Hi there! I’m Ernest Godia, founder of Wood Finishing Advice. I am a professional and hobbyist woodworker—professional because it is my expertise acquired from decades of woodworking experience, and hobbyist because I do it out of passion.
I grew up watching my father create things out of wood and found everything about it fascinating. I was not allowed to touch any of the craftsman tools in my daddy’s workshop, but my presence was welcome. So I took my time to observe everything and fell in love with woodwork.
My father had other plans for me as far as a career choice was concerned. He wanted a certified accountant in the family, and he saw no one better than me to take up the mantle.
Years later, something happened: I grew up, and older age meant I could do as I pleased. So I bought my craftsman tools and set up a workshop where I spent my free time—when I was not studying or practicing accounting.
I particularly became fascinated by how minor tweaks could transform an ordinary piece of wood into a spectacular piece. That is how my love for wood finishing was born.
One afternoon my wife and I were walking through a store, and she saw this unique dresser that she really liked. We inquired about purchasing it, only to find that a customer had paid for it. Sold.
My wife took a photo of the dresser and sent it to a professional who said he could make it. Unfortunately, when the piece was finally delivered to our home, it was not exactly like the original one. The finish was barely passable.
I studied the picture of the original piece and went out and bought the stuff I believed could bring out the look my wife and I wanted. After buying everything I needed, I stripped down the dresser and refinished it in my workshop over a weekend. When I was done, the smile on my wife’s face said it all: I had got it right.
Believe it or not, if you want something done right, do it yourself—Napoléon Bonaparte.
Looking at that dresser got me thinking about all the people out there who wish they could get certain results but end up having to live with disappointments because they do not know how to do the work themselves.
I’m here to change that. Wood Finishing Advice is here to change that.
It took me decades of learning and practice to acquire the skills I have today. I made mistakes along the way, lots of mistakes. But I gradually refined my skills and discovered better ways of working with wood.
I quit my accounting job to focus on woodcraft, where my true passion lies. The purpose of this website is to allow me to share those better ways with you, my beloved readers.
I want to provide people with an easier way to avoid the mistakes that I made while building my woodworking career.
I want to save you money through simpler, straightforward, and more effective approaches to refining and protecting wooden surfaces.
Mission
To provide simpler, straightforward, and more effective approaches for refining and protecting wood.
Vision
To be the center for simpler, straightforward, and more effective approaches for refining and protecting wood.
My content selection process
At wood Finishing Advice, we constantly study customer questions across various forums and use that as the basis for creating our content.
If people are interested in a topic and are actively searching for answers, it qualifies as a pain point. I aim to provide solutions for that pain point. And we don’t just offer solutions; we simplify them.
Wood Finishing Advice breaks down each process into simple steps that anyone can follow.
Each process also comes with all the requirements you will need to complete it. As a result, you can be sure of reproducing the same results as many times as you want, regardless of your skill level.
My product review process
Wood Finishing Advice is entirely my brainchild. It has no sponsors, which allows it to be completely free of bias in product selections, comparisons, and recommendations. So you can fully trust the content on this website.
When recommending products, I insist on doing due diligence at all times. I have inborn thoroughness that comes in handy when researching the content published on this website.
After doing my own research and putting together my findings, I compare them with other industry professionals to ensure consistency in truths, facts, and more.
As a norm, I insist on testing a good number of products before recommending them. Sometimes, I’m forced to hire equipment or book spaces in other people’s workshops to test the products thoroughly.
For the few I’m unable to test personally, I go through hundreds of reviews of the top-rated products that have been in the market for a while.
Naturally, this takes a lot of time! Compiling a single review article typically takes anywhere from one day to an entire week of painstaking research, writing, editing, and testing (whenever I can).
It gives me unimaginable pleasure to recommend nothing short of the best products that add value to your life and deserve your money and attention.
Who is Wood Finishing Advice for?
Absolutely everyone. If you have a set of hands and live in a home (which applies to all of us), you can always use some wood finishing skills or ideas to enhance the look around your home or business.
If you like to do things with your hands, the guidelines on this website will give you more straightforward ways of completing your wood projects.
Whether a professional woodworker or hobbyist DIYer, you will find it incredibly empowering to know exactly how to finish or refinish your wood projects and choose the right products for each.
And where you prefer not to do the heavy lifting yourself, you’ll know enough to help keep contractors in line.