The Big Top

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Outside the beltway
Mahogany redo. This customer had the builder install and finish this top and the painters really screwed it up. Fish eyes everywhere. We stripped it and put 5 coats of shellac, 1st 3 coats were 50/50 then tung oil brushed out thin coats. Finial process was rubbing the finish down with a piece of soft ceder and then comit and paint thinner and 3 coats of wax.

I also did her dinning room table which I hated doing this but she likes dark so after we stripped it, which I think was a beautiful table natural, it went dark. Now she is thinking it should be light. O well more money for me.
 

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Nice job Dave:thumb:. I wish I could get my stain to come out that even in color. That should teach the builder a lesson but it won't. Painters probably gave a cheap price and now it cost more than if he would have gotten a finisher to do it instead of a painter:doh:.

I know what your talking about with people changing their minds after the fact. Sounds like the job I've been on for the past 2 1/2 years:eek:. As long as their willing to pay who cares:D.
 
Alan , I sure don't mind a customers changing there mind as long as they don't beat me up to bad.

I also have a few customers that keep me hopping. One had a house fire and keep me busy for 5 years. 80 old oil painting to clean and repair and over 190 pieces of oriental and European furniture [antiques]

Times like these I throw in little things just as a thank you.
 
Well I can't complain to much cause at least I'm still working:thumb:. Job started as a simple remodel with a detached 2 story poolhouse and pool. From there we ended up remodeling the whole house save a few rooms. Then Ike hit and we ended up doing those rooms also. Since august last year I've been working out of my shop to build the cabinets for them and supervise the job also. What can I say, its been a very good company to work for:D.
 
Good for you, remolding job's are great when they work out like that. I couldn't keep doing that kind of work just because of alot of surgeries , shoulders , knees busted back, so I took to the shop atmosphere, customers coming to me and planning my own time out. I've worked for myself for 30 years, hard times and good times I don't regret any of it.
 
I use a soft type of ceder block to burnish the top after the last coat of oil is applied and then the white GM synthetic [very fine] steel wool, attach to the vibrator sander. Mix up comit with paint thinner to a paste and applu to the top and buff with the synthetic pad on the sander. this gets ride of any imperfections in the finish Then wax with, if you can get it, Pate Dugay

The comit , thinner. Less costly then some of the compounds, less messy then wet sanding.
 
man that mahogany is beautiful, and I would have thought, (shows that I know zero about finishing, but can learn) that a mahogany top near running water/sink/faucet, would have only gotten some type of polyurethane coating.
That really is nice work, and a beautiful piece of restoration.(that island is bigger than just about my entire kitchen)
 
That's beautiful work, Dave. :thumb: Your client has an impressive house and furnishings.

And welcome to another member of the broken back club. :wave: I had a burst fracture of L-3 after a 30-foot fall, so now L-2 through L-4 is a "monobrae". Messed up my aspirations for a career as a professional limbo dancer, for sure. :p Still, modern medicine is pretty amazing. Forty or fifty years ago, guys like you and me would have ended up unable to walk, or would have just been taken out behind the barn and shot. :D
 
Can you expand a bit on that? Rubdown with soft cedar? Comit?

At first I thought this referred to Comet, the abrasive household cleaner. But a web search found no recipes for mixing that with paint thinner, so now I'm completely confused! ;)

Course, how that's different from other days is beyond me... :rofl:

Whatever it is, the results are stunning!

Thanks,

Bill
 
Exellent work Dave. The comet is the same as pumice or rosin. it is a abrasived used to smooth/level out a finish. Then ms,paint thinner acatone can be used to wet the abrasive and used to remove any contaminates.
 
Al , right you are. There are as many ways to finish a top as there are guys on here LOL Each finisher has there own way of finishing things.

We are starting a Piano refinishing job in the customers home today. Finish will be done the same way. My son will strip this morning I have him get pic's of our process.
 
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