Career
Furniture finishers
Finish and refinish furniture.
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job 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.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then creation & expression?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“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.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Judgment and Decision Making.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though short-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $44,540 a year and 1,500 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Furniture Design and ManufacturingCIP 48.0702
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Upholsterers$46,340 · -2.3%
- Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers$41,600 · +1.3%
- Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters$46,680 · -2.9%
- Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand$42,660 · -19.2%
- Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic$46,170 · +5.8%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.