Thursday, April 5, 2012

Give me the facts please, just the naked facts on how to proceed...

I know I've been remiss about posting for awhile and it's probably because, as usual I have too much going on at any given time. Trying to down size our storage area to a more cost effective smaller space has eaten up a few days. Yes, we/I did divest of quite a bit of "stuff" that I've found I will never get around to. Gotta pick your battles when it comes down to it!

Back to the wishbone table refinishing. I'm actually a little further along than this particular post, but here is how we are doing as of about a week or maybe a few days ago:





This is our first sanding of the really flat surfaces and just a dusting over of the edges with a 60 grit paper. Just enough to take off the original finish and start to work out any major imperfections. Stay away from "defined" break planes where it's obviously milled for a more dimensional edge with the 60 grit. You are not out to reshape your piece, just take the finish off. If you are leary of hurting your piece, you can just start with a 150 grit paper but you will spend a lot more time and sandpaper to remove the old finish.

OK, we've knocked off most of the original lacquer and the original toner and stain. I try and leave behind just a touch of some of the original finish on the above step, as it makes the next go round a bit easier! On to the nest sanding...






How we look down to the 150 grit sandpaper. This is a critical sand as you still don't want to reshape the line of the piece, but still want to resolve any issues with difficult areas. Heavily stained spots may need more attention, but try not to dig too deep with the sander. Especially in areas that need to aline. Although H/W factories did not spend a great deal of time and trouble to finish the underside of these tables, I feel compelled to at least give them a once over. Especially any areas that can be visible when the drop leaves are dropped, so spent at least a little time working these over when you do the 150 sand. 
This particular table had no major issues as far as stain removal and so far has been relativally simple.
If you are working with tables like this, it's best to slide the table back together to get an overall level when you are finishing, so one side isn't inadvertantly higher of lower when put back together. Same with the drop leaves.

The last sand will be with a 220 sandpaper and laying out the pieces to start the actual new "clothes". Yeah, this might be a bit boring for some of you, but the real attraction is how this beauty is going to look when done!

I'll post again soon when we start getting ready to "clothe" our leggy beauty, so stay tuned.
As always, thanks for taking the time to take a look...

7 comments:

  1. Question: do you strictly sand to remove finish or do you use a chemical stripper first then sand? I apologize if you've covered this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Dave, I have never used chemical stripper on any of my pieces. I know some swear by the stuff, but for many reasons including the fact you are going to have to sand your piece anyway, I think it's a waste of time, money and effort.

      Delete
  2. Really helpful post for anyone who wants to refinish pieces themselves. I think knowing what grit sandpaper to use in each step is very valuable. More people have ruined their pieces by overly zealous sanding than anything else, I'm sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Dana, I'm sure you're right about that! I've seen more than one piece that someone has destroyed. Even though H/W is solid birch, you can still ruin the lines of the pieces. Another common mistake is thing your MCM piece is solid wood when it fact most have veneered areas. Even though most of these pieces have a thick enough veneer that can be sanded, I've seen more than one that someone has burned through. Instantly turning a nice piece to trash!

      Delete
    2. I'm totally onboard with both of you, a little research can save time and disappointment later. Having rotated between woodworking and carpentry/cabinetmaking one semester to the next all my high school years has not made me a pro but given me insight. I to have seen my fair share of expensive fire wood at the hands of someone who hasn't been patient and done there research first.

      Delete
  3. David, she's looking GREAT! We're excited to get it back but certainly not in a rush as we know perfection takes time! Thanks for posting as you move through the process it's fun to see!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey J&B, Your table is coming along nicely and with this great weather and a 3 day weekend (We are closed for Easter) I should have close to done by Tuesday. You should be able to take home by the end of next week.

      Delete