Thread: My Dining Table - making old new again

Thanks again - I have taken the advice on board and will use a scraper. So from all of the adice I should:

1. Pour paint stripper over the top
2. use the stripper to strip off varnish and a small amount of timber
3. Use metho to clean it
4. Sand the table by hand
5. varnish the table again

Is this correct? Also are all paint strippers the same or just get one from bunnings etc I guess I can get a scrapper from there as well?

You can get a non-caustic paint stripper from most hardware stores. You have the steps pretty right. You may need to scrape between 3 & 4 if the paints very hard, but if it's that age it probably won't be.
Good luck & post some pics.

If Bunnings or a paint specialist store hasn't got a cabinet scraper you can get it from Carbatec or Timbecon.


Please do not mistake a standard paint scraper with handle for a cabinet scraper. They are paint scrapers and not what you need.

A cabinet scraper is usually a rectangular piece of steel with a burr along the edge. You hold it bent slightly between both hands and let the bur scrape the surface.

As you are a beginner it might be a good idea to get a book from your library to show how to use a scraper. It is not difficult and pictures will show how easy it is to do.


Peter.

Originally Posted by Arry

Thanks again - I have taken the advice on board and will use a scraper. So from all of the adice I should:

1. Pour paint stripper over the top
Small areas at a time
2. use the stripper to strip off varnish and a small amount of timber
When it bubbles and is soft scrape off carefully with a paint scraper
3. Use metho to clean it
Use meths (100&#37 with 0000 steel wool to wash and neutralise stripper
4. Sand the table by hand
Depends on what it looks like, give it a good rub with the steel wool (0000) and see how it comes up, go in straight lines with the grain
5. varnish the table again
Choose finish carefully grasshopper
Is this correct? Also are all paint strippers the same or just get one from bunnings etc I guess I can get a scrapper from there as well?
Beware or pointy corners on paint scraper, do not gouge surface of workpiece

For once I disagree with Sturdee, that doesn't happen often, but I use a big paint scraper very carefully to remove the build up of muck that the stripper produces, wipe onto old newspaper and dispose of, I have also rounded off the corners so I don't gouge the timber surface.
Sorry Peter, not trying to shoot you down but this is the way I do it, I use my cabinet scrapers for the final finishing.
I am sure that your way works too but I find this is an inexpensive way of achieving the same end.

thanks heaps MASTER ) and other MASTERS )

How much timber can I expect to get off with the scaper, the reason i ask is that there is one major chip in the table....which is prob 3cm in diameter and a few mm deep.

A scraper removes minute amount of material, it is not a plane, unless you think microns instead of well, fine shavings.
Probably best to try to fill with a matching wood filler such as timber mate in the same colour and hopefully the final finish will cover it up.

hmmmmm so basically either scrape and putty up or sand it below the chip I guess?

I went to Bunnings tonight however they had no idea of what a cabinet scrapper is.

He told me to go to a place called For Wood Tools.

I have had a look at the Carbatec and Timbecon websites however the scrappers are $99.....pretty expensive hey

By the way, how do you tell what the existing finish is on the table top.

It sort of looks like that there is no finish but I am sure that there would be.?

Originally Posted by Arry

I went to Bunnings tonight however they had no idea of what a cabinet scrapper is.

He told me to go to a place called For Wood Tools.

I have had a look at the Carbatec and Timbecon websites however the scrappers are $99.....pretty expensive hey

By the way, how do you tell what the existing finish is on the table top.

It sort of looks like that there is no finish but I am sure that there would be.?

Arry, Bunnings have several of things that are suitable for use as cabinet scrapers.

The first one is a piece of metal called an AXIS blue steel floor scraper. There are 2 sizes. The smaller one is about 250 mm long and could be used as is or if you could cut it in half that would make 2 more manageable scrapers (an angle grinder will easily cut this steel and a file can be used to tidy up the cut). This blade should cost about $10. You will need a file to draw (push or pull) perpendicular to the edges to raise a small burr of metal. Sharpen all 4 edges and you will have a lot of edge to work with but be careful as they can bite you. I used a piece of this blade in my scraper for which I recently made a handle. A handle is not essential to use a scraper.

The second is the metal blade from an 8" Rokset broad paddle. Remove the useless handle and since this metal is thinner and will flex more you will definitely need to cut it in half to get it to work properly. It's not quite as hard as the Axis scraper (I tested the hardness of both at work in the lab) but its still very effective.

Grasp the blade with a hand on either side and put a slight bend in the blade. Place the slightly curved edge on the surface of the wood you wish to scrape and either push the convex curve away or pull it towards you. You should get very fine wisps or shavings of wood. When you feel the blade is getting blunt switch to another edge.

They work great and give a super finish.

Originally Posted by Arry

I have had a look at the Carbatec and Timbecon websites however the scrappers are $99.....pretty expensive hey

Carbatec website says that the Veritas scrapers are $ 17 each. I quoted price based on what I paid which was less then $ 10 at the time. See http://www.carbatec.com.au/store/ind...pers&x=25&y=12

Timbecon's website for a single scraper shows $ 10.50 http://www.timbecon.com.au/productse...chBox=scrapers

Iain's method of using a big paint scraper is also okay but I feel that requires more skill than you may have, so practice for a while on scrap pieces.


Peter.

Thanks for that but weren't you guys talking about these:

http://www.carbatec.com.au/store/ind...cPath=260_5592

No, that's just a fancy contraption to hold the scraper at a specific angle without getting your hands warm or tired.

Normally you hold the scraper blade with both hands and slightly bend it, when the scraper gets too warm or too uncomfortable you have a break.


Peter.

The blade that goes in them can be bought separately and used by hand

STOP!!! Before you start attacking the table, make sure it is solid wood and not a (very) thin veneer!! Most of the 'fine' furniture made today is partcleboard with a thin covering of real wood. It is very easy to go right through that veneer and then you end up with big splotches of ugle wood chips.

If the top isn't very bad and you are not sure you know what it is made of, just give it a good wipe down and then apply some furnture wax. Unless you want an excuse to start spending some serious money on the right tools and proper wood to make a 'real' table top.

JMHO

Pedro