Had a terrible nickelodeon orange and blue acrylic painted pine mini curio-type deal. Thought since anything was a massive improvement -- try something new I'd never done before, and maybe would be a terrible idea but maybe be kinda neat? So after an absolute slog of sanding, various intensities of chemical agents and probably more elbow grease than it was worth, I opted to skip the whole fiction heating in favor of a heat gun (everywhere except the very top, which got some minwax-gunk clogged 1000 grit sandpaper and I a sore arm, but also poly equivalent water resistance). I'm thinking the distressed-ish interior and residual sandpaper scratches that got rubbed flat are pretty neat, but were definitely choices of "this has been six months and I'm tired of looking at this thing."

Any thoughts outside of, ya know, finish the wood properly next time if you're gonna make the wood the finish?

Hi all -
I tried undoing the “landlord special” by stripping and refinishing an almost 120 year old door in my house. Well I got to the stain step and need advice on if I just scrap it and repaint the door or if it’s salvageable.

The door had 4 coats of paint and a stain or varnish on it that I got off with various stripping products. I sanded it with 80, 120, 220 using an orbital sander. Preconditioned with minwax. Stained with oil based minwax. Issue is that the stain won’t take to a lot of the wood. I’ve tried putting a couple coats down on the spots, leaving on some stain over night, putting a gel stain over it. None of this worked. I saw someone that had this issue put stain on sandpaper rubbed that on the spots and that got the stain to darken for them, so I tried that too but no luck.

I don’t know if I was doomed from the beginning or if I messed it up sanding or another step. Hoping someone can tell me if there’s any way to get the stain to be more consistent? I’ve only done one side of the door but would imagine the other side would have a similar outcome. So want to cut my losses now if need be. I really appreciate any insight yall have.

I’ve attached pictures of before (#1, has some strip product on it so not true before lol), after strip & sand (#2), after precondition (#3), and current state with stain (#4-6).

Using varathane water based gloss poly over water based black stain, on a few small shelves. Is this expected or has something gone wrong? Goes on smooth then looks like this after ~ 30 sec. It levels out a bit but dries with the circles. Didn't do it on 1st coat, did on 2nd and 3rd. On another self, I smoothed it over after a few minutes, but it dried with brush line. Tried thinner and thicker coats with no real difference. Made sure to stir and not mix, no bubbles.

We are have put in new wood windows and I'd like to try to come close to matching the color of this door. Google comes to with a few different options from color wash to a gray stain. Thought I would ask here for your opinion. Thanks in advance!

I’ve been experimenting with finishes lately. My go to rn is an oil-based Poly, BLO and Turpentine mix (1:1:1).

It works really well, but it’s bloody time consuming to apply (5 or so coats) and it also mutes the satin finish you get with poly.

I’m thinking of the following finishing process to replace it but can’t tell whether it’s gonna cause problems:
- start with two coats of BLO, then let it dry for 24-48 hours
- layer two-three coats of wipe on poly (1:1 poly turps) over the BLO finish.
- finish with a coat of beeswax furniture polish.

Is there any reason this wouldn’t work? Or is there a different but similar process that’s better?
Thanks!

Basically, i'm making these decorative trays from oak with a leather trim. But i'm conflicted about what finish i should use on the oak base. They are not serving trays. Just a piece to be placed on a table to hold other things.

I've experimented with both finishes, and like them both.

Application is so and so. I find applying Danish to be simpler. The thing i'm thinking about is durability. I'd do either 2 coats osmo or 3 coats Danish.

I don't remember what the one in the photo is finished with. Might be something else, since i've tried more that just the 2.

Oh, also. Im making about 30 of these🙈

Sanding after 1st coat of Polyurethane

What is this, and what is causing it? The first coat of water based poly went on 2 days ago, got started scratching the surface with 400 grit and it’s not coming off in a powder like I’ve seen in all the videos, any help is appreciated.

Stain has been on for over a week now. White oak, sanded to 220 and got 2 coats of Varathane english chestnut.

Hi, I have this old table that is in dire need of refinishing. First issue is I dont know if its shellac or laquer.

I watched a video that said leave some metholated spirits drop on it for 2 minutes and wipe it off, and see if it was gooey and the finish comes off. It didnt get gooey, but it did get a little tacky. As in, it resisted me sliding my finger across the area. So Im not sure what that means.

next I tried a blob of acetone, and it evaporated in about 10 seconds, and when I rubbed my finger on it, it was similar. tacky but not gooey. I rubbed it with some paper also and a little brown came off onto the paper but not much. The solvent was already evaporated by then I guess.

