, twist their mouth up in mock concentration, and then tell you that they don’t know. Do you like the Danish modern style? How about German minimalism? Or, what about that great Craftsman period, and the great Bungalows of the early 20th century? Huh?!
If you’ve been thinking about redecorating your current home or apartment, it would be helpful to know what style you are. Since home renovation isn’t a small, or cheap, undertaking, it’s well worth it to research and plan ahead. The single best thing you can do to ultimately save you time, money, and lots of headaches, it’s to read, watch, and record. What is involved in reading, watching and recording? Fine questions, and I am going to go over each phase in a series of posts about finding your style, and planning to make it a reality in your home.
The ‘What’s Your Style?’ posts will be a series of at least 4 articles including this introduction. I will show you places to look for information, pictures, inspiration, and products; the Reading phase. Then I’ll give you a rundown of the best programs, and even movies, to watch for ideas, inspiration, and up-to-date examples of what’s possible; the Watching phase. Then finally, I’ll walk you through how to write down your ideas, organize them, and create a winning plan so you can make your decorating dreams a reality; the Recording phase.
So come back every week as I will be writing one part of the ‘What’s Your Style’ series each week. In the meantime I’ll still be posting on other topics and interests throughout the week. Cheers!

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One of the main remodeling projects in the kitchen, in addition to the cabinet refinishing, is the venetian plaster effect on the walls.  When we started there was awful wall paper in a country pattern.  On the opposite wall, in the small dining area, there was an equally hideous, but different pattern.  We knew that just re-doing the cabinets was not going to be enough.

We removed the wall paper (that topic will be covered in depth in other posts and in other project tutorials) and what was left on the walls was a scratchy, uneven texture from all of the excess paste.  The previous owners hadn’t used any sizing before applying the wall paper, so our removal job was more difficult, and the walls needed a creative solution to make them look good.  Straight priming and painting wouldn’t work here…the walls were just in no shape to work with using traditional painting techniques.

We had wanted to do a venetian plaster faux finish somewhere in the house, so this seemed like the ideal location.  There were several things we considered here.  One, would the plaster finish match the cabinet style, and the other colors/textures in the kitchen?  Two, could we do a finish like this ourselves and actually make it look good?  Three, what kinds of costs are involved with a venetian plaster finish and would it be worth the final results?  Four, what kinds of products were the best, cost-effective, and easy to find for the job?

Check back to find out the answers we came up with, and to see the test results on the walls!  When we try an idea, we try it big!  Cheers!

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Now you’ve probably looked at the fancy, pre-finished cabinets that are on sale in any home store across the country.  They’re all made with solid woods, expert joinery, and have smooth, professional finishes.  Well if you’ve got $3,000 to $10,000 to spend for an average size kitchen full of cabinets, then by all means, consider the ‘all new’ option.  But if you’re like me and you’ve got one of those average size kitchens, but about $500, then read on.  Oh, just so you know, our cabinets we’re installed in the mid-eighties, are made out of the thinnest, cheapest boards you can find, and had some of the worst hardware you’ve ever seen.

The cabinet refinishing system we used was cobbled together from a bunch of websites, some friendly advice, and from watching my dad make our homes beautiful when I was younger.  In fact, the drive to do-it-yourself, save money, and have a beautiful, cost-effective end product, came from my dad.  He has a strong work ethic, and he takes pride in everything he does around the house.  So with that said, I can only aspire to try as hard, and hope that my results are similar to his.

As I write this, we’re about 3/4 of the way done with the cabinet refinishing project.  We’ve refined and simplified our refinishing system, and have only three doors and two drawers left.  Don’t worry, I have taken pictures and written notes about the entire procedure, so I’ll be able to guide you through to success!  Remember, I can’t guarantee results similar to mine, but I do think you’ll have a great time trying a project like this for yourself, and if done properly it can save you a ton of money and make your home more beautiful than it was before.

Stay tuned…in the next post I’ll introduce the main components of my italian-inspired cabinet refinishing project, and discuss the tools necessary for the job.  Cheers!

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Yeah, it’s kind of a corny and cliched title for a first post, right? Well, I’m just excited to get this going. I’ve been doing a lot of projects lately, taking pictures, working on tutorials, organizing my thoughts, etc. The site is starting to take shape, and now, after much hard work, the blog is live!

Well, I don’t want to get greedy and go for the glory on the first thing here. So, hopefully you’ll come back as I am going to be adding new stuff all the time.

Cheers!

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