Refinishing end grain on wainscoting posts

[packeted]

Hi folks,

I'm pretty new to the forum but am in love with my RO 90 sander I've been busy on refinishing all the wainscoting in our 1912 craftsman house - it has three rooms of douglas fir paneling almost up to the ceiling. It had a very dark stain and varnish which I've almost completely removed now.

Anyway one thing that's been bugging me is there are about 30 of these posts where the stain has gone in to the end grain. I've tried sanding and although it works to a certain extent it's really easy to round off the edges. I've tried stripper, oxalic acid (no effect), two part bleach (helps but not a game changer).

Any ideas on how to deal with these? I can't think of a tool that would allow be to re-cut these in-situ and I'd hate to have to square them off. Much appreciated!

Cheers,
Francis

 

[mwildt]

If you think recutting is required maybe a jig could be used together with a sharp chisel plane. The purpose of the jig would be to get the cutting plane extended for the plane.

 

[tjbnwi]

What finish are you going with?

Tom

 

[packeted]

Hey there,

The plan was to go with a pre conditioner and oil based stain (early American) and then a few coats of polyurethane although yesterday I tried a test on a larger piece of wood and it came out blotchy in one part so I am now thinking about using a gel stain.

Cheers,
Francis

 

[Lou in DE]

With that many to do how about cutting them off flush (multi tool) then trim bevels (band saw/table saw) and sand sides in the shop -  reattach with epoxy/construction adhesive etc.

Are they actually let-in to the molding boards or just attached?

Lou

 

[Pnw painter]

What brand of conditioner and stain are you using? Also, what grit sand abrasives are you using?

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[packeted]

Hi Lou,

That's definitely an option. They're actually attached with mail from below and above as far as I can tell. In honesty I've been a bit reluctant to go down that route to accommodate damaging any of the other wood but it may be the best option.

I've tried oxalic acid and two part bleach, is there anything else that could be worth a try to remove or lighten the piglet?

Cheers,
Francis

 

[packeted]

I've been testing with Minwax pre stain conditioner. On the wainscoting I ended up starting with 60 grit up to 100, 120, 150, 220. Whatever the original finish I found that it clogged my paper rather quickly and I have been through a lot of abrasives. It has been a real pain to get all the corners and admittedly I should have bought the RO 90 much earlier than I did. On the ceiling there are strips of paneling that also needed to be sanded, I ended up getting a Metabo 3-1/8" ROS for the parts where nothing else would fit in, it was definitely hard work applying pressure to the ceiling.

What brand of conditioner and stain are you using? Also, what grit sand abrasives are you using?

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