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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: Do you have a suggested method to remove old deck coatings that may be impregnating the wood, other than sanding?
A: Yes, there are chemical deck strippers, such as Wolman DeckStrip, and they do indeed work. Whether they are easier than sanding depends on a variety of factors. |  | |
| Q: I am buying an expensive wood exterior door and would like to stain it sort of a mahogany color and apply polyurethane. Can you tell me how to stain it and if the original door needs to be sanded before beginning the process?
A: Yes, the door needs to be sanded before finishing. How much sanding is required depends on how much was done by the manufacturer. If it looks and feels perfectly smooth, you can probably sand with just 180 grit garnet paper, sanding with the grain. Stain it by liberally flooding oil based stain onto the wood, then wiping it all off, leaving only what the wood has absorbed. Let the stain dry at least overnight before moving on to several coats of oil based exterior spar urethane, applied at the rate of one coat per day. | | |
| Q: I used water dye on an oak door and it looked awful. The grain got really dark. Now I am looking for a product to seal the grain, but still have the ability to stain the wood.
A: The answer, in two short words, is pore filler. Most woodworking specialty stores sell it. If you have a choice, definitely go with waterbased pore filler over oil based. It is faster, easier to work with, and takes stain far better. My personal favorite is one called Timbermate. | | |
| Q: I just obtained a small table that has been waxed with Johnson’s Paste Wax. It appears to be walnut, and has no finish except for being waxed. I would like to refinish this piece, and am wondering how to get rid of the wax finish.
A: Wax is easily removed by scrubbing with mineral spirits on a nylon abrasive pad and wiping up the slurry with paper shop towels. By the way, many wax finishes are not just wax; they are paste wax over a coat of sealer. That will block stain to some degree, so if you plan to change the color of the wood, you may find you must strip the piece after all. If you choose to simply apply a clear finish once the wax is gone, a good safety move is to use a coat of Zinsser SealCoat, a clear primer, after you have removed the wax and prior to whatever other finish you plan to add. |
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