stripping paint and refinishing.

17 years ago

I have stripped all the paint from my living room , trim , firplace doors etc. It is beautiful clear fir. I sked the people at Benjamin Moore how to finish it, I told them that I did not want shinny, just some lustre, they told me two coats of high gloss polyurethan , sand between coats then a low lustre polyurethan I did this and I am not real happy. I am willing to strip it again to get it just right. I am not fond of any shine, I just want some luster....I really want patina, but I know this was stripped away with the paint. I could post a pic, but havent figured that out yet.

Would like to strip my whole house , but I want to be sure that I can get the finish just right.

Any suggestions ?

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Comments (6)

ericwi
17 years ago
Try doing some test pieces, that are not installed in your house. You should be able to get similar wood at a lumber yard, and then you can use different finish methods to experiment. Since you are considering stripping off the finish you just applied, you might want to get some fine steel wool and work the surface, to see if you can save it. Just be certain that the polyurethane is fully cured before you attempt to dull the surface with steel wool.
dainaadele
17 years ago
You may not want poly at all. When you do test pieces, explore more than poly. Do some internet reading/research. One of my friends did everything in tung oil. It is a gorgeous low sheen. It is not as protected as putting a layer of poly, but poly is, after all, a layer of plastic. The tung oil is a layer of oil. but at the same time, there is a difference between "tung oil finish" and pure tung oil. (You may find that you need to learn more than you ever meant to. Grin.) On the plus side, even though tung is less protective, it is also very easy to do repairs/upkeep, so it has its positives also. Experiment as ericwi suggested. If you are willing to restrip to get the look you want, I think you may find that you would rather use the "old fashioned stuff."
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Stripping and refinishing is not too hard, but it's tough to explain in a short post. Strpping Best to use a chemical stripper containing methylene chloride, the most effective stripper. Almost all strippers contain this except the "green" ones like Citristrip. Nothing wrong with the NMP strippers except they are much slower acting and might need multiple applications. Apply in a well ventilated area like an open garage or carport if you have one. Apply, LET IT HAVE TIME TO WORK (don't believe the instructions if they say fast acting). If needed, you can apply some sheet plastic over the top to keep the stripper from evaporating away. I'd allow at least an hour. Scrape off the stripper with a plastic putty knife, wipe with rags, and I usually rinse with acetone (again, in a well-ventilated area). Allow to dry overnight. Sanding Do a LIGHT sanding, particularly if veneered, which it probably is. On solid wood edging, apron and legs, you can get a little more aggressive, if needed, to get rid of splintering and scrapes. Stain Stain is optional, depending upon base woods. If it's mahogany or cherry, it will look like mahogany or cherry, so there's not need to apply a mahogany or cherry stain :-) Finish: This is really up to you. Probably the most foolproof for a novice is a wipe-on varnish. General Finishes' Arm-R-Seal is a decent one. If you have decent library nearby, look for "Understanding Wood FInising" by Bob Flexner, author of the book below. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/finishing/finishing-for-first-timers
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bulldinkie
17 years ago
When we had our kitchen cabinets done they used tung oil.Mine seem to be sealed really good.we have wormy chestnut cabinets,love the color they turned out to be.They also antiqued the wood.Maybe you could try that.That really tones the finish down nicely....
phobe
Original Author
17 years ago
Thank-you so much for your replys. The wood is beautiful, the house is almost 100 years old, so even though while stripping the paint the wood is still unlike new.
Tung oil seems to be the answer, I will give it a try. Bulldinkie, Are you suggesting to just apply it over the poly ?
dodgevalley
17 years ago
Poly sits on top of the wood, while tung oil penetrates the wood. So the poly has to come off before you can use tung oil.
ignatiusj
17 years ago
phobe,
I have spent six months stripping old heart pine doors to put in a house we are building on the South Carolina coast. I tried several finishes, and was not happy with boiled linseed oil or flat poly. I have been pleased with Watco Rejuvenating Oil. It is easy to apply,and the finish is nice.

stripping paint and refinishing.

Comments (6)

ericwi

dainaadele

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stripping paint and refinishing.

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ericwi

dainaadele

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