demolitionmom Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 Hello folks, from a newbie -- I have a dining room table with a lacquer finish, which I believe probably was also waxed. From day one, it never cleaned up well, always seemed smeary and dull. We use the table constantly and even a simple wipe with a damp cloth would bring about the cloudy, smeary look. I finally decided to do something about it. So I started with the idea of cleaning off any wax, and then re-amalgamating the lacquer (because it had a messed up area where I ran a steam iron on the table with what turned out not to be enough layers of protection between table and iron). I brushed on lacquer thinner, which got rid of the messy area and some smaller scratches, but the table top was still not beautiful. I ran across the Wood Whisperer's video on rubbing out a lacquer finish and decided that's what I would do. Mistake #1: I brushed on additional coats of lacquer. The video had spray lacquer on a small box, but I figured brushing it on a table top couldn't be that different. I missed the part about using wood filler. I didn't have bare wood anyway, so I shrugged and moved on. Mistake #2: The lacquer didn't flow nicely, but the can said not to thin it, so I didn't. I had a lot of brush strokes when dry. Then I ran across info here saying it's OK to thin even if the can says no. Oops. No worries, it just meant more sanding for me, right? Mistake #3: I started wet sanding with 320 grit on a sanding block. It was slow going and spotty, and hard for me (chronic illness means my muscles fatigue very easily). So I switched to a palm sander. Mistake #4: The video said to sand at 320 grit until the whole surface was dull. I stopped frequently to check my progress with the palm sander, and still had shiny spots, so I kept going. Realized a small area of the table seemed to be getting lighter. Quit sanding, cleaned the surface. The shiny spots are all in the pores and fissures of the wood. I don't think I sanded down to bare wood, but I definitely took some color (maybe the original lacquer was colored?) out of a quarter-sized spot. Now I'm crying uncle. My thought is to hit it with lacquer thinner again and see if I can get the color evened out by reamalgamating the finish again. But then what? I'm not even sure I still want to pursue the rubbed out finish, because I quickly hand-sanded with my progressively higher-grit discs to see how it would look and it's…weird. And I'm guessing the shiny spots in the pores will look bizarre no matter what finish I do. I do not want to go to bare wood. No I do not. If I can salvage the de-colored spot, maybe I should just hit the whole table with 320 grit and then do one or two more coats of lacquer but thinned so it flows better and call it done? Argh. Thanks so much for any advice you all can give. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 When you have a chance try posting a few pics so we can better see what you're up against Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 Yep, hard to say until I see a picture ! Sounds like a potential nightmare unless you are lucky, careful and have a few skills.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demolitionmom Posted September 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 OK, pics it is. Here's what my coats of lacquer look like. They're kind of embarrassing. Here's after my first hand sanding with 320 grit. Aaaaand here's the light spot after 320 grit with a palm sander. I am almost positive it's not through to bare wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 Please do not be embarrassed. You tackled a complex art with passing success. It does indeed look like there is still finish on the lighter zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indy Cindy Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 Question - how do you know it was a lacquer finish initially? My biggest mess was refinishing a floor that still had residue of the first finish. My poly didn't stick, flaked off, was horrible. I had to rent a floor sander and remove all finish and start over. HUGE messy project but 25 years later it still looks fabulous. You might have to go to bare wood. Hmmm, just read your emphasis on not wanting to do that. Since the reamalgamation didn't work, maybe try something different. Get it back to a smooth surface and put on an intermediate finish, i.e. one that will bond to the first and allow you to put on a top coat that will bond to it. Guys - what do you think? Shellac? I've not tried this myself. Too bad you can't practice on on a sample piece before going right to the table. You will probably want to color the light spot. It is small enough you could probably use colored pencils to blend it with the surrounding wood so it doesn't stand out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 Certainly give the pros a chance to sleep off their cocktails. As a hobby guy looking at Cindy's post, I might try a touch of dye in shellac to blend that blonde tone. I am just not sure what caused it to appear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted September 20, 2014 Report Share Posted September 20, 2014 I know it is a lot of work, but I think you will be much more satisfied with result if you take it to bare wood and start over. You might be able to get away with stripping only the top, which wouldn't be that difficult. A card scraper and sandpaper will do nicely for such a larg flat surface, without the danger of chemical strippers running over the edges to affect other areas. Use a respirator, though. You don't want to breath that dust. Cindy's suggestion of a barrier coat is a good one. Dewaxed shellac, such as Bullseye Seal Coat, is pretty good at allowing otherwise incompatible finishes to play nicely together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demolitionmom Posted September 23, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2014 I believe it's lacquer because A ) manufacturer says so and B ) I tested it with lacquer thinner, DNA, etc. Don't get me wrong, applying the lacquer thinner definitely worked as far as reactivating the lacquer and smoothing the area I screwed up with the iron. I just thought I could make it better. I'm pretty sure the original finish had a stain/dye in it. I used a corner of a white rag dipped in lacquer thinner to swipe gently at the area near the blond spot and got color coming off. It does make me wonder what kind of wood this is underneath -- any hints? I haven't looked very closely but think it may be a veneer. I really don't want to sand or scrape to bare wood right now. The table is currently in my dining room and there isn't anywhere else to work on it. It's our only table for eating at so it needs to be back in full service quickly. If I can get it even back to where it was before I started the 320 grit sanding, I'll be happy for now and put a full refinishing on my to-do list for someday. Is there any reason to try shellac if I'm pretty confident that it's lacquer? Any reason I can't add some dye to lacquer to hit that spot? Thanks everyone -- if I didn't have this opportunity to ask those wiser than me for advice, I'd probably have made it worse by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.