dining table refinish.... finish questions....

[FulThrotl]

ok... bought a home appliance, brought it home, removed
from box, sat on dining room table.... the rubber feet on
the thing had some solvent on them that turned the poly
on the table top to putty.....

now, am in the process of sanding all the finish off to bare
wood, to refinish.... it's veneer, so this is taking a bit of time
not to burn thru...

now, the questions.

the existing finish seemed to be tinted poly, so sanding it off
leaves the mahogany veneer untinted.
i need to stain with mahogany to match the rest of the set,
leaving it clear enough that you can see the grain and inlay.

the original finish was deep burgundy, ans sprayed on thick
enough that it eliminated the grain, and the inlay looked like
two pencil lines drawn in sharpie under the finish.

i've got an earlex 5000 hvlp, but i've not yet shot poly with it.

suggestions as to brand of poly you'd recommend, and a good
stain to go under it.... poly is going to be gloss.

thanks.....

randy

 

[Neill]

Randy,

It sounds like you are set on the poly finish.  Just wondered if you have thought about shellac.  Makes a great finish.  Impervious to most everything except alcohol.  Easy to control the depth and sheen depending on the number of coats and how you rub it out.  Lots of good information on the "how to" available everywhere.

Neill

 

[Jesse Cloud]

The real hard part is going to be matching the color to the rest of the set.  Probably won't find anything straight off the shelf.  I put a piece of glass on top of what I'm trying to match and mix up dyes (keeping careful records of how much of what I put in) until I have a pretty good match or more likely until I totally loose patience.

If this is a nice set and you will be keeping it for a long time, you might consider taking it to a pro.

Don't know about you, but getting the color just a little off is something that would bug me every time I saw it, even if others wouldn't notice.

 

[FulThrotl]

The real hard part is going to be matching the color to the rest of the set.  Probably won't find anything straight off the shelf.  I put a piece of glass on top of what I'm trying to match and mix up dyes (keeping careful records of how much of what I put in) until I have a pretty good match or more likely until I totally loose patience.

If this is a nice set and you will be keeping it for a long time, you might consider taking it to a pro.

Don't know about you, but getting the color just a little off is something that would bug me every time I saw it, even if others wouldn't notice.

i have a spouse detailed to quality assurance...  ;-)
spouse has indicated that a shellac finish will lead to a sub optimum life expectancy for me.
her father did all his antique restoring with shellac, and she knows what a water glass ring
looks like.

i've got a 150 year old cherry sideboard next to the table, that is going to be an influence......

and i've also been looking at joe woodworker, and psa backed veneers... the mahogany veneer
on the table is ok, but nothing to throw myself on a grenade for.... me, i'd rather level the existing
surface with 120 grit in a 150, and redo the veneer with something that would knock the eyes out.

it's a slippery slope.... what'll probably happen is that i'll do show and tell at the veneer store, and
attempt to sway my quality assurance team with options.

 

[Jesse Cloud]

.....

it's a slippery slope.... what'll probably happen is that i'll do show and tell at the veneer store, and
attempt to sway my quality assurance team with options.

Might be able to sway the QA team toward a new Festool or so, too. [big grin]

 

[pugilato]

how about embracing the difference?  if matching the color is out of the question, stain it darker...

 

[gbruzze1]

By using an alcohol-based stain, you might have better luck at matching the color.  If the dye you use is too dark, you can rub denatured alcohol on to lighten the color.  If you want to darken the color, just rub more stain in.  If you have spray equipment, why not use a pre-cat laquer?  If fumes and odor are a problem, use a water-based laquer like ML Campbell's Agualente.

 

[FulThrotl]

.....

it's a slippery slope.... what'll probably happen is that i'll do show and tell at the veneer store, and
attempt to sway my quality assurance team with options.

Might be able to sway the QA team toward a new Festool or so, too. [big grin]

yeah, sure wilburrrr.....

my next episode of festoolishness will be the carvex battery jigsaw.
it'll replace a couple sawzalls, and a porta band for work.

i still have sticker shock from the t-18. i'm waiting for my economic
stimulus check first.

 

[FulThrotl]

By using an alcohol-based stain, you might have better luck at matching the color.  If the dye you use is too dark, you can rub denatured alcohol on to lighten the color.  If you want to darken the color, just rub more stain in.  If you have spray equipment, why not use a pre-cat laquer?  If fumes and odor are a problem, use a water-based laquer like ML Campbell's Agualente.

well, turns out that general finishes water based dye stain traditional cherry is just about perfect....

so, i have that and enduro gloss waterbased urethane for finishing...

took the RO 150 and 125 grit paper to take the bulk of the old finish off, then switched to
the ro 90 and 125 to tune it up, both in aggressive mode.... to keep from burning thru the
veneer on the edges, i used aluminum duct tape, overlapping it 1/4" on the veneer, then
detailing that carefully with the ro 90 after the bulk of the work is done.

so far, so good..... no veneer burn thru's.... yet...

oh, yeah... and my little earlex 5000 hvlp sprayer has a new 3M evenflow flexible cup
system instead of the quart aluminum can.....

 

[atogrf1]

I have an Earlex and have used the General Finshes High Performance Water Based.
Worked like a DREAM.