Production · Holland code RAC
Furniture Finishers
Shape, finish, and refinish damaged, worn, or used furniture or new high-grade furniture to specified color or finish.
Also called: Finisher, Furniture Finisher, Lacquer Sprayer, Sprayer, Finish Repair Worker, Hand Sander, Sander, Sealer Sander.
O*NET 51-7021.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $44,540
- Middle half earn $37,670 to $49,730. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 61% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 2 of 5
- Some preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Confer with customers to determine furniture colors or finishes.
- 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.
- Recommend woods, colors, finishes, and furniture styles, using knowledge of wood products, fashions, and styles.
- Treat warped or stained surfaces to restore original contours and colors.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Active Listening3.1 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.1 / 5
- Monitoring3.1 / 5
- Speaking3.0 / 5
- Reading Comprehension2.8 / 5
- Active Learning2.8 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Production and Processing3.3 / 5
- Mechanical3.0 / 5
- Design2.9 / 5
- Education and Training2.8 / 5
- English Language2.8 / 5
- Customer and Personal Service2.7 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic100
- Investigative8
- Artistic32
- Social4
- Enterprising0
- Conventional31
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- wicker furniture maker · DE Korbmöbelmacher/Korbmöbelmacherin · FR vannier spécialiste du mobilier/vannière spécialiste du mobilier
- antique furniture reproducer · DE Kunsttischler/Kunsttischlerin · FR fabricant de copies de meubles anciens/fabricante de copies de meubles anciens
- cabinet maker · DE Tischler/Tischlerin · FR ébéniste
- furniture finisher · DE Oberflächenbearbeiter/Oberflächenbearbeiterin · FR finisseur de meubles/finisseuse de meubles
- furniture restorer · DE Restaurator für Möbel und Holzobjekte/Restauratorin für Möbel und Holzobjekte · FR restaurateur de meubles/restauratrice de meubles
- furniture upholsterer · DE Möbelpolsterer/Möbelpolsterin · FR tapissier d’ameublement/tapissière d’ameublement
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Hospital porters (9262)25,200 employed
- Assemblers and routine operatives n.e.c. (8149)26,300 employed
- Furniture makers and other craft woodworkers (5442)36,100 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Craft and related trades workers”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €40,086 |
| Germany | €38,638 |
| Austria | €38,194 |
| Sweden | €37,856 |
| Netherlands | €37,077 |
| Ireland | €36,098 |
| France | €27,145 |
| Italy | €26,488 |
| Spain | €22,817 |
| Portugal | €11,142 |
| Poland | €10,099 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -1.20. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (51-7021).
Related careers
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