Stefanie Walton Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Hello everyone. I'm new here, but like what I see very much! I love re-purposing pieces that might be otherwise discarded. I came across this hand-carved piece at a large liquidation auction, and, as you can see, it is missing the doors and drawers. I took out all the hardware, and will probably find some nice baskets to put in place of the drawers. I am afraid that the discoloration where the tracks were will still be noticeable, so I would like to blend them to the rest of the piece as best as I can. Normally, in my excitement, I would go right out buy a stain and rub it on, but I have learned that taking your time is sometimes best. Any suggestions on how to fix this? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 If this were me. I would clean the inside really good with mineral spirits, fill the holes and sand smooth. Apply a good flat black furniture paint or even a textured black paint. Or contrast with off white or something else??????? -Ace- 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raefco Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I would probably start with some solvent and a scotch bright pad or steel wool, with luck mineral sprites would cut it but you may have to move up to xylol or lacquer thinner, this would basically stripe the finish and you would need to reapply some stain and clear coat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Since you're keeping it...... Give it a good cleaning, get those track marks good and buy a box of crayon's and find a color match, fill in the tracks , and buff.... then baskets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted January 8, 2015 Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Hi Stephanie, Welcome to the forum! I think everyone has hit on the first key step, which is cleaning. Personally I would stay away from any strong solvents for this as there's the risk of causing damage to surrounding finish if there were to be any drips, runs, etc. Mineral spirits is pretty safe, but I think I'd start with steel wool initially. Rub it fairly aggressively with the grain to remove what you can. I suspect a lot of what you're seeing as discoloration is dry wood. going over with the steel wool should help blend in some of the inconsistencies. Some, but not all... Then I'd vacuum up the best you can and wipe down with a clean damp rag using water (not wet, just slightly damp to remove the majority of the residue). Let that dry and repeat again with either mineral spirits or de-natured alcohol. Since you're likely not going to be able to get a perfect match on the finish because of aging, application technique, etc the goal is to get close. One simple thing that comes to mind would be to use a colored Briwax. This isn't going to offer much protection, but may be the easiest way to tone the wood and is easy to touch up.. There are all sorts of options to try, some more complicated / entailed than others. Gel stains, colored shellac, tinted laquer, etc. I guess it mostly depends on how much you want to put into this . ** Whichever route you decide to try, testing on inconspicuous areas first is highly recommended. Good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefanie Walton Posted January 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 Thanks for the responses, everyone. I will definitely rub it down with the steel wool and clean it first, and probably coat it with a tinted laquer since it will be a high use area. I thought about that after I posted this, but it's nice to see that it is a recommended option. I do like the suggestion of doing a contrast color. I will post an after pic when done. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted January 9, 2015 Report Share Posted January 9, 2015 It seems you have received plenty of good advice, so I'll just say welcome to the forums. Thanks for joining us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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