| | | |
| 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. |
| |
| | | |
| Q: Can I sand off a recently applied oil urethane finish and apply a straight tung or linseed oil finish instead?
A: Yes, you certainly can. The only question is whether it is quicker and easier to sand off the finish, or remove it with paint remover, but either way will work. |  | |
| Q: Would I be wise to apply a wash coat of shellac or sanding sealer to new oak prior to staining?
A: Nope. That would prevent the stain from being absorbed by the wood, and would be quite counterproductive. | | |
| Q: I used furniture refinisher to remove the finish from a red maple chest of drawers. I applied new stain but I think I put it on too thick because it took a week for it to dry. One side of the chest is still shiny, so I’m thinking I have to go back and take all the stain off. Should I use the refinisher again or is there something else I should use to remove just stain?
A: Refinisher should work nicely to remove stain, though you probably will have to scrub a bit with nylon abrasive pads to dislodge it. The problem is if you did not get all the finish off the first time, and to be honest, refinisher only removes certain types of finish. If you are not certain you got all the finish off, use paint remover instead. If you are certain, this time around sand the wood once you are down to clean, raw wood, and when you apply stain, flood it on liberally and wipe it all off, leaving only what the wood absorbs. If it does not dry overnight after thorough wiping, you may be looking at wood that is not clean enough. | | |
| Q: I need some tips on applying a new finish on top of an old finish, keeping the same color.
A: Clean the surface by scrubbing with mineral spirits or TSP on fine nylon abrasive pads. The solvent will remove any surface grease or oil while the pad lightly abrades the surface. Once the surface is clean, you can add several coats of polyurethane. Add one coat of Zinsser SealCoat, a clear primer, first if you plan to top coat with waterbased polyurethane instead of oil based. |
| |
| | |  | | Page | | 8 | |  |
| |
|
|
