Expert: Eileen Cronk - 7/23/2009

Question
I started stripping and sanding the 40 yr. old maple coffeetable , can't seem to get the color to even out. Want to bleach it down to plain then put on a dark mahogony stain then poly to match my 100 yr. old sideboard,also the legs are hard to strip around grooves.What do you reccomend? This is taking forever! What am I doing wrong?


Answer
Hi Sue
Nice to hear from you.
You are doing a few things wrong LOL.
First off you cannot remove a finish with sandpaper.
You must use paint stripper. This is not negotiable LOL.
Next you are trying to make the wood look like new by attempting to get the existing color out..this is wrong and also not negotiable LOL.
Next you are thinking about bleaching to remove the color only to stain it darker..this is wrong.
The correct way is to strip the table with paint stripper.
The only time its necessary to sand is when there is wood damage. Other than that no sanding.
The color thats left after proper stripping is left alone. Its to be desired in fact.
And finally, there is no way you will get your maple coffee table to match your mahogany sideboard.
You could take it to a shop that sprays colored lacquer and have it done but this cannot be done in the home.
And finally I want to say that I am in no way wanting to discourage you from doing more of this type of work. I applaud your efforts. If we sat on our fannies and did nothing we would never learn a thing.
So let this be exactly what it is..a learning experience. And the next time you come across a piece of maple furniture you'll know what to do.
Kind Regards
Eileen