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Furniture Finishers
Shape, finish, and refinish damaged, worn, or used furniture or new high-grade furniture to specified color or finish.
- Median pay
- $42,530
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- -3.3%
- Declining
- Typical entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
Key skills
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
- Speaking
- Operations Monitoring
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Time Management
- Coordination
What they do
- Brush, spray, or hand-rub finishing ingredients, such as paint, oil, stain, or wax, onto and into wood grain and apply lacquer or other sealers.
- Fill and smooth cracks or depressions, remove marks and imperfections, and repair broken parts, using plastic or wood putty, glue, nails, or screws.
- Smooth, shape, and touch up surfaces to prepare them for finishing, using sandpaper, pumice stones, steel wool, chisels, sanders, or grinders.
- Remove accessories prior to finishing, and mask areas that should not be exposed to finishing processes or substances.
- Remove old finishes and damaged or deteriorated parts, using hand tools, stripping tools, sandpaper, steel wool, abrasives, solvents, or dip baths.
- Treat warped or stained surfaces to restore original contours and colors.
- Select appropriate finishing ingredients such as paint, stain, lacquer, shellac, or varnish, depending on factors such as wood hardness and surface type.
- Mix finish ingredients to obtain desired colors or shades.
- Remove excess solvent, using cloths soaked in paint thinner.
- Examine furniture to determine the extent of damage or deterioration, and to decide on the best method for repair or restoration.
Majors that lead here
No mapped majors yet.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.