Note that the bare area has some raised grain and that there is
considerable staining.
I propose:
(1) Strip
(2) Sand
(3) Refinish with stain/poly combo.
I assume I will need to apply oxalic acid at some point but am not
sure how/when to do it.
A professional refinisher ($275 est) has said it might not be
possible to get a good job. Really all I need is a passable one as the
table resides in a corner in a room that isn't used much.
Any advice you could give would be much appreciated!
Thank you!
Frank

"frank1492" wrote in message
...
Note that the bare area has some raised grain and that there is
considerable staining.
I propose:
(