An Ugly Challenge

[Woodworking Plus]

Here are some pics of a refinishing job that I just completed. I’m finding out that in this sour economy, many folks are opting to have their old furniture fixed and refinished instead of buying new stuff which works for me. Repairing and refinishing is not what I like to do the most but hey, it pays the bills. These tables were made sometime in the 70’s and although the woodwork was decent, the finish was sub-par to say the least.


The tops are a good grade veneer which did allow me to hand sand heavily enough to remove all of the old finish and deep scratches but this one table had this big ugly black ring which did have me scratching my head and wondering if it could be made to look new.



I started with 80 grit to remove the finish being aware of the cross-grain situation with the veneer dovetails and breadboard ends then went to 100 grit, then 150 grit. That ugly ring was deep into the veneer and I knew that sanding alone wasn’t going to work.Time for a little R&D. Tried paint thinner in a spot—no luck. Tried mineral spirits—no luck. Tried bleach- hey this might work, Put a few more drops of bleach on the ring and let it set a few minutes.I used the edge of my pocket knife to kind of work it in and just like magic it started to disappear. After a little more bleach and a little more scraping it was gone. Eureka! I sanded the whole thing again with 150 then 220 and finished off with 320. Let set over night to dry then put on the first coat of stain. No ring—cooool. So this is what it looks like now after 4 coats of wipe on satin poly.



All three tables done

[Pajaro]

Hats off the a job well done. I'm sure they will be quite happy with your work. I would.

[pat c]

Nice job. Personally I hate finishing and hate refinishing even more, thankfully I don't have to pay my grocery bills by doing either. Pat

[Big_red_S]

Hell of a job.
Finishing still eludes me.

[JohnB]

G'day Mike,
Nice job. Veneers always breaks me out in a cold sweat when refinishing it. One too many strokes with that sandpaper block and...............................

[dragyn]

Wow! Great job romoving that black ring. I am always in awe concerning people that do refinishing. I did one refinishing job on a wood veneer chest of drawers that was painted over in black lacquer and it turned out okay, but nothing like the quality that I see here and other examples. Well Done!

[rjr]

Mike
Great job, am sure you customer will be pleased. Not my favorite thing to refinish, however, its fun to see the project when done.

[wood-n-things]

Kudos on a job well done.

[Forester21]

Fantastic job!
T

[Mick Walker]

Mike, I have done a lot of refinishing and it is a dirty, messy job but usually worth it when you get done. You did a fantastic job. Oxalic acid works great for black marks, available at some paint stores or from your druggist. Great job with the bleach.