Daly's History

In the early 1930's Walter J. Daly arrived in Seattle from Texas. He worked as a designer, painter and wood finisher.

In the mid 30's he was asked to make a wood bleaching system to use in the restoration of Seattle's historic Olympic Hotel. Soon, contractors in the area were pressing Walter to make the Bleaching System for their own work. The product line expanded, and a store was opened on Stone Way in Seattle.

It was about that time that their nephew Herb Paulson started working at Daly's. Today, Herb is one of our co-owners and can often be found in the lab cooking up new concoctions.

Walter kept his sons, Jim and Bill busy collecting the empty juice bottles that he filled with wood finishing potions. The store and the factory flourished but it became evident that the contracting business would have to go. Sadly, Walter died on his final scheduled contract job – painting the Sand Point Naval Base.

His young wife Ethel was faced with raising her sons and running Daly's. She handled both with creativity and style. By the mid 50's Daly's incorporated, added wallpaper and Ethel started teaching classes in the back room. This was the beginning of Daly's reputation as being THE place to come for expert information.

With the help of her sons and nephew Herb, Daly's expanded the retail operations into Bellevue in the 60's.

Today, Daly's Wood Finishing Products are still manufactured locally and can be found in 16 states across the US. Daly's is now in its third generation of ownership with Jim's daughter Robin Daly following in the family footsteps along with partner Herb. Daly's continues to evolve but the goal remains the same – provide only the highest quality products, increase customer satisfaction and share our expertise and knowledge.
Daly's Cares

Daly's is proud to have made donations to the following groups and organizations in the last year:

A.D.P.A.

A.G. Bell Elementary

ADPA Annual Auction

Alternative School #1

American Cancer Society

B.F. Day School

Betty Bartlett

Billings Middle School

Boyer Children's Clinic

Bryant Elementary

Center for Wooden Boats

Detlef Schrempf Foundation

Elizabeth Blackwell Elementary

Enatai Elementary

Foss Home & Village

Fred Hutchinson

Fremont Baptist Church

Fremont Chamber of Commerce

Greenlake Elementary

Hazel Wolf High School

Headstrong
Highland Middle School

Holy Names Academy

Hope Heart

Interlake Childcare

Joann Vann Memorial Fund

John Hay Foundation

Kirkland Performance Center

Law Enforcement Memorial

Low Income Housing Institute

Lutheran Alliance

Lutheran Ministry Services

Madison Middle School

Magnolia Cooperative

Margaret Mead Elementary

Montlake Elementary

NW Catalina Regatta

Nordic Heritage Museum

Patrons of Cystic Fibrosis

Phinney N. A.

Phinney Neighborhood Assoc.

Phinney Ridge Show
Renton Christian School

Ronald McDonald House

Roosevelt High School

Salmon Bay School

Sea-Tac Occupational

Senior Services

Sloop Tavern Yacht Club

St. Alphonsus

St. Anne School

St. Bridget Church

St. Catherine's School

St. Johns School

St. Luke

St. Patrick's Church

The Center School

Washington Environmental

Washington Wilderness

West Seattle HS

Woodland Park Zoo

Young Life


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