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| Leave it to the pro. Michael Dresdner, a nationally known wood finishing and woodworking expert, has answered hundreds of common wood finishing questions in Varathane’s Q&A library to help you successfully complete your project. Click on a link to the left for help and solid advice. |
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| Q: We have a job that requires us to strip an exterior building that has multiple coats of marine spar varnish over thirty years on Douglas fir exterior siding. The building was damaged by a fire which scorched the walls. What product would you suggest to strip it with, and refinish with?
A: I’m not sure you have to strip it at all. It sounds as if you mostly need to clean it and recoat it, and since it lasted for the first thirty years, I see no reason not to recoat with spar varnish. I would clean the surface by pressure washing, then sand, including sanding off any charred or scorched wood, then wash again before applying a new coat of spar varnish. |  | |
| Q: I’ve striped and sanded an old wooden door in my house, used a wood conditioner, applied and sanded in between coats of stain. Should I sand with 220 paper before applying polyurethane?
A: Nope. There is no need to sand between staining and topcoat, assuming you will be applying topcoat within a couple days of staining, and in fact, sanding can be counterproductive, as you run the risk of sanding off the stain you just applied. | | |
| Q: I have to strip a 260 square foot exterior wall of spar varnish. I can’t sand it because it’s re-sawn.
A: I suspect you mean rough sawn rather than re-sawn, and if so, you’re right; you can’t sand it. You may be able to get it clean enough to recoat by pressure washing off any dirt, then lightly abrading the surface with gentle sandblasting or even better, soda blasting. In most cases, if you rough the surface of spar varnish, you can go over it without having to remove it completely. If you must strip off the finish, you will need a slow drying, thick, paste type paint remover; one that will hang on a vertical wall and not evaporate too quickly. That sounds like a very messy job to me. | | |
| Q: When staining maple cabinets a somewhat dark cherry look, should I seal wood prior to staining?
A: Nope. |
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