Books & Video


“I’ve been in the Paint and Coatings Industry for over 17 years at Rust-Oleum, Sherwin Williams, Cook Paint and my own specialty Coatings and Adhesive company, Akrofire Inc.  I was the primary Technical Spokesperson for Rust-Oleum for about 7 years. Found you online and just wanted to say that I really enjoy your technical articles. Oftentimes I find myself critical and nit-picky about online Coatings information but I think your writings are spot on; useful, technically sound and very well written. Mostly I just wanted to congratulate you on your uncommonly high quality technical advice.”

—George Danker, Akrofire Inc, Kansas City, MO—

“Thanks for your excellent and informative books; without your unselfish attitude I would have never been able to produce the finishes that my customers ooh and ahh over.”

—Tom Gillan, Gillan’s Custom Crafts, Atco, NJ—

Order any book direct from Homestead and get it signed by Jeff!

Books available through our eBay store

 

spfwj-now-availableNEW January 2017! Finish an Acoustic Guitar (Online-Course & Download). Most people may not know that I started my woodworking/finishing career as a aspiring luthier. That didn’t quite work out but I’ve never lost my passion for making and finishing guitars. In this HD course filmed in my shop, I show you the complete process for finishing an OM style acoustic guitar with solvent spray lacquer. 3 hours of instruction shows you everything from surface preparation to buffing the finish to a brilliant gloss. I’ll share all my tips, and troubleshooting along the way. Available only through Robbie O’Briens On-line course site here.

 

You’ll learn how to:

  • Prepare the surface using scrapers, power sanding and hand sanding
  • Fixing defects like dents and gaps
  • Choosing and using the right spray gun
  • Sealing and taping strategies
  • Applying paste wood filler
  • A simple sunburst (on the neck)
  • Applying gloss topcoats
  • Sanding back the finish
  • Wet-sanding
  • Polishing to gloss using both rotary tools and a stationary buffer
  • How to revive a finish
  • Troubleshooting – lacquer drop fills, stick shellac, rub-throughs.

 


 

books_rfmsNEW! Refinishing Furniture Made Simple (Softcover Book & DVD set). Old furniture, whether a treasured heirloom or consignment shop find, is often better made than anything that can be bought today. So, why let damaged finishes detract from a beautiful piece when you can repair or refinish it in a way that preserves the piece and makes it look as good as new? Author Jeff Jewitt, a professional refinisher with over 30 years experience, shares his tricks, shortcuts, and tools of the trade in Refinishing Furniture Made Simple, an easy-to-follow book/DVD set by the Taunton Press that is sure to fly off the shelves. Weekend refinishers as well as professional woodworkers will benefit from the insider tips on how to evaluate the condition of a piece to decide the best strategy for rejuvenating it, repair and revive finishes to enhance their beauty while preserving their patina, and match an old finish for a seamless look.

 

Out of Stock. Available through amazon.com

 

You’ll learn how to:

  • Choose the right stripper
  • Pros and cons of complete stripping versus reviving
  • Basic repair strategies and techniques
  • How to revive a finish
  • How to strip a finish
  • Surface preparation
  • Bleaching
  • How to match finishes
  • Using stains, putties, paste fillers and finishes
  • How to clean and revive metal hardware
  • How to age metal parts
  • How to polish and rub finishes
  • Fix minor surface damage
  • Cleaning and waxing

Order from Homestead and get your copy signed!

Soft-cover Book and DVD Set  – $24.95

sfmslargeSpray Finishing Made Simple – This project is a new concept in book publishing, combining a feature and technique packed 45 minute DVD with a 125 page companion book.

In this book and DVD, Jeff explains how to choose equipment, how to set it up and demystifies the entire spray-finishing process.

Through this unique multimedia approach, which includes detailed step-by-step instructions, photos, and how-to video, readers learn where to safely spray finishes and how to troubleshoot and solve spray-finishing problems. Both the book and DVD cover a variety of spray systems, solvents, and waterborne finishing products.

