Furniture refinishing

One Last Comeback
I inherited a bunch of my parents' furniture and some it is real nice stuff from overseas travel. But some of it is hurting.

I notice if you sand the raw wood after stripping the finish, the wood just scratches. The online videos say sand it but don't scratch. Can I used a random orbital sander to get scratches out of raw wood (I think it is walnut)?









I have this awesome Thai coffee table that has tons of intricate carving. I stripped the top and want to stain it or maybe use tung oil. Should I sand this wood?

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newmann
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newmann 9/6/2016 9:03am
9/6/2016 9:03am
Go heavy with the paint stripper and let it do as much work as possible. Get some nylon bristle brushes and mineral spirits to get in all the detailed carvings to remove the paint as the stripper lifts it. Careful with the putty knife, get some plastic scrapers.Use scotch brite pads where necessary. As for sanding with an orbital sander, be careful to not go to rough or you will leave circular sanding scratches that will be magnified with any stain you may apply. Not staining, check into some sanding sealer that can be applied to aid in sanding out any imperfections.

colintrax
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colintrax 9/6/2016 9:18am
9/6/2016 9:18am
If sand paper is leaving scratches you need to use a higher grit. I like to finish up with 660, and light pressure. Sand long enough and you'll have the wood feeling like baby skin.
An orbital sander is faster, but necessarily better.
One Last Comeback 9/6/2016 9:27am
9/6/2016 9:27am
newmann wrote:
Go heavy with the paint stripper and let it do as much work as possible. Get some nylon bristle brushes and mineral spirits to get in...
Go heavy with the paint stripper and let it do as much work as possible. Get some nylon bristle brushes and mineral spirits to get in all the detailed carvings to remove the paint as the stripper lifts it. Careful with the putty knife, get some plastic scrapers.Use scotch brite pads where necessary. As for sanding with an orbital sander, be careful to not go to rough or you will leave circular sanding scratches that will be magnified with any stain you may apply. Not staining, check into some sanding sealer that can be applied to aid in sanding out any imperfections.

Sweet. Thanks. I am picking up the orbital sander today to give it a whirl.

I thought about drenching the carved parts in stripper and then taking off the paint with a Scotch-Brite. Is sanding with stripper a good idea?
My scratching issue seems to be using too coarse a paper.

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newmann
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newmann 9/6/2016 9:45am
9/6/2016 9:45am
Scratching issue may be that the wood is still damp from stripping. Best to use a scuff pad when damp. Hit up the local Sherwin Williams store and inquire about the best products. Don't want to ruin a nice piece of wood.

Do your stripping in the shade so it doesn't evaporate and dry up before the paint is removed. Put it on as wet as you can. As soon as you see it absorbed or dry it is no longer working. Knock off the loose and reapply.
MT MX
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MT MX 9/6/2016 1:30pm
9/6/2016 1:30pm
Like newmann said, go heavy on the stripper. Whenever I redo something, I purchase the paint stripper that Home Depot sells (can't remember the brand name). It is in a rattle can. Also, pick up some gloves, fine steel wool, and some small detail brushes similar to tooth brushes. You'll definitely have to buy half dozen or so cans of the stripper. It gets pricey, but it is worth it and very easy to use. Attack the paint in layers in designated areas. For example, do one table leg and get the majority off. Then do the remaining. As you see the layers come off use the steel wool and brush for final removal and finishing. You might have to repeat each process multiple times. Take your time.

Let me know if you have any questions. I'm not a pro, but I've refinished quite a few pieces of antique furniture.

Here is a project I did that looked pretty similar to yours.
Before:


After:



Here is my latest project:





MT MX
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MT MX 9/6/2016 1:37pm
9/6/2016 1:37pm
Also, I don't know if you have access to a soda blaster. They work pretty good on paint removal on the ornate carvings. I picked one up from Harbor Freight a few years back with soda powder for about a hundred bucks.
newmann
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newmann 9/6/2016 1:54pm
9/6/2016 1:54pm Edited Date/Time 9/6/2016 1:56pm
That little table turned out great. I just spent a bunch of time stripping some old windows for the wife to make picture frames out of. What a pain. They turned out decent considering the weathered condition of the wood. I suck at caulking in all those panes of glass!
Rooster
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Rooster 9/7/2016 8:36am
9/7/2016 8:36am
Tung oil is great stuff, but a lot of Thai stuff is teak wood. Tung will work but there's also finishes for teak that might work just as well and save you a few bucks.