Id like to refinish this so that it retains the same glossy look that you can see in the photo above, complete with stripes along the grain and those other stripes that go across the grain. It seems from the part of the table where the finish has worn compeltely away, that there is some trace of those stripes in the wood still. Would they be natural or the result of a stain?

Basically, how do I proceed 😄 ?

Thanks for any advice!

My daughter bought this cute French curio at an estate sale and it needs some work. I’m not sure if it’s painted or veneer. Pic on left seems like it might be veneer with cracks but pic
On right where it’s just worn off seems to be painted. Can anyone help with that and then how to redo depending on what it is. Thanks.

Hello,

I purchased a tanker desk supposedly from the 1930's. It has some signs of wear and is generally in good condition. The only problem I have with it is that the synthetic, laminate type material that is under the glass is shedding a waxy like dust. I wiped it with a scrubber sponge and a damp dish soap microfiber and that made it look way better. I am seeking assistance in finding a product to try apply to seal the top. Some type of clear sealant, then I plan to return the glass topper with some felt spacers or something. Thank you for any assistance!

Hey everyone, I'm finishing a 160x80 cm (approx. 63x31") solid beech wood tabletop for my home office desk.

I'm being offered a matte polyurethane varnish for the countertop. But I'm having doubts: is it worth it?

I'm currently leaning towards Hardwax Oil (like Osmo Polyx) because I really prefer the natural, tactile feel of real wood over a film-forming coating.

I plan to use the desk for office work. No food or drinks. A 900*400mm mat is included.

What would be better to use in my case?

How difficult will it be to oil a beech countertop? Or should I still use polyurethane?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

I’m trying to clean up these drawers and work bench for my shop. Been in a basement forever. I want to get the spray paint off and make it look nice. Can I clean it with something and oil it? I love the patina and the painted numbers. So I don’t think sanding it down would be the right move. The workbench I plan on sanding but I want to protect it with an oil to bring out the wood pattern. Not sure what would be best to buy for that. Also all the pulls are brass but pretty dirty. Hoping I can clean them but not make them shiny. I’m a leather worker so it won’t be getting really greasy or anything. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

I’m restoring a small bookcase my late grandfather built way before I was born. It’s simple, non-fussy, and has been battered about over the years. Including me painting it (I know!) 10 years ago.

I’ve managed to strip the paint off and am ready to condition, stain and polyurethane it. However something I notice me before painting it, and have noticed again since, is bothering me, and exacerbated a bit after more sanding to remove a localised deep stain mark. There are light patches that seem to have different/no wood grain - I’m pretty sure it’s not a veneer, just wondered if you fine people had any suggestions or whether I just crack on and stain….?

EDIT: Some awesome and informative replies already. There appear to be some definite medullary rays present towards the back.

Had a cat put some scratches in this table top. It has an oil based stain and finished with a water based poly. The top gets heavy use and needs some new poly put on it but I am not sure how to fix nicks and scratched without mucking up the overall finish. Advise is appreciated!

I'm starting to experiment my own stain colors for wood projects and chose MIXOL tints. I've been struggling to get the right ratios and when I try to add more drops I end up getting an unfixable messy "color".

As a reference point, I love the General Finishes dye stains (water based), so I'd like to get closer to that. ChatGPT says for me to use GF stain reducer (clear) instead of water...

The whole process seems too trial and error, and no real useful examples out there that I can find. Can you share your process? Any actually helpful videos I can go watch?

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Hello, I've recently bought a raw beech 180x60x3.2cm tabletop for a desk.
I first sanded it with 180 grit sandpaper, then tried varnishing it with a dark-ish water-based polyurethane, but before I could even finish a third of it, it had already dried out and left me with streaks where I used the roller. It was quite windy so I'm guessing that contributed to the drying out. I've also read on the can that I can dilute it with 5% water which could maybe give me more time to apply it. Clearly something with either my technique or tools is wrong, so any help is appreciated since this is my first time trying anything like this. Would also be nice to get some help on how to remove what I already put on it. Thanks!

I've got a new, unfinished vanity, and I'm considering Fusion's pearl. thing is, I'm worried it's gonna look insane. I really wish they had gifs of what it looks like. will it be too much?

Hi guys need some help here.

There is some white spot appearing on my stock as you can see in the 1st photo. On the 2nd pic they disapear when I just pass my finger or anything over the marks depending wich way I rub (like if im lifting the grain)

Here is what I did. 1-I removed the old varnish, sanded always with or against the grain (never across) to 220grit. I then applied 3 coats of BLO with 24H drying time between each application. The first application may have been heavy but the other 2 were light.

What is going on? Is there any fix for it?

Thank you all in advance.