Liquid Wood Coating

I'm not handy in the house and I have no artistic skills, but decided to give Retique it a try before replacing a vinyl floor that had a section of its top layer rubbed off over time from a chair sliding in/out from the table. I followed the directions, which was super easy. There was an initial scent to it when I was using it, but the scent dissipated once I put two layers (2nd coat after first dried) of Retique It on. As this was a small section of the floor, I only did that particular area. The next day, I stained it with the stain included – I was amazed at how Retique It completely covered all traces of the damage. The stain color I chose for the kit matched perfectly. I know the repair is there and it fools even me. Application was super easy. I also purchased a rubber grain tool, but I didn't need it – not even on vinyl. The two layers of Retique It I put down were thin and were enough. My floor looks good as new and I saved a lot of money by not having to replace the flooring. Fast, easy, and a stellar product. If I ever have to repair something similar, I will use this product again and will recommend it to all my friends.

I loved the way my project turned out. I didn't try to rush through it. I had white painted cabinets in the bathroom and I wanted a more natural wood look. New cabinets where just too expensive,and the cabinets themselves were good quality, so I thought I'd give this a try. What you see is: one coat of Retiqueit over the white paint, then I took a small stiff paint brush and pulled it through through the surface to get a slight grain look. I chose not to get the graining tool, because the grain was to large and won't look right the rest of the natural wood. I also show one picture of the retiqueit next to the natural wood. The door is the natural wood and the cabinet is the Retiqueit. It is very close to the existing wood. The natural wood in the bathroom,I belive, is Alder wood. The Alder has a slight redish under tone, and the Retiqueit is a little warmer color than it looks like in the photo. I followed the steps as directed, I scuffed the surface, wiped it down with the water/alcohol mix, and let it dry a bit. I did not stain the cabinets, the color pictured is the lightwood color Retiqueit over white paint. That gave me the color I wanted.

Very easy to use, quick drying, great results. Redid my son's wood bedroom furniture and they look like new! I like the variety of finishes and the flexibility for the finish to look rustic or more suble.

I did a video explaining how it works for me, I’m NOT an expert but I did a good research before buying this product and TBH this surprised me, I was after a white oak look and this product help me to achieve it, Truly recommend, easy to apply, the appearance is amazing it has great coverage I used two coats, performance is great and it dries out fast

Product has a learning curve. It’s verrrryyyy thin, and the edges must not have too much product or it is failure (see pic). I’d recommend several coats BEFORE the final coat with the wood grain tool to get the stain to take, and it does not take well!!!! Gel was a disaster and I strongly encourage you not go that route. It entirely covered my grain and I had to sand and entirely start over. Penetrating stain worked much better, but it was light. Several coats were required. I will say, it does look like wood. But I ended up having to start over two times between the edges looking low quality and the gel stain. In the first coats, long, smooth brush strokes. The final application where you use the wood grain tool, I would apply the product with a brush starting in the middle and and going out. When you use the wood grain tool, use long strokes as straight as possible. The wood grain tool creates grain anyway so it isn’t necessary to have the long strokes suggested, and it was a big mistake in my world. But the product itself is pretty amazing. It does look just like Wood. I was impressed. Wish it was thicker, but honestly it’s amazing what it did to particleboard.

This stuff is magic!!! Super easy to use and made my door look like wood. I did two coats and used the wood tool then stained !!

Overall, this is a pretty cool product. For the project I did, I would give it a 2.0 - 2.5, but rated the product higher because I know how I will use this moving forward. The instructions pretty much say, “Clean it. Paint it on, let it dry for two hours, then paint another coat”. It does say you can lightly sand the surface if it is slick, but does not define what types of surfaces should be lightly sanded. It does not say anything about priming the surface. Following these instructions leaves the product kind of “spotty” and not smooth as if you were refinishing or finishing furniture. It is like a Monet…looks great from a distance, but you can clearly see the flaws and the mess up close. Thankfully, the piece I chose to refinish with this product is not in a place that has high foot traffic in my house, so I’m good with the results. I cannot stress enough how much the instructions should encourage you to sand the surface. The instructions make it sound as if it’s optional. Priming is also a very good idea. Now, moving forward…I will use this product totally different. I’ve refinished kitchen cabinets in the past and will pretty much follow that process with this product moving forward. My kitchen cabinets have been refinished for three years with no damage or chips to them. For those that want to know the process I will use moving forward with this product, here it is: 1. Clean the surface with tsp (you can get it at Home Depot. It’s pink.) 2. Sand the surface to make it rough. If doing it by hand, you could probably get away with a 120 grit or higher. You don’t need to sand it hard, just roughen the surface. 3. Brush the dust off the surface. If you want, wipe the surface it again with the tsp (your choice…just don’t drench it, wipe it). 4. Prime the surface with either cabinet/furniture or kitchen/bath/trim primer (again, you can get this at Home Depot). I would use the kitchen/bath/trim primer if the furniture you are refinishing is in a high traffic area. Make sure you give the primer the time to dry. You want it completely dry. I applied two coats of primer to my cabinets. It’s up to you if you want to apply one or two coats. 5. Apply two coats of the Retique. The second coat should be good to go with the graining tool. If it’s not, apply a third coat and use the graining tool with it. 6. Stain it with water based stain (I used Minwax from Lowes…pick your color and they will tint it for you). You will probably need to do multiple coats of stain to get your desired color. DO NOT USE OIL BASED. 7. Apply 2-3 coats of a water based poly/clear coat (I used Minwax from Lowes). Again, DO NOT USE OIL BASED. Hopefully this helps for those diy’ers like me.

I am familiar with Retique it liquid wood and have ordered it many times from the Retique it website. This was my first time ordering via Amazon. The two jars I received did not leak, but they were not sealed. The consistency was extremely watery. The logical conclusion is that they had been opened and watered down. I’m talking reeeeeeally watered down. In all the other jars I’ve ordered, they need to be stirred well before using as they contain real wood particles that can settle to the bottom. There was absolutely so settling if any particles in the bottom of these jars. The color was way off as well, which also makes me think this may not just be a watered down product, but may not contain any real Retique or liquid wood at all. Im obviously returning the product and will be only ordering directly from the company’s website from now on. Update: it should’ve noted that you will get special deals if you order from Retiqueit.com. I just placed my order and they gave me 20% off as well as free 2-day shipping.

Absolutely brilliant stuff

The graining tools shown in the image are not included. You must purchase these separately, which set my project back significantly. I received a paint brush instead. This is an expensive product, cheapened by accessories. Very disappointed