Refinishing old oak?

Bill Lantry

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Hey, folks,

One of the things I got from Craig was an old pew. I wasn't going to take it, but Doorlink loved it. It came from an old Augustinian chapel in downtown DC, and it had been sitting on Craig's enclosed porch for about 20 years. When he got it (the chapel was being torn down), he just put it out there, so it likely hasn't been refinished for, I'm guessing, at least a century.

Luckily, the Augustinians aren't known from being especially rowdy monks, so it's in pretty good shape. There are a couple deep scratches in one place on the seat, but other than that, all is well.

I'm wondering how best to refinish it. I used some 320 grit sandpaper on parts of it, just to get the dirt off, but it's going to take a whole mess of sanding. The trouble with sanding: once you start, you have to keep going... and the oak is pretty old... for a moment, I got worried about reshaping some of the curves, even with 320 grit. Is there some wonder product I can brush on that'll take off the old finish? Not sure what the old finish is, maybe shellac or lacquer? What did they use for finish in c. 1880? I tried naptha, but that just loosened the dirt and dust, not the finish.

Assuming that goes well, any ideas for a modern finish? Doorlink wants it to find a home inside, so I don't need to worry about weathering. My first thought is to just use what I'm used to, which is 1/3 BLO, 1/3 poly, and 1/3 naptha. But I'm open to all suggestions...

Thanks,

Bill
 
try mineral spirts and steel wool on it first to clean the junk off, then try a small spot to see if its shellac or not use dna and see if that cuts it, if so then use a gray scotch bright and dna and scrub again.. as for refinishing the witches brew your accustomed to will work.. if it is actually as old as you mentioned then the shellac would be the finish of choice then.. somewhere back in the threads i posted a old head board that i cleaned up this way and then coated it turned ok i thought..
 
You can test if it is shellac by rubbing an area with an alcohol soaked rag. Shellac returns to solution when hit with alcohol. If it softens, your job just got easier. Use rags and a soft brush and denatured alcohol to soften and remove the finish. I often start with paper towels, throwing them away frequently so as to not re-apply the finish I just wiped off. For the detail work, use a soft brush (like a shoe shine brush) to work the finish out of the crevices. If it is not shellac . . . calling Dave Hawksford, calling Dave Hawksford . . .
 
I would just start with a chemical stripper. I would first give a waterbase stripper a try, like Citristrip. It's not as toxic as an MC (methylene chloride) stripper. It can be used indoors, smells like oranges, and is water clean-up. I would give it a chance first, even with a couple of applications. I like starting off with the least toxic and easiest to use method. If it doesn't work to your satisfaction, I would then use an MC based stripper. They are very toxic, and I would recommend gauntlet type chemically resistant gloves, a two cartridge respirator, and face/eye protection. Work in a well ventilated area.

One of the best I've used over the counter is called "Aircraft Stripper" in the blue can. It's available at many auto type stores, and dedicated auto paint type stores. Follow directions to the letter. Once you are down to bare wood, you can do repairs and sand without loading up your paper.


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OK, so I tried the DNA. It had some effect, but I was just rubbing the finish around. It was as if it loosened it, then as soon as it dried (almost instantly), it looked like I had just refinished. Weird.

So, on to the citistrip. Stuff's not unpleasant. Took me about an hour to brush it on to every square inch, even underneath. It's clearly going to do the job. Seems to have worked best where I'd already sanded, but also seems to work in the places I hadn't yet touched. Clean up was easy.

As soon as it's dry, I'm going to lightly scrape, and then sand. Looks like I might be halfway home...

I'm going to need to make some molding, as a couple pieces are missing, but that's going to have to wait a day or two. Since the darned thing's on the front porch, and vulnerable in a bad rain, I have to get some finish on it tonight. Even if I could pick it up myself, there's no room for it in the shop right now...

Thanks,

Bill
 
Is there no way you could simply cover it? A tarp or sheet plastic?

I'm going to have to. I was overly optimistic about how well the citristrip worked. It had an effect, but there's way more to do...

Not only that, but I scraped it a little. I've got some sanding ahead of me. Now I remember why I don't enjoy refinishing :(
 
another thing to consider bill is that after you strip it you should allow some time before refinishing it.. check the can to see there instructions.. sometime they recommend a neutralizer be applied to it after the stripping solution.
 

Pics you requested, pics you shall have. First, a brief note. I'm a little frustrated with the citistrip. For this project, at least, I think that 20 bucks might have been better spent on sandpaper. I'm sure it has its uses, but, yikes. Also, after spending 8 bucks on DNA, I got back to the shop and discovered I already had a full can, unopened. Aw, well, it's always good to have some around... ;)

Two views of the whole thing:

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Citistrip plus sanding with 220 grit vs. just citistrip:

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After a few minutes of sanding with 220:

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The other side, after a few minutes of sanding with only 120:

IMAG0113.jpg

Off to the depot, to buy a mess of 120...

Thanks,

Bill
 
That's a lot bigger than I was expecting, you got that stripped pretty quickly none the less.

BTW...If you've been pondering names for it, I say call it "Pepe" (le pew....<insert groans here>). ;)
 
So I got some BLO/poly drips on the porch concrete, and now I'm in dutch with Doorlink. Steps so far: soften 'em up with DNA. rinse with water and scrub with pushbroom. Soak with water mixed with dishwater detergent.

Any better ideas? Dang...
 
pressure washer instead of hand scrubbing, also is dna the solvent for poly? i thought poly was a oil type finish there making mineral spirits being a solvent for it.. what does the can say about thinning or cleanup of poly?
 
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Just pore oil on the whole porch...problem solved!:D :rolleyes:

I would think mineral spirits would work better too. That's what I used to make my own wipe on poly.
 
...Any better ideas? Dang...

Assuming that coating the whole porch with BLO/poly is out of the question, I'd try lacquer thinner or a solvent stripper of some type. Barring that, a dozen red roses might help the spots disappear. ;)

(In most cases I'd suggest writing a poem, but something tells me Doorlink wouldn't buy that shtick from you...she'd just demand more and more of them.) :rofl:
 
There IS always haiku...

Sorry that I dripped
Finish can be such a mess
Please do not beat me

Or perhaps a limerick?

There once was a poet named Bill
Who had an unfortunate spill
On the porch is a mess
To which he must confess
Or Doorlink will be forced to kill

Just trying to help here...:rofl:
 
Hand Doorlink a brush and invite her to help with the finishing? :whistling:

...art

(My folks are dutch immigrants, as are LOML's folks, so being "in dutch" is just kind of normal as far as I'm concerned... isn't language fun?)
 
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