Bob Flexner has been professionally involved in furniture finishing and refinishing for over 20 years. In the late 1980's he became so frustrated with the lack of accurate information about wood finishes that he began studying the chemistry of these products himself. After absorbing much of the science behind the craft he started writing about it, translating the jargon into straightforward, easy-to-understand language.

In his books Mastering Woodworking: Applying Finishes, Nov. 1996, and Understanding Wood Finishing, 1994, in numerous articles in a wide variety of publications, and in workshops and seminars on the subject, Flexner has cut through the myths surrounding the craft of finishing and made it accessible to everyone.