7
votes
Accepted
Do I need to worry about incidental contact between a finish and its thinner / solvent once it's cured?
The answer is, it depends. Finishes that "cure" after drying (like most oil-based products) will typically not be damaged by incidental contact with their solvent. Finishes that only "dry" but do ...
- 5,490
6
votes
Accepted
Remove white paint from old wood fence
If you're starting from scratch without question the most inexpensive way to remove old paint (most finishes in fact) is using a scraper of some sort. Scrapers generally last you the rest of your life,...
- 63.5k
5
votes
My contractor sanded our plywood seating... Is there any way to fix the finish?
Paint it, or pull off the hardwood edges, veneer over it with a new piece of veneer of the same species, and then apply new edges.
Depending on if you have multiple other matching finished end ...
- 1,828
5
votes
Polyurethane Book Case is Rough, Sand in Place?
Could I use a high grit or wet sand paper to knock the finish down where it's smooth enough not to catch the duster?
Yes sand it, but no need to wet-sand or use a particularly high grit. If you were ...
- 63.5k
5
votes
How to re-finish solid oak cabinets?
I'd like to re-finish them, without fully stripping them first. Can it be done at all? Can I just wipe something like wipe-on polyurethane on them?
Sure, you can do that, but it will probably look ...
- 12.1k
5
votes
Could there be lead in the finish of a mid-century piano?
Could there be lead in the finish of a mid-century piano?
The short answer is yes, some lead might be present.
Not with shellac
If in its original finish the piano is unlikely to be coated in shellac ...
- 63.5k
4
votes
Accepted
How to re-finish solid oak cabinets?
I'd like to re-finish them, without fully stripping them first. Can it be done at all? Can I just wipe something like wipe-on polyurethane on them?
Yes and yes, but there are no guarantees about the ...
- 63.5k
4
votes
Letting the under-paint show through
It really depends what type of finish you're looking for. The most common method I've seen is to paint the entire piece, let it dry, then sand through the new paint in a few places for a distressed ...
rob♦
- 18.7k
4
votes
How to get writing out of a soft wood desk top
Depending on how damaged the wood fibers are, you might be able to salvage at least some of it by dampening the area and heating it to swell the fibers. This is commonly done with a wet cloth and hot ...
- 2,406
4
votes
Is shellac really a "universal binder"?
Binder isn't a good word here as in coatings that means the stuff that bonds pigment particles together in paints, e.g. linseed oil in simple oil paints, acrylic/vinyl/styrene suspension in wall ...
- 63.5k
4
votes
Accepted
What glaze or surface treatment to repair this bar?
how do I identify what the finish is that was used here, so that I can identify the proper repair?
There are some test you can perform to narrow down or identify the finish used on something. ...
- 63.5k
4
votes
What's a good way to lighten the colour of this chair, returning it to a natural-wood appearance?
I'm looking to suggestions for easy ways to make them look like the last pics.
There's no easy way to do this, sorry.
Regardless of whether the chairs have coloured finish on them or are ...
- 63.5k
4
votes
Accepted
If I remove old finish from wood, is the wood food-safe?
If I remove old finish from wood, is the wood food-safe?
Once any solvent residue1 has evaporated, yes.
If done well, and especially using an effective stripper, stripping can remove all finish from ...
- 63.5k
4
votes
Accepted
Help IDing what the type of wood finish this is
Can anybody help determining it from the photos please?
Sorry but it's impossible to identify finishes from appearance only. It can be hard to ID them in the flesh!
One can make guesses1 based on ...
- 63.5k
3
votes
Accepted
Is this a good approach to fixing damaged mdf holes along the edge?
Fixing the MDF: I'm planning on mixing a glue/sawdust/wood-filler/mdf/sawdust mixture up, clamping the board in place, applying the glue, letting the glue dry, removing the clamps and board, and then ...
- 63.5k
3
votes
Accepted
How to remove paint in dent of guitar
There are two ways: chemical, and physical.
chemical: use paint stripper. if there is still finish left on the body you'll want to test this in an inconspicuous spot to make sure that finish isn't ...
- 2,406
3
votes
Letting the under-paint show through
I am not talking about a glaze that gives a slight tint and then collects in the seams and cracks, but an overall color change with hints of the earlier paint.
This is very easily achieved using one ...
- 63.5k
3
votes
Polyurethane Book Case is Rough, Sand in Place?
We did one, maybe two coats of polyurethane.
Depending on how thick your coats are that might not be a lot of finish. Sanding might be an issue as you could easily sand down to wood after only one or ...
- 20.1k
3
votes
Accepted
Can I remove existing wood finishes using a jointer or planer without damaging the cutting knives?
I worry that the finish will either dull the blades more than unfinished stock would or that the finish will accumulate on the knife edges, dulling them and be difficult to remove.
Assuming the ...
- 63.5k
3
votes
Accepted
How to remove a heavy wire-brushed finish?
ROSs are finish sanders, and not well suited to bulk material removal (except for beasts like the Rotex). But of course you can fit a coarse disk — and I mean really coarse1 — to any ROS to make it ...
- 63.5k
3
votes
Accepted
Good methods for scuffing/sanding ready-built furniture with contours for repainting
and I know the first job one must do is to sand and scuff the existing paintwork in order to help the new paint/primer adhere to the surface
Actually the first job should often be to clean the piece ...
- 63.5k
3
votes
Accepted
Advice for retouching old oak/maple furniture at home [finish losses]
I suppose I should preface this by saying there is no TL;DR here!
What is the best way to go about with the touch up?
As always there is no one way to go about this.
There are basically two options ...
- 63.5k
3
votes
Accepted
Used paint stripper on interior trim, wood now looks stringy. Is this repairable?
I can't say for sure, but I strongly suspect that a good hand sanding (start at 60, work your way up) will fix all that ails you. Wear gloves to minimize splinters. And if it doesn't produce the ...
- 3,771
3
votes
Accepted
Is it possible to smooth over sides of re-finished area?
Just to address this in a generic way to begin with
...is it possible to sand, reapply finish, and then somehow smooth over the border between the "new" and "old" finish?
Yes ...
- 63.5k
2
votes
Polyurethane Book Case is Rough, Sand in Place?
Yes go ahead and sand it. When I do my show tables for selling at rabbit shows the polyurethane does the exact thing you are talking about. I take 150 and do a little bit, because it does not take ...
- 3,098
2
votes
Applied wood conditioner for water based stain in error
You should have nothing to worry about as far as compatibility is concerned.
Let the wood dry overnight ...?
In actual fact it's usually a good idea to wait for this type of thing to fully dry ...
- 63.5k
2
votes
Accepted
refinishing soft pine floors
it is in terrible shape in the kitchen
High-traffic zone there, consider a rug or a runner to lesser the wear and tear on the floor at that point.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a way to ...
- 63.5k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible