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Mike Mascelli
Intructor

Mike Mascelli

MIKE MASCELLI has been a student and practitioner of the upholstery trade for nearly 50 years and divides his time between the worlds of classic cars and classic furniture. He has provided upholstery for national champion cars and furniture that is on display at the US House of Representatives and numerous historic homes and private collections. He is also the longtime Director of the Professional Refinisher’s Group an organization of professionals in the conservation and restoration trades, from whom he has learned much of the science, art and craft of wood finishing. Mike actively lectures and teaches, and has instructed hundreds of students in basic and advanced upholstery techniques as well as the fundamentals of wood finishing at the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking, the Marc Adams School of Woodworking, and numerous other schools and organizations both in person and on line in both America and England.

He contributed an essay on 18th century upholstery techniques for Roubo on Furniture by Don Williams (Lost Art Press). Mike has also published a number of articles on various aspects of historic upholstery in the Journal of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers (SAPFM) and on modern upholstery for Fine Woodworking. He has also completed several instructional videos on upholstery and finishing for Popular Woodworking, and Fine Woodworking, and was a presenter at the “Working Wood in the 18th c”. conference at Williamsburg. In the summer of 2024 Fine Woodworking will release an online course: Foundations of Furniture Finishing” presented by Mike.

In addition to driving some classic cars, Mike and his wife are the very proud grandparents of two small boys who are the main focus of semi-retirement.

Upcoming Classes

Wood Finishing Fundamentals - Image 1

Wood Finishing Fundamentals

Instructor: Mike Mascelli
Single day course: April 11, 2026
Price: $175

This one-day class is for everyone who has been confused, frustrated, and otherwise unsure about how to choose from the vast array of finishing products, and how to apply them. The goal is to carefully explain the building blocks of all wood colorants and finishes so that students can confidently make informed choices by knowing “what’s in the can”. The class format is a mixture of lecture, demonstration and hands on activities with an emphasis on the science, craft and art of wood finishing.

The morning is devoted to color, with an exploration of dye and pigments and how these two very different materials can be used separately and together to achieve effects including color matching, enhancing or “popping” the grain, and harmonizing the colors within a board or on an entire project. To focus on the optics of color, students will complete a classic color wheel to see the relationships of the various colors and how they interact, and how the color “temperature” of the light affects the way we actually see color. Students will also gain experience in using the four different methods of applying color: dyeing, staining, glazing and toning, which provide a nearly endless set of possible colors and decorative effects with both oil based and waterborne colorants. There will also be discussion and demonstration of using asphaltum (tar) as a glazing and ageing agent, and the many chemical or “reactive” treatments that can be used to alter the natural color of various woods.

The afternoon is all about the huge number of different finishing products available on the market, and the goal is to understand that they are all composed of the same basic components, and that they fall into groups or “families” that have similar working properties, but do not always work well with products from other families. Students will practice several ways to apply shellac, and employ the proper applicators and techniques for oil based, and waterborne varnishes, as well as the very popular hard wax-oil formulations. Using prepared panels, students will practice various techniques for rubbing out a cured finish, both to lower the sheen or to enhance the gloss.



MIKE MASCELLI has been a student and practitioner of the upholstery trade for nearly 50 years and divides his time between the worlds of classic cars and classic furniture. He has provided upholstery for national champion cars and furniture that is on display at the US House of Representatives and numerous historic homes and private collections. He is also the longtime Director of the Professional Refinisher’s Group an organization of professionals in the conservation and restoration trades, from whom he has learned much of the science, art and craft of wood finishing. Mike actively lectures and teaches, and has instructed hundreds of students in basic and advanced upholstery techniques as well as the fundamentals of wood finishing at the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking, the Marc Adams School of Woodworking, and numerous other schools and organizations both in person and on line in both America and England.

He contributed an essay on 18th century upholstery techniques for Roubo on Furniture by Don Williams (Lost Art Press). Mike has also published a number of articles on various aspects of historic upholstery in the Journal of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers (SAPFM) and on modern upholstery for Fine Woodworking. He has also completed several instructional videos on upholstery and finishing for Popular Woodworking, and Fine Woodworking, and was a presenter at the “Working Wood in the 18th c”. conference at Williamsburg. In the summer of 2024 Fine Woodworking will release an online course: Foundations of Furniture Finishing” presented by Mike.

In addition to driving some classic cars, Mike and his wife are the very proud grandparents of two small boys who are the main focus of semi-retirement.

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Past Classes