How To Build A Wine Rack And Make It Look Brand New Always

When you build a wine rack, besides paying attention to the measurements and joinery, you’ll need to pay special attention to the wood finishing process too. Wood finishing not only embellishes the wine rack, it also protects the surface of the wine rack, making it stay attractive and durable for years to come.

I came across these easy and effective, step-by-step instructions on how to keep your homemade wine rack looking brand new always. These instructions are usually absent from wine rack plans which usually only show you how to build a wine rack. This method allows you to recoat your wine rack whenever the finish needs a quick touch-up. It will also give your wine rack that professional “sprayed on” look. The coats dry within minutes. Therefore you can put a coat on your wine rack without having to worry about leaving behind your fingerprints or dust settling in the finish.

1.   Brush on a full strength coat of oil based gloss polyurethane and let it dry.

2. Lightly sand with 220 grit or higher sandpaper to remove any dust in the finish. Wipe wine rack down with a tack cloth. Then brush on a second full strength coat.
3. Lightly sand the wine rack again and wipe it down with a tack cloth.
4. Pour some polyurethane into a glass jar and add an equal amount of mineral spirits. You can also add a 1/4 cap of Japan drier if you so wish.
5. Take 3 paper towels and crush them into a ball.
6. Wrap a clean, unprinted cotton cloth around the ball of paper towels. This will be used as an applicator.
7. Dip the applicator into the glass jar of polyurethane, soaking it generously. Press the applicator against the jar side to squeeze out any excess polyurethane.
8. Wipe the polyurethane on to the wine rack surface in one direction along with the grain. Start and finish each pass in one long and even stroke.
9. Quickly return to the top and wipe a new path of polyurethane. Do not overlap the previous path by more than half an inch. Reload the applicator with polyurethane as needed. Apply the polyurethane in a wet, flowing coat, but not so wet that it leaves behind heavy streaks.
10. Continue doing this until the entire wine rack is covered. Do not re-apply the polyurethane until the previous coat is dry, even if it looks streaky. Failure to follow this step will entirely ruin the finish.
11. The first coat of polyurethane takes approximately an hour to dry. When it is dry, drag lightly a straight razor blade along the grain of the wood at a 70- degree angle. This will drag up any dust flecks without removing the finish. On curved areas which are inaccessible by the razor blade, use #0000 steel wool. Then wipe the wine rack again with a tack cloth.
12. The subsequent polyurethane coats will dry within 30 minutes or less. Apply at least 5 coats.
13. Gloss polyurethane works best as it is more durable. If you wish to go for a flat sheen, just use #0000 steel wool. To bring the gloss down to semi-gloss, use rotten stone powder mixed in water and a wad of unprinted cotton cloth to rub it down. To really bring out the gloss, wait for two to three weeks before buffing the wine rack surface with a fine automotive finish such as 3M Perfect-It polish.
14. You can repeat the process once every few years or whenever necessary. However, take care to remove your wine bottles carefully without overly disrupting the wine-aging process.

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