Between coats: what we have learned about our own bottles

Six write-ups from the bench. Which formula, how long to wait, why paper wrinkles and what to do when a jar has had it.

Our own surface chart, read out loud: which formula goes on wood, glass, fabric, puzzles and everything else we tested.

Touch dry in twenty minutes, hard in a month — why the wait matters and what happens if you skip it.

None of our formulas are waterproof. Here is what outdoor and dishwasher safe actually promise, and what to do when you need more.

Wrinkled paper and ridged finishes come from the same mistake. The fix is technique, not a different bottle.

The same bottle behaves differently on a porous surface, a slick one and one that has to keep moving.

Capped, upright, above freezing. How to make a jar last and how to tell when it has gone.