ghost Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 so i am trying to re-finish a chest (hope? blanket?) which is challenged on its condition. it looks like it may have fallen off the moving truck a couple of times in the last 35+ years. i have dealt with making it structurally sound, and started to try and re-do the finish. i sanded down the the top (after cleaning the whole chest with a water dampened rag to get 3 decades of gunk off, and using a card scraper to get what was left of the original finish off the top. which was in really bad shape), and felt that shellac would be the thing to put an amber color back in it, which would be close in color to the carcass which is not as "distressed" as the top. This is where i screwed up. Bought more canned shellac and thinned it down to about a 1.5 lb cut. wiped on 4-5 thin coats. all is well (i think) - it looks okay. My original plan was to top coat it with ARS, and realized i used non de-waxed shellac - not "seal coat". ERRRRR!!! (yes, i am a idiot) - went in store for "shellac" - bought the can i always get, because i usually just wax after the shellac, (used on pieces that don't take much, if any, wear/tear.) it will be re-purposed as a coffee table in a sun room so the top will take a fair amount of abuse - cold drinks, etc... so my question is - can i put ARS on top of what i already applied? or am i going to have an adhesion issue? or some other kind of problem? anything else i can do at this point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 I would get some de-waxed shellac, sand the existing coats throughly w 320 -400 grit and apply a couple coats, let that cure then use the ARS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted January 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 i thought about that. sand all the way thru the existing (back to bare wood) or just knock it down? (not quite sure how to phrase that.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Don't sand through but do sand throughly and wipe all the dust away. Apply at least 2 coats of dewaxed shellac and you should be good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted January 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 thanks! that is what i thought i could do. just wasn't sure how far to sand. if i can get away with just thoroughly fine sanding and clean - seal coat - a couple of coats, would make life easier. thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted January 27, 2017 Report Share Posted January 27, 2017 Why not rock on with Zinsser and use full strength from the can and skip the ARS? If that looks good and matches the remainder of the piece. The Zinsser is about a 3# cut and will give you nice protection for a blanket chest. -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted January 28, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2017 8 hours ago, AceHoleInOne said: Why not rock on with Zinsser and use full strength from the can and skip the ARS? If that looks good and matches the remainder of the piece. The Zinsser is about a 3# cut and will give you nice protection for a blanket chest. -Ace- it is going to be used as a coffee table "thingy". so i was looking for a bit more protection from cold beers, stuff being slid across it, etc.. otherwise i would go with your suggestion and some paste wax on it and call it a day. just don't want to have to deal with scratches, water rings, and so on, if i can. thanks though! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post ghost Posted February 12, 2017 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 few people respond back after taking the excellent advice given here, so i thought i would do so. here is what i started with and what i ended up with and in place thank you Ace, and wdworker for your advice. worked out well 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 Ghost that piece turned out beautiful. Great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 Glad to help ! Looks like you got some good results ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted February 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 thank you sir! not a build, more of a reclamation project, but that is okay. wife won't discard it due to sentimental reasons, so i got do what i can to keep letting her let me sleep in the same bed! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 Glad to be of service. Ya did good, beautiful job. Now that you have the itch, what's next. -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 Uh, one question about that good looking coffee table, .......What happened to the feet?? They don't seem to have returned to the chest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 Damn, you've got good eyes! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat60 Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 Great looking chest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drzaius Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 Wow, what an improvement. 4 hours ago, RichardA said: Uh, one question about that good looking coffee table, .......What happened to the feet?? They don't seem to have returned to the chest! Good catch. I think it looks better without the feet. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 11 hours ago, ghost said: thank you sir! not a build, more of a reclamation project, but that is okay. wife won't discard it due to sentimental reasons, so i got do what i can to keep letting her let me sleep in the same bed! That makes you no different than any woodworker here... happy wife.. makes a good life ........in the shop. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeyestoob Posted February 12, 2017 Report Share Posted February 12, 2017 That came out great and it looks perfect there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumstick Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 That's pretty sweet looking. Nice job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted February 13, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 RichardA - i wondered if anyone would catch that! one of the feet was broken off and busted into 4-5 pieces, the other 3 all had broken pieces and were disintegrating from getting wet from a laundry room flood a while back. i did not think i could replicate the big "ogee" look very well, and really didn't like the look much anyway. then i thought being able to push it around would be good, so i looked for casters. went with "corner casters". (on sale when i bought them, i think around $13 for 4. which is all i spent on this. everything else i had) added a couple of scrap pieces on each corner and recessed them back under the chest so the wheels wouldn't be as obvious. hit the casters with a scotch brite pad and rattle can black, which makes them less noticeable. i kind of like it without the feet. if pressed about it - "i was trying to make look like it was floating in air"! Lol thanks all for the compliments! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BonPacific Posted February 13, 2017 Report Share Posted February 13, 2017 Good call on the casters, I like the simplified look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost Posted February 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2017 me too. all straight lines on the chest - curves on the feet didn't seem to fit. to me at least. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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