Expert: Greg Scholl - 2/11/2010

Question
I hope you can help. I have done many different applications  to this bare parawood dining table,I can hardly keep track. Here goes; I wanted a "French polish"effect. I was going for depth with out shine. After sanding, applied stain with foam brush - wiped off- 2 coats, waiting 24 hours. Applied a black wax and wiped off. Not for protection, but for pigment. Then applied a mixture of tung oil and mineral spirits with a nylon stocking, wiping off excess - waiting 24 hours and buffing. I did a couple of applications. I started noticing blotchiness. I resanded with 180 and started again. I'm loosing track, but the end result is blotchy and uneven. I was going to try pumice with wet  sandpaper, but can't afford to experiment anymore. Please can you advice?Thanks

Answer
Hi Linda, your downfall was the wax...you can't apply wax and then apply a finish (any finish) over it.....as soon as you apply wax to a surface, it contaminates it for finishing. It will keep anything from sticking to the surface, except more wax.When you applied Tung oil with mineral spirits that will just melt the wax and smear it all around causing a mess...too much mineral spirits can also melt the stain coat and lift that off in spots...causing the "blotchies"...You get black pigment from a black stain, not from colored wax...wax should only be used as a last step on any finishing job....you'll want to strip the top now with chemical stripper. Sanding does not remove old finish well at the pore level of the wood,unless, like in the case of a floor sander, you take an awful lot of wood off.... and sanding will not remove the wax contamination, old finish, and stain, which soaks into the wood's surface. Stripping well, with a good stripper and a few different grades of steel wool, will liquefy all your previous steps and float them away,to be scrubbed off with the steel wool, leaving you with a clean, bare surface once again, to start over with.Then resand, but not too fine, and begin again. A "french polish" is done with shellac, and is very shiny when done right....so I'm not entirely sure what you're after as a final look.What you're describing is more like a Satin finish, or an oil finish. The easiest and most foolproof way to a nice durable finish on such a table is General Gel stain followed by 3-4 coats of the General Gel Satin Urethane topcoat...a good black stain is the General Waterborne Ebony dye stain, but beware...dye stains are a different animal than oil stains and unforgiving should you make an error or apply it too dark...or spill it on something...but there are some beautiful, transparent colors in the line...they don't get "muddy" like pigmented stains because they are dyes, and they dry in 20-30 minutes...but they take a little experience, knowledge, and technique to use if you've never used a dye before.These are THE way to stain hard woods like Oaks, Hickory, etc., and often deep colors are attained through the use of dye and pigmented stains together........Post back if need be, I'm here, regards- Greg

http://www.citristrip.com/

http://www.woodcraft.com/Family/2020491/General-Finishes-Water-Based-Dyes-.aspx

http://www.woodcraft.com/Family/2005555/GENERAL-Gel-Top-Coat-and-Stains.aspx