Clients often comment on how many products we formulate and how difficult it can be to choose which product to purchase. At some level we agree. It is both what’s so fantastic about the Sutherland Welles line as well as what makes it complicated.
How did we get here? We started out making Polymerized Tung Oil Sealer and High Lustre. For many years that was all we offered. Frank Welles, our founder, was our best customer! When he was presented with some type finishing challenge that needed a different approach, he would concoct another formulation that would solve that finishing need.
Others finishers would also approach us to inquire if we could make a finish for them that would achieve various goals they had in finishing a particular project. Those formulations had value and we would often decide to add them to our line.
Whether it was offering a completely petroleum free product which led to the creation of our Botanical line or the need to protect exterior applications, or match new wood to antique wood with our Old World Concentrated stains, it has been our focus to provide quality solutions to a variety of finishing opportunities one product after the other!
And so today we offer 32 products! Although many of the formulations can be used interchangeably, often the choice is based on personal preference or familiarity with a product or a line. It’s for that simple reason we haven’t eliminated many through the years. We have clients who rely on them!