Cherry table

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Outside the beltway
I decided to have this hand stripped and then finished. ML Cambles pre-cat finish.
I love the fresh look of Cherry.
 

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Dave I know you are a pro and do this for a living. So I have a question for you. May seem a trifle stupid but it has bothered me for ever.

Everything has to have a beginning, so how did you come to know this finish was going to be the way it has turned out. How did you get to choose the particular brand etc.

Its an area i struggle with. You see this guy use this product and then another choose that one and on and on. Then one guy says poly and the next guy is Blo and another Shellac.

I sorta have ended up not going into the finishing of projects cause of it. Dont know whats right or wrong which one to use or not. Have bought books and magazines and there seems to be a lot of contradition.

Should i just give things a try and experiment. Did you do that on this table for example. :huh:

I mean you do restoration and end up having to match finishes. You gotta have just about everyone under the sun in your shop surely???

Throw me a few crumbs on where to start in the world of finishes so i can build a stepladder of knowledge with confidence building at each step please.



Oh and I nearly forgot. That is a real nice looking table.:thumb:
 
Rob,
I haven't been refinishing nearly as long as Dave has but here's what I do. I look at the piece before I refinish and ask the client how he wants it to look (satin, gloss etc) when I'm done. In terms of color I use dye's rather then stains since I feel that I can more easily control the color to get an exact match. When I apply the finish I use poly, shellac or varnish, whatever will give me the desired look. I hope this helps. Now I'll wait to see what Dave has to say.

Nice table Dave.:thumb:
 
Rob you have 3 kinds of finish,
Shellac; which will not stand up to every day use, water rings, scratches easy. exc. I make that distinction when asking the customer what they expect from a finished product.
Shellac is a quick and gratifying beautiful finish, Very easy to repair mars and dings. It's call these days the Gallery Finish. Because it's great to look at but easily damaged. Mostly used for period pieces after a good cleaning.

Note: Once a period piece has been stripped the value is way down. This is where I ask the customer, now are you going to be using this piece or for show? If you using it then Lacquer is you best for the money. Explain why.

2nd Lacquer; Some are stronger then other. Nitrocellulose is a week product used for furniture which dose not get handled to often. I has a softer finish. will break down sooner under harsh cleaners.
Pre Cat Lacquers; which depends on the maker and solids with in is a harder product, this one I use 99% of the time for every day furniture, It's hard, will with stand water, alcohol, and take harsher cleaners.
Oils; Now oil finishes are you hardest but time consuming to apply {RIGHT}
Boiled Lind seed oil is one of the hardest finishes I have come across. I've worked on period furniture from the mid 1700's with original oil finishes. With a little cleaning and scuffing up and applying a few new coats it's back to beautiful.
Hope's 100% tong oil is another very hard finish that works well on small pieces. Tong oil love to be rubbed in by hand. The wormth of your have drives it deep into the wood at first and with each addictional coat the luster become the best I seen.


Rob so it all begins with examination, determining the finish, what can be used to over coat and what can not be used. Nothing can be put over oil and last !

New work , well that a hole different story. Prep, prep and more prep for a life long piece. Talking good furniture. Like my MLer's They were considered furniture in there day back in the 1700's.

BTW, Sure would like to do a Canoe treck in Canada. LOL For Bear


Thanks Don
 
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Thanks a great deal for the explantion Dave. A lot makes sense now. I always wondered how anything was supposed to hold on over oil.

What also makes sense now is the easiest stuff to apply (quick drying) also has poor durability. So now i know why the kitchen cabinets we have (Builder supplied) are not quiet that washable. Guess a quick coat of lacquer was all the factory was going to apply on the conveyer belt.

One thing that i still need to understand is what can go over either the lacquer or the shellac coats if they have been applied to a piece.

So say for example in the case of my kitchen cabinets can i clean then up and put a coat of poly over them for duability of finish or do they need stripping first.

Then if we build a new piece, I have always understood shellac is used as a kinda primer sorta sanding sealer also understood that it allows for just about any finish to be placed over it and it adheres. But i presume these additional coats in both cases would need to be solvent based products as opposed to say water based poly.

Or do i have it wrong. Sorry for the hijack of your Cherry table, just that when you bring out a finish like you do it seems appropriate to hit you with the questions relevant to the articles finish.

Thanks for the help in understanding this world of finishing.:thumb:
 
Your doing you K Cabinets, clean with Denature Alcohol and scrubby pads. This will degrease them remove any waxes on them . At that point oil will do If the finish is still tight you do not have to strip.
 
That looks just awesome. Ahhh, I must work at developing the patience to be able to put finishes on. That looks like it takes much skill and time :thumb:
 
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