Burnishing is a finishing process professionals use on all sorts of wood. Most notably, reclaimed lumber suppliers use it to repurpose and refurbish old and warped wooden boards into new and stylish pieces with a powerful rustic aesthetic. The primary focus of this procedure is to avoid adding compounds to the wood, and instead, to smooth it by rubbing another piece of wood against the surface so that the friction burns away delicate dry cell walls. Here are three interesting facts about burnished wood that show the benefits of burnished wood.