Book excerpt: For more than 18 years, Bob Flexner has been inspiring woodworkers with his writings and teachings on wood finishing. Now, from this best-selling author comes the long-awaited and completely updated second edition of UNDERSTANDING WOOD FINISHING-the most practical, comprehensive book on finishing ever published. The first edition of UNDERSTANDING WOOD FINISHING has sold hundreds of thousands of copies and is widely regarded as the bible of wood finishing. "We use UNDERSTANDING WOOD FINISHING as the textbook for our students training to go into the furniture industry," says David Miles, wood technology professor at Pittsburg State University. "It's the best written, most accurate, and most thorough wood finishing book in print-by far."