I'm not sure how much tung oil soaks into a hardwood as I've only ever used it with pine or fir and it took many many coats to get it to a shiny finish.
borg
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borg 9/7/2016 9:08am
9/7/2016 9:08am
Random orbitals leave little circle scratches that really show up when you stain. It's ok if you intend to take it down further by hand or go to such a fine grit that it doesn't show. For heavy removal I use a belt sander. It's tricky but it cuts through finish and stain residue faster than the RO. Then it's the RO with an 80 grit to remove any scratches left by the belt. Then it's 100, 120 then 150 with the RO. Then 150 or 180 again by hand with a block sanding only with the grain. It's cross grain scratches that show, especially when you stain. Going beyond 180 doesn't really do much unless you are forced to sand cross grain and need to make the scratches as un noticeable as possible. The perfectly flat mirror finish, if that's what you want, is accomplished with multiple coats of finish and sanding between coats. The RO with 180 works well for that as long as you don't through to the bare wood.
borg
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borg 9/7/2016 9:29am
9/7/2016 9:29am
I forgot to add, that method works well with oak. Other types might require a finer grit for the final sanding before staining. Maple is one of those.
IWreckALot
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IWreckALot 9/7/2016 10:37am
9/7/2016 10:37am
colintrax wrote:
If sand paper is leaving scratches you need to use a higher grit. I like to finish up with 660, and light pressure. Sand long enough...
If sand paper is leaving scratches you need to use a higher grit. I like to finish up with 660, and light pressure. Sand long enough and you'll have the wood feeling like baby skin.
An orbital sander is faster, but necessarily better.
I just built my first pieces of furniture for a buddy not too long ago. It was my first time to finish something down to as smooth of a finish as that one. It was hickory/pecan wood stained with a mahogany stain and finished with polyurethane.







One Last Comeback 9/7/2016 10:45am
9/7/2016 10:45am Edited Date/Time 9/7/2016 10:48am
borg wrote:
Random orbitals leave little circle scratches that really show up when you stain. It's ok if you intend to take it down further by hand or...
Random orbitals leave little circle scratches that really show up when you stain. It's ok if you intend to take it down further by hand or go to such a fine grit that it doesn't show. For heavy removal I use a belt sander. It's tricky but it cuts through finish and stain residue faster than the RO. Then it's the RO with an 80 grit to remove any scratches left by the belt. Then it's 100, 120 then 150 with the RO. Then 150 or 180 again by hand with a block sanding only with the grain. It's cross grain scratches that show, especially when you stain. Going beyond 180 doesn't really do much unless you are forced to sand cross grain and need to make the scratches as un noticeable as possible. The perfectly flat mirror finish, if that's what you want, is accomplished with multiple coats of finish and sanding between coats. The RO with 180 works well for that as long as you don't through to the bare wood.
I have a belt sander but someone told me if I use that on a tabletop it will end up uneven (not flat)
It is really hard to understand sanding. The videos say sand, but don't scratch. Well sandpaper scratches as soon as you do it. Being a total newbie I also didn't use mineral spirits to remove the stripper residue. I do know enough to go with the grain.
I think I scratched up one table, but I was going to try and random orbital sander with super fine paper and see if that helped.
Thanks for the tips!
newmann
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newmann 9/7/2016 11:43am
9/7/2016 11:43am
I would save the belt sander for someone with quite a bit of experience. Also make sure the wood is completely dry and not damp before sanding. Only use as coarse of a grit necessary to remove the imperfections you need to and then go progressively finer with your grit to achieve the desired finish before applying your stain, sanding sealer or finish coat. Just like with a car, prep work is where it's at.
Jarid332
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Jarid332 9/7/2016 5:17pm
9/7/2016 5:17pm
Minwax has an antique furniture refinisher. basically removes old oil based finishes.
borg
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borg 9/7/2016 5:52pm
9/7/2016 5:52pm
borg wrote:
Random orbitals leave little circle scratches that really show up when you stain. It's ok if you intend to take it down further by hand or...
Random orbitals leave little circle scratches that really show up when you stain. It's ok if you intend to take it down further by hand or go to such a fine grit that it doesn't show. For heavy removal I use a belt sander. It's tricky but it cuts through finish and stain residue faster than the RO. Then it's the RO with an 80 grit to remove any scratches left by the belt. Then it's 100, 120 then 150 with the RO. Then 150 or 180 again by hand with a block sanding only with the grain. It's cross grain scratches that show, especially when you stain. Going beyond 180 doesn't really do much unless you are forced to sand cross grain and need to make the scratches as un noticeable as possible. The perfectly flat mirror finish, if that's what you want, is accomplished with multiple coats of finish and sanding between coats. The RO with 180 works well for that as long as you don't through to the bare wood.
One Last Comeback wrote:
I have a belt sander but someone told me if I use that on a tabletop it will end up uneven (not flat) It is really...
I have a belt sander but someone told me if I use that on a tabletop it will end up uneven (not flat)
It is really hard to understand sanding. The videos say sand, but don't scratch. Well sandpaper scratches as soon as you do it. Being a total newbie I also didn't use mineral spirits to remove the stripper residue. I do know enough to go with the grain.
I think I scratched up one table, but I was going to try and random orbital sander with super fine paper and see if that helped.
Thanks for the tips!
newmann is right. Belt sander is not for newbies.

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