You’ll learn how to:

  • Choose the right equipment
  • Pros and cons of compressor driven and turbine driven spray systems
  • Understand how spray guns and equipment work
  • How to set up compressors and HVLP conversion guns
  • How to set up turbine HVLP systems
  • How to set up a home spray area
  • How to spray solvent based and waterborne finishes, stains and sealers
  • How to spray latex paint
  • How to clean and maintain your spray gun and equipment
  • How to troubleshoot spray gun problems
  • How to troubleshoot common spray finish defects like orange peel and blushing
Soft-cover Book and DVD package. – $27.95

FIRST PLACE WINNER!  2005 Golden Hammer award for best How-To Book

CIG_frontPublished by Taunton Press, the book, “Complete Illustrated Guide to Finishing” has over 300 pages and 800 color photos and is the most up-to-date, comprehensive book on finishing wood ever published. This book covers both tried and true techniques like French Polishing right alongside more modern techniques such as spraying polyester and conversion varnish. You’ll learn about all the latest products and the tools to apply them, and techniques like toning, shading, sun-bursting, creative grain filling, and applying finishes, both by hand as well as spray. The book is organized for quick access which makes it easy to find each technique or topic.

From the Introduction by the author  “Finishing. It’s the aptly named final detail to making furniture. Finishes not only protect wood from stains, water damage and other mishaps, they also make it look richer, deeper and add dimension and luster. For me, finishing is the most enjoyable part of working wood, because it’s where everything comes together. Whether it’s the tingly feeling from wiping a coat of oil or shellac on highly figured curly maple or the excitement from matching an old finish, finishing is the reward of making things from wood.

Yet I’ll wager that for most of you finishing isn’t fun or has been an unpleasant experience. Sadly, most woodworkers find out the hard way that Murphy’s Law’s of everything that could possibly go wrong begins with the introduction of a finish to wood. Just think of the phrases used to describe finishing problems: “fish-eyes”, “wrinkling”, “splotching”, “bleeding” or “orange-peel”. You want that on your furniture?

This book will guide you through the finishing process and make it as exciting for you as it is for me. I learned finishing by making mistakes, lots of them, and you probably have neither the time nor the furniture to practice on the way I did. I’ll guide you through the tools, the products and the techniques for gaining control over the process, which is the point at which finishing becomes fun. You won’t find a dogmatic style or preachy opinions in these pages; I’ll show you proven, classic ways of doing things along side of new techniques using modern materials.”

Paperback $27.95

 


THIRD PLACE WINNER! 2001 Golden Hammer award for best How-To Book
Click here to read reviews of Great Wood Finishes

gwoodfinishGreat Wood Finishes – A Step-by-step Guide to Beautiful Results
Taunton 2000

This book was designed to make finishing easy. In this book you’ll get pro-level advise presented in a clear and concise format with plenty of clear, four-color photographs. You’ll get advice on the best equipment to buy, and then you’ll be shown how to use it. Included are helpful hints on each page to avoid the most common pitfalls and troubleshooting charts. The heart of this book is the Specialty Finishes Section, in which 14 finishes are detailed in a step-by-step format.

 

You’ll see how to do:

  • Liming, Pickling and Whitewash
  • A modern Cherry Finish
  • Filled-pore Finishes
  • Blond Finishes
  • Painted and Distressed Finishes
  • Shellac and Wax
  • Early American Maple Finish
  • Ebonized Finishes
  • Rustic Pine Finish
  • How to finish Cherry — without splotching
  • Spray finishes right — the first time!!
  • Correct staining problems

Also learn how to choose and use spray equipment, build and set up a portable spray booth. Matching finishes, using glazes, toning and shading are discussed in detail. All finishes are done using commonly available finishing products.

Author comments “This book is the culmination of what I thought the perfect finishing book should be. Written and photographed over a two year period, we took 14 pieces of unfinished furniture and my photographer Randy took photos while I finished these pieces. There’s no trick photography, no studio or posed shots. We worked on real furniture in real settings similar to those that amateur and novice woodworkers would have. Randy puts you over my shoulder and in the front row so you can see the nuances of coloring, finishing and rubbing out this furniture. It’s as close as you can get to private instruction”.

Softcover $26.95