Thread: Help needed refinishing a few pieces of sentimental value

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What about the old cabinet should I start with paint stripper if so what brand?

No need for stripper. These items have mainly flat surfaces, so sanding would do the job. Start at 80 grit and work up to 220. You may want to start at 120 grit on the lighter finishes and more delicate surfaces. A lacquer finish would be easiest to apply. Poly would be more durable, but cant be refinished without removal in the future. Should you choose an oil finish, you will need to sand finer,say 480grit.

I'd go with sandpaper/abrasive on the painted table as the paint will have settled into the grain.

But on the other two I'd use a Cabinet Scraper. If you've never used one before, they are not hard to learn to use (sharpening is a different matter) but I'd recommend practising a bit first to get a feel for them.

Yeah, a cabinet scraper works wonders.

But they can also cut surprisingly aggressively, which can lead to hills 'n dales if you're not used to them.

With minimal woodworking skills I think I'd stick to using a sander for the flats and hand-sanding with a backing rubber for the curves.

Lots of elbow grease, but with the benefit that any mistakes are minor and easily recovered.

I'd only go to a stripper if the sanding turns into a nightmare, paper clogging on first contact, etc., but most of those pieces look like they'd have old finishes which should come off fairly straightforwardly.

The painted table my be the exception, depending on when 'twas painted/what paint was used.

Thank you for replies, I think I will give the cabinet scraper a miss at the moment maybe later when I get a bit more confidence so sanding it is to start with Thanks.

Not being sure re the timbers from the photos, my take on it, would be with the painted (white) piece to heat gun off the paint, then paint strip using coarse steel wool. The only reason for the heat gun is that it would speed the process up. Mind you, you would need to be careful not to burn the timber below.

If paint strip only, then use a flat blade scrapper to strip away the paint and then re-apply paint stripper and use coarse grade steel wool to get rid of the remainder. Once cleaned off, neutralise the surface using oxalic acid or alternatively even simply metho with steel wool. Once dry then use an oil based product. Even a Tung oil (commercial) product would be ok. You would need to apply a few coats, rubbing back in between coats.

Re the other pieces, again and assuming it might have a shellac finish (which has gone off and is very dry), you have two - three options. Sand back as suggested but in some cases from my experience when re-applying a finish such as shellac this can be problematic. If so, either stripping back using metho and coarse grade steel wool and a wash therefter would work. Or alternatively if you wanted to be certain of not having any of the original coat left, you could always paint strip (as explained above, though without the heat gun).

The point with any of these processes, is that you do need to try and get off as much of the old finish as it will interfere with any new finish, and when using steel wool, always clean the surface thereafter to ensure you don't get steel wool embedded into the wood fibres. It shouldn't be a problem, just be careful.

Sanding back I normally go from 120 grade (80 being generally IMHO too coarse for most projects, unless a surface is really rough), then up to 220-240 and finish off with 400. I know you can get finer grades but for the majority of projects from my experience these grades simply are not needed.

Just out of curiosity, what do most guys here seem to use re sandpapers. I only use plaster sandpaper (the white papers), rather than the brown papers for wood. My experience over the past 20 years has shown to me that it is more effective and durable. But perhaps I have this wrong ??