Stripping This Plastic-y Finish?

[onocoffee]

It's not going to be immediate but sometime soon I want to refinish the top of this coffee cart and fill in the void. I got it from a friend a couple years ago and it's been sitting in storage but soon it will be time for it to work. Looks to be a slab with some kind of thicker poly coating that looks and feels very plastic-y. I kinda hate it and would like to strip it and finish in something nicer - perhaps Waterlox Original.

Any suggestions on how to best remove the finish? And my friend had cut out a hole for a knockbox and I hate the hole too. Whats the best way to "fill" it with wood?

Thanks!

 

[luvmytoolz]

By "cut out a hole" I assume you mean he repeatedly dropped a sledgehammer and crowbar from a great height to finesse that magnificent opening?

I'd just use a scraper to remove most of the finish, and then sand baby sand!

Filling the hole's a bit more difficult, to my mind it would need to be made a little larger so it's a non-geometric shape for the aesthetics, and then cut a matching filler block from a contrasting wood to make it more of a feature.

Perhaps a coffee bean, or even a large mug shape along with a few smaller coffee bean inserts for effect?

 

[Frnk]

I would probably use something like this thing from Metabo: https://www.burnstools.com/lf-850-s-paint-stripper-metabo-601049620

For the hole, an inlay comes to mind. Like a butterfly, but larger.

 

[peter halle]

I wouldn't be surprised that the finish is a pourable epoxy resin "bar top" finish. Basically you have three choices. Heat, as mentioned about, abrasion, or chemical. Or a combination. Think about where you will perform the operation. Heat and chemical certainly have fumes. I would personally go with aircraft stripper then abrasion. My work area isn't in a basement where fumes will migrate thru the house. Thee is also another option that might not be as costly as one might think. See about having a strip shop get rid of the finish and then you do the rest.

Peter

 

[luvmytoolz]

If it's a resin coating that's even easier to remove, starting with 60g mesh sanding discs and working up the grits a few sizes will make very quick work of getting it back to bare timber.

Just need good dust extraction so the discs don't clog up.

 

[Vondawg]

Im with Peter heat, carbide scraper and sand…..how about making your coffee logo using the Bamboo machine and inlaying it ? Or instructions ….something along those lines

 

[onocoffee]

Thanks everyone. I'm not pressed for placement since I'll probably take the top off to work on it and can do it in the workshop or even outside (when it gets warmer)

@luvmytoolz - I don't know if it's different in OZ, but I was looking at Festool, Mirka and 3M and they don't seem to make net abrasives lower than P80. Festool does have Saphir at P24 and P36.

 

[Cheese]

I also think that looks like a very thin epoxy pour on the top. Do you have someone local that will run it through a Timesaver? They usually only charge $10-$15 and it'll come out beautiful. However, run it through the Timesaver AFTER you decide how to fix the hole. I'd go for something in a circular form just to make everything easier. I'm not a coffee drinker so I don't know what type of accoutrements are used with one of these carts.
Whoops...just noticed that loose piece of wood on the RH side of the hole...that certainly makes things more challenging.
Whoops...there also seem to be some other holes that need to be looked at? I'm counting at least 3? And there's also something strange on the far RH end noted by the yellow arrow.
I'd pull the coffee machine completely off of the cart and give everything a good looking over...this may not be as straight forward a fix as you originally thought/hoped.

 

[Michael Kellough]

I’ll be the devil’s advocate, just trash (recycle to the wood scrap bin) the top and buy a new or make a new one. Unless you approve of the other holes and their locations.

 

[usernumber1]

looks like thick polyurethane to me. either way i'd run it through the drum sander or replace the top and move on with my life

 

[Packard]

I’ve never tried this, but epoxy finish fails at about 150 to 175 degrees F. So a heat gun and a scraper maybe.

Poly fails at a higher temperature (about 200 degrees F.). Again, I have never tried this, but perhaps a heat gun and a scraper.

In any case, the fumes from heated epoxy or poly can be dangerous and this process should be done outdoors.

I would probably stick with sanding and scraping.

As for the hole, tidy it up with a bit of trim and mount a trash bag underneath. Of course that only makes sense if this ends up in the kitchen.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Thanks everyone. I'm not pressed for placement since I'll probably take the top off to work on it and can do it in the workshop or even outside (when it gets warmer)

@luvmytoolz - I don't know if it's different in OZ, but I was looking at Festool, Mirka and 3M and they don't seem to make net abrasives lower than P80. Festool does have Saphir at P24 and P36.

Yep sorry that should have been 80g I wrote. If it's the Mirka Abranet Ace discs they're a very rigid and extremely aggressive mesh disc, and will one disc is all you'd need to remove the whole top surface in a matter of a few minutes.

Then some higher grades to remove the swirls.

 

[cdconey]

I would start with a card scraper with a good hook prepared to get most of the finish off, then sand the remainder. If it's poly or epoxy it will burn thru alot of sandpaper.

If you have a CNC you could put in a surfacing bit.

 

[luvmytoolz]

If it's poly or epoxy it will burn thru alot of sandpaper.

Poly will react to the heat and get a bit gummy, but if it's properly cured epoxy resin then that's incredibly easy to sand off really quickly with a single mesh disc in no time at all.

And looking at the cutout area, it looks to be a very thin coat.

 

[onocoffee]

Yep sorry that should have been 80g I wrote. If it's the Mirka Abranet Ace discs they're a very rigid and extremely aggressive mesh disc, and will one disc is all you'd need to remove the whole top surface in a matter of a few minutes.

Then some higher grades to remove the swirls.

Ah, gotcha. All the better then since I already have the AbraNet P80 - which was my first experience when starting out using Festool. I picked it up at my local Woodcraft (ouch, I thought it was kinda expensive coming from Diablo), but like you said, it's very durable and melted the sanding pad on the ETS EC 150/5 I was borrowing from my friend. Expensive AbraNet became even more expensive new Festool sanding pad (and a pack of protection).

 

[onocoffee]

I’ll be the devil’s advocate, just trash (recycle to the wood scrap bin) the top and buy a new or make a new one. Unless you approve of the other holes and their locations.

This is a good point (and you too, @usernumber1) and something I didn't even think about. If I had to go and buy a box of Rubin, it would cost $53. A fresh walnut slab from my local sawyer about the same size would probably cost under $80. This might end up being the more prudent move.