EHirst Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 I'm refinishing an antique extension table that was my great-grandparents. At some point someone painted it a lovely shade of brown and yellow... I stripped the paint first with Citristrip, then used steel wool and mineral spirits to remove residue, then used a methylene chloride based stripper on stubborn sections, followed by another mineral spirits/steel wool rub down. This is the base after drying a bit and a light sanding with coarse grit sandpaper. Can anyone tell what kind of wood this is? The darker spots seems to lighten with sanding, but not significantly so. I was planning on staining it a darker/chocolatey brown but I don't want it to look splotchy. Would a pre-stain wood treatment be a good idea? Also, the top will need new veneer, and I would like to stain the top and bottom to roughly the same shade if possible. Any advice would be appreciated! I've refinished a few pieces before but the wood has always been in much better shape than this so I'm scratching my head about how to proceed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 I can't tell what species of wood that is, but I think the dark areas are the remnants of some former stain. Sanding will get them, eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted June 26, 2014 Report Share Posted June 26, 2014 Not sure but the greenish tint makes me guess poplar. You might try a gel stain to get an even dark color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolemera Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 I'll go along with poplar, and add in maple for the legs (for strength). Could even be some beech mixed in. Furniture such as this was made in small factories or shops from a variety of woods which means it's nearly impossible to bring it all back to one shade or color. The original most likely had an undercoat stain to even out the grain and colors, followed by a film finish - shellac or lacquer. The difficulty you had in removing the finish makes me think it was a sprayed on lacquer finish. Hope this helps some! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weithman5 Posted July 30, 2014 Report Share Posted July 30, 2014 a dye may be useful as well, quite honestly though, i like the color as is, i would just give it some topcoat, or maybe an oil finish and let the wood speak for itself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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