Refinishing bedroom furniture

9 years ago

Hi everyone! Need advise please. We refinished a computer desk in Minwax Polyshades (stain and polyurethane in one 'simple' step). It is now 4 weeks later and it is still putting off obnoxious fumes. We were planning on using the same product to refinish our 1980's oak bedroom furniture (armoire, dresser, mirror, headboard and side tables) but now are completely concerned about the fumes it would cause in our bedroom. Ack! Someone suggested gel stain and someone suggested chalk paint. I am hoping you experts could give me much needed advise on what to use. :)

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Comments (5)

klem1
9 years ago
Stain only colors the piece,you must apply clear finish over the stain. Chalk paint I have no comment on. There are water based clears,non of which emit odors. If you like the present color,slap one of those on.
PRO
Altare Design, LLC
9 years ago
Ditch the polyshades. It's a product that's marketed as easy to use but in reality, it's making matters more difficult. I'd recommend a conventional stain followed by topcoat. I'm not fond of gel stains since they're much slower to use. If time isn't a factor, they do have the benefit of minimizing the tendency of some woods to take the stain unevenly (pine, cherry and poplar tend to blotch).

Oil-based products like Polyshades and conventional polyurethane will eventually cure and stop smelling. If you don't want to wait for that to happen, then switch to water-based finish. I don't use water-base myself but a lot of people like the products sold by General Finishes. Personally, I use Varathane's diamond floor finish if I want water-base.

If you want something more like oil-base but without the VOC's and fumes, check out Le Tonkinois. It looks and acts much like polyurethane but is a completely different sort of finish.

Le Tonkinois

If you've got a Sherwin Williams store nearby I'd recommend checking out their line of stains. They're a little easier to use than Minwax products.
glittergirl_tx thanked Altare Design, LLC
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I'm doing that very thing right now with oak guest room furniture and finding the Annie Sloan chalk paint to be wonderful to work with. It really doesn't need stripping or sanding before applying, it really does stick, cover, and dry fast. First coat will have you thinking "what have I done?" (not full coverage, brush strokes show at first, unattractive flat finish.) Second coat covers and smooths out great. I didn't want the on-purpose messy brush strokes as in many tutorials on using this paint so used a good Purdy brush and it smooths out beautifully with second coat. And then the wax makes it look rich and "finished.". You can play with lightly distressing parts, and if you don't like it you can throw on another coat of paint and go back to full coverage. I sound like an ad but am just someone who has been "over" my guest room furniture for a long time, but still liked the lines, and has had the AS paint for over a year and finally got around to using it. It's luverly.
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bobismyuncle
9 years ago
+1 on Polyshades and its equivalent "all-in-one varnish-stains" being a tough product to use. It's very easy to get an opaque, streaky finish. And if the finish ever chips, the color comes off with it, leaving an ugly patch of bare wood. I got a book at a used book sale, written in 1952, that said this,:

"The properties of a good stain are penetration and clarity. These product have neither. Stain does not penetrate the surface and varnish diminishes its transparency. The result is a muddy, streaky surface."

By the time you've fussed with, and potentially messed up, a project using this stuff, you would have had the time to do it right.
glittergirl_tx thanked bobismyuncle
PRO
Al Fortunato Furnituremaker
9 years ago
Stay away from Polyshades, and gel stains, and similar products. No such thing as a quick fix. They are nothing more than thinned down paint. To change the color of wood the original finish needs to be removed, sanded, and new stain applied. MinWax products are bottom of the line. Sherwin-Williams are good.
User
9 years ago
PICS?

Yes, that Minwax polyshades is unmitigated crap! Their water-based gel stain is no better.

If you want to maintain the wood grain ... thoroughly clean the piece and evaluate it.

Gel stain (general Finishes is what I use) or an oil stain in a close match or slightly darker or redder color can refresh the color like a henna rinse does a fading redhead. Wipe on a thin layer (as opposed to sloshing it on and trying to wipe it off) and it fills in the scratches and nicks. Top with a clear finish.

If you want to go a lot lighter, you'll either have to go to the tinted "whitewash" semi-transparent stain or strip and re-stain the wood.

If you want to go painted, paint it with a good enamel in the color you want, after thoroughly cleaning and scuff-sanding the finish. Prep is 90% of the work and 100% of the results.

Chalk paint has a horrible dry dead feel to it until it's waxed or gets a smooth topcoat. It's popular, but I don't know why.

Refinishing bedroom furniture

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klem1

Altare Design, LLC

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bobismyuncle

Al Fortunato Furnituremaker

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