You are here:

Cabinets, Furniture, Woodworks/Wood Counter Top Refinishing

Advertisement

Expert: - 11/7/2008


Question
Hi Greg,
I recently started a project that has turned into a big mess! I have a center island in my kitchen from the 80's that has a butcherblock type top to it. In the five years that we've owned the house the top of the island has always felt tacky and the finish has been incredibly easy to scrape off with a fingernail. In any event we scraped off all of the finish and have been trying to sand, but the sand paper constantly gets "gummy" from whatever residue is still on the island top. We are not able to sand down to bare wood...the paper quickly becomes unusable after a minute or so. What is the best way to get down to bare wood on this type of surface? We're assuming some type of chemical may work, we just don't know what to use. Thanks for your help!

Answer
Hey Charlie, the best way is with a sharpened cabinet or "card" scraper. You need to get down to clean wood, and that could be an 1/16"or more of scraping if there's a lot of residue on your block. Resist using any type of solvents, especially if you prepare food on it...as this will tend to liquefy the goo and send it deeper into the wood. If you're not familiar with them, they are a piece of tool steel that one sharpens a certain way to form a scraping edge on all 4 sides...here's a few links to get you started. There's a knack to sharpening and using them, but they are a very useful tool. Hope that helps- regards- Greg

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00007.asp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfUi8Nm6_Jg&feature=related

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=4586

Cabinets, Furniture, Woodworks

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Greg Scholl

Expertise

Questions on Woodworking, wood finishing and refinishing of all kinds, repairing furniture and wooden objects, Architectural details, Woodturning, carving, tool usage, product usage, some chemistry as it applies to woodworking and related interests,cabinet making and furniture construction/design, etc. I have experience with all manners of colorants, finishes, paints, stains, dyes, glazes, and coatings, wood species recognition and usage,tool recommendations, blade types and recommendation,techniques and methods for many Woodworking related issues, etc.

Experience

Fine furniture restorer and cabinet maker for over 30 years,serving high end Antique dealers, Interior designers, Collectors in the CT area. Consulting for area Painting/Decorating and Building contractors on non painting issues..(staining, wood prep.,clear finishing, floor restoration and architectural detail restoration and repair, etc.) Sold, built, serviced, setup Home, Industrial, and Commercial stationary woodworking tools for a major tool retailer in CT. for three years, sold hand and power tools , provided knowledge, parts replacement, service, and on site service, Trade show Demo, and training as well.

Publications
Published in Fine Woodworking Magazine (12/97), included on Fine Woodworkings first "Best of Fine Woodworking" CD-ROM (2002) ...("27 year compilation of expert know-how")

Education/Credentials
Art School at Silvermine Guild in Norwalk, CT., 9 year apprenticeship in a European run Cabinet and Restoration shop in CT., various classes on subjects having to do with the field. Seminars from major Tool manufacturers, Skil/Bosch, Delta, Powermatic, Ritter, Porter cable, Milwaukee, Dewalt/B&Decker, Performax.

Past/Present Clients
Many varied clients including work on Martha Stewarts' Westport, CT. show house, many fine Antique dealers and private collectors in and around Fairfield County and in Woodbury, CT. (the Antiques capital of CT.), Golden Age of Trucking Museum, Wilton Historical Society.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.