I am a relative novice at wood finishing and have been reading reviews of books and among the good choices were Great Wood Finishes and Hand Applied Finishes by Jeff Jewitt. I had pretty much decided to get these and now I see he has the new book above out. Havent really been able to find much about it and was wondering for those that have seen it how it compares to the earlier books (which would be better). One thing in particular I am interested in is maintaining the finish of shellac wood floors.
I have both the new Jewett book and Flexner's book. They are both excellent references.
I'd have to give the nod toward the new book. The new Jewitt book covers that latest water base products, provides more detail on pre-finishing (sanding & scraping, even wood selection), and answers questions left by older books.
I still open both at times, but itf I could only have ONE, I'd go with the new Jewitt book.
I have both the new Jewett book (Complete Illustrated) as well as the Flexner book. To me, it seems like Flexner focuses on "what" and Jewett focuses on "How". To summarize, Flexner tells you everything you could possibly want to know about a type of finish and Jewett tells you how best to prep the work and apply it. It isn't until page 200 that Jewett even starts talking about the properties of film finishes.
I haven't read the other two, so I can't say how they compare to the newest one, but between the Flexner book and the new Jewett book, they've answered every question I've had and gave me a real good understanding of when and why I would want to use different finishes and finishing techniques.
Pertaining to your question of the wood floors, I think Flexner's book would be a good one to reference. There is a handy chart on pages 208 and 209 that show comparisons of appearance, protection, durability, appplication ease, safety, reversibility, and rubbing qualities of nine common types of finishes (including shellac and varnishes).
Good luck!
-Rick
V> I am a relative novice at wood finishing and have been reading reviews
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