Expert: Eileen Cronk - 11/12/2011

Question
I bough a table today that is used. They said it was Maple. It has drop sides on both side of the table that fold down. I'm looking to re-finish it. Probably Mahogany I haven't decided yet. It's in pretty good shape with a few scratches that give it character. How do I go about refinishing it? I've never done it before and don't want to get in over my head. It's a simple table without much detail. I don't want to have to sand it if i can get away with it. I live in the states. I saw where you were in Canada. Would it be worth it to do it myself or just pay to have it done? Anyway help will be appreciated.
Thanks

Answer
Hi Leigh
Nice to hear from you.
What a great project for you to learn on.
You will not get in over your head. You can do this.
The only problem (and its not really) I see from your letter is that you want the maple table to look like mahogany.
Did you know Leigh that its actually the wood itself that determines the final color.
Most soft woods, like pine absorbs stain very well and we can make it most any shade from light to dark to red even.
Oak and ash are hardwoods but they actually take stain very well. You can stain these woods either light or dark with great results.
Very hard woods like your maple hardly absorb stain at all. You can put dark walnut or golden color stain on maple and both give almost the same result.
So let the wood be what it is. You won't be disappointed.
Now to completely confuse you LOL, if you had your table sprayed by a pro, you could make it any color you wanted because a pro would spray it with colored lacquer.
We cannot do this ourselves so thats out for us.
Personally I would not pay a shop to do this simple refinish job but the choice is yours.
I am sending my complete instructions for you to do it yourself.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR STRIPPING FURNITURE
The first thing you must do is assemble the material to do the job.
The stripper is the most important item.  
I am hoping you can get "CIRCA 1850" brand paint and varnish remover in your area.
Here is a link
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=1694&familyN

MATERIAL LIST For the stripping stage.
1 gallon stripper
2 boxes of Bull Dog steel wool in medium grade.
One 3 inch oil based paint brush.
Rubber gloves (like you do dishes with), and a pair of cotton gloves inside the rubber ones.
People react differently to stripper. A lot of people feel heat through the rubber gloves, but I feel cold. Have no idea why.
An empty large coffee can. (for the stripper)
A couple of old tooth brushes.
Lots of old rags (I like t-shirts or cotton but for this first stage whatever you have)
Lots of newspaper to protect the garage floor
LOTS OF VENTILATION..A MUST
That's all you need to get started.
HERES WHAT YOU DO...
Work in sections.
Brush on the stripper with the brush. Stripper will quit working if it dries, so keep it wet till the finish softens.
Then take a rag and wipe this mess off.
Then another coat of stripper, rag off again, then while the wood is still wet, take the steel wool and rub with the grain till the wood is nice and clean.
Depending on the material you are removing, another coat of stripper is often needed but you will know this as you progress into the job.
Use the toothbrush in crevices.
Thats all there is to it ...move to another section and continue.
No other prep is necessary...and DO NOT SAND
When the stripping is complete, stain with Minwax stain applied with a rag, then apply 2 or 3 coats of oil based satin sheen poly.
Please let me know if anything is not 100% clear.
Regards
Eileen