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About Eileen Cronk
Expertise
Hi..I can answer most questions about the repairing,stripping and refinishing of all your old furniture and wood items(the things we call antiques)I can give advice about what to buy/avoid at auctions/flea markets. I do not give appraisals on antiques.

Experience
I have been refinishing antiques for the past 30yrs. While I have taken several courses over the years,I have found that "hands on" learning is the best teacher. Perhaps I can help you avoid some of the mistakes I made while learning.

You are here: Experts > Hobbies > Woodworking > Cabinets, Furniture, Woodworks > Varnished and sanded a black table and now it is grey. Help!

Cabinets, Furniture, Woodworks - Varnished and sanded a black table and now it is grey. Help!

Expert: Eileen Cronk - 10/28/2009

Question
I sanded my table, primed, put on several coats of black paint and sanded between coats, I put on 4 coats of varnish and sanded between. When done I used 320 grit paper for the final sanding to get rid of brush marks. The table is smooth but the raised part of the wood grain is grey. The lower parts of the wood grain is black. I used Minwax polycrilic in a satin finish. I want the whole table to be black and smooth. What do I do?

Answer
Hi Heather
Nice to hear from you.
Oh my goodness you are in a mess.
First off you have far too many coats of poly over the paint. One is sufficient.
You also have too many coats of black paint. Two is sufficient.
Second, paint applied with the correct brush in the correct conditions should not have brush marks. It sounds to me like the primer is the culprit if its showing grey after sanding.
I really feel it cannot be the wood grain showing. The wood grain would have to be raised in order for this to happen but you say you sanded the table before applying primer.
Heather I am afraid the news is not good.
All these coats need to be removed with stripper.
It would be a huge job to sand this off...really messy too. Use stripper.
Then two coats of black paint and one clear coat. Make sure the products are compatable.
That means water based clear coat over water based paint or oil based clear coat over oil based paint.
And ask at the hardware for the correct brush for water based or oil based products. There is a big difference.
And don't apply paint or clear coat in a cold room as it cannot flow properly. This causes brush marks.
Also if the room is too warm the paint dries too fast and does not flow.
Great question.
And don't let this discourage you. Its just a mistake and we learn from mistakes.
Kind Regards
Eileen

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