AboutGreg 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 of all kinds.
Experience Fine furniture restorer and cabinet maker for over 30 years,serving high end Antique dealers, Interior designers, Collectors in the CT area. 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, and offered instruction on use and care as well.I even have some Trade show Demo experience.
Organizations none at this time.
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"), local newspapers as well
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 by Major tool manufacturers, Delta, Powermatic, Performax, Porter Cable, Skil/Bosch to name a few.
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.) 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.), local Museums and Historical Societies.
Expert: Greg Scholl Date: 7/7/2008 Subject: refinishing pine desk
Question QUESTION: We're refinishing some pine desks - heavy stuff that had some stain and polyurethane of some kind on it. We sanded but not totally, unless there was some kind of damage, writing etc in a spot. Now applied minwax oil based stain, and wiped, but wanted it pretty dark so didn't wipe for several hours. After about 20 hours applied oil based polyurethane. It looked great, but after drying about 20 min, little white scratches appeared on some of the horizontal surfaces umder the coating - they appear to be in the shape of the sander marks in some places (weren't apparent before polyurethane though). The vertical surfaces seem to all be fine. We're not experts, so we could have made any variety of mistakes along the line (that's why I gave you so many details). Where did we go wrong and how do we fix it at this point?
Thanks,Cora
ANSWER: Hi Cora, you can't leave the Minwax on the surface like this...and you also can't use this stain over a finished piece. Staining has to be done at the wood level, and you need to remove the finish from the surface to accomplish that. Oil stain like Minwax has to be wiped off thoroughly after each coat. If you want it dark, you have to use a different stain or several coats, but each has to be wiped OFF, and you can only apply another coat after the previous coat dries. You also might be polyurethaning over a lacquer finish, and the marks may be a result of that, because the two aren't compatible. So it doesn't actually sound like you're refinishing, it sounds like you're sanding in spots and trying to finish over an existing finish which I wouldn't recommend. You should really strip off the existing finish. Although a lacquer finish can usually be repaired, it can't be after you've done what you've done over it, and Minwax stains would not be the choice to do that.....so it is important to know what you're dealing with....post back if need be, but I'd recommend going back to square one and properly stripping the surface.......regards- Greg
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QUESTION: OK thanks. These weren't supposed to be huge projects, just freshening up. I haven't done anything to the beds yet. Can I just apply a fresh coat of polyurethane on those if I don't do any staining? How about if I just apply stain to damaged areas that are down to bare wood to even out the color?
One desk we sanded down totally and then stained very dark. We didn't wipe because after 15 min (the recommendation on the can) nothing was coming off anymore). If we wipe those down as a precaution, should the polyurethane take on that desk OK? How long should we wait for the stain to dry after wiping?
Thanks, Cora
Answer Hi Cora, again, it isn't a good idea to put poly over lacquer, and that's probably what your doing, as most factory finishes would be lacquer..."freshening" up needs to be done with compatible finish materials, in this case recoat lacquer with lacquer. And again, Minwax stains aren't designed to stain anything but bare wood, with no trace of finish on it. The type of "touching up" you want to do should be done with a dye stain,and touch up sealers and lacquers, again because you're most likely dealing with lacquer, not varnish (poly) as the original finish. Also, Pine is very soft, so it will tend to soak up any liquid you put on it, that doesn't mean that the liquid will dry, though, and the manufacturers directions are only a guideline because they can't possibly cover all scenarios on the label. Minwax stains are notorious for being very finicky, and if there is a trace of finish on the piece they will not dry thoroughly. One reason why I don't like them. You can try wiping down the one desk top and finishing it, but sanding doesn't remove finish, as the finish adheres to the wood at the pore level, and the only way to make wood ready to stain with Minwax is to strip the finish chemically to get down to bare wood. You should allow the stain to dry until it's dry...I can't tell you how long that will take if there's still remnants of old lacquer on the top....odds are the stain will stay sticky and not dry within the manufacturers recommendation, if at all.....so again, your refurbishing approach has to match the original finish materials, so if you're dealing with lacquer, you have to use touch up and recoat techniques that are designed for lacquer. I still recommend you strip the top and start from the beginning, but it then won't match the rest of the piece probably. I would invest in some touch up lacquers for the bed and put away the poly. But I would also caution you that this type of touch up and finish restoration takes a bit of skill, and it would take me pages and pages to teach you that here....
