French Polishing and Bespoke Furniture
When it is weathered and worn, it can become uninviting and can bring down the visual appeal of your backyard and home. The best treatment for an old deck is to give it a good wash, a bit of sanding and a new stain . With the best materials, stain and techniques, you can have a beautifully stained deck in a weekend.
Minwax® PolyShades® is an easy way to change the color of your currently stained or polyurethane finished wood . There’s no stripping or heavy sanding necessary to remove the old finish!
Do NOT start sanding with very fine sandpaper on unfinished wood . Prepare the surface by using medium paper first, and then proceed to finer grades. On most raw woods, start sanding in the direction of the grain using a #120-150 grit paper before staining and work up to #220 grit paper.
Use a tack cloth or damp cloth to remove sanding dust. prev. apply stripping agent to furniture . prev. remove residue with old cut off paintbrush. prev. use hammer to give new wood distressed look. Apply the Stain. attach replacement pieces to furniture . Sand the Entire Piece. apply stain with lint free rag.
1. Staining over stain is easy and works beautifully if your applying a dark stain over a lighter stain on raw wood. 2. You can mix 2 or more stains together to make DIY custom stains .
Clear finishes and transparent stains are fine for new wood , but for older decks, Starling recommends using a semitransparent stain. ”The grain still shows through, but the pigment gives the old wood a clean, uniform color and helps the new wood blend in,” he says.
Wood stain is designed to penetrate into the grain of the wood , not to remain on the surface. If you happen to spread it too thickly, or you forget to wipe off excess, the material that remains on the surface will become sticky.
Laquer. You don’t need to remove all of the old stain to apply darker stain . But you do need to remove all of the lacquer, varnish or anything that will prevent new stain from absorbing into the wood . Your sanding block will initially glide over the old lacquer before it begins to cut into it and remove it.
While you can stain over paint , realize that you are creating a unique look, not an authentic stained wood -grain look. For that, first strip off all of the paint , then apply the stain . Paint with greater gloss means that the surface is less porous. The stain will more easily slide off, resulting in a lighter color.
Applying a topcoat sealer is not required, but a finish protects the stained wood from scratches and keeps it from fading over time. If applying a polyurethane finish with a brush, apply one to two coats.
When using Water Based Pre- Stain Wood Conditioner, allow it to penetrate for 1-5 minutes, then remove any excess. Since Water Based Pre- Stain Wood Conditioner causes the wood fibers to swell, you will need to lightly sand the surface with a fine grade sandpaper 15-30 minutes after application.
Wet the wood with water before applying the stain to raise the grain and leave a rougher surface for more pigment to lodge. This adds an extra step because you have to let the wood dry for this trick to work. You could shorten the procedure to one step by using a water -based stain .
Vinegar makes an excellent wood cleaner because it won’t damage wood finish or warp wood like other products do . Cleaning with vinegar is a green alternative to the sometimes toxic and expensive cleaners offered at the store.
The average homeowner pays $594 or between $330 and $877 to refinish a piece of furniture . Depending on the type of item and its condition, that price can be as low as $100 or over $1,000. Some projects for large objects like a dresser in poor condition can even go up to $2,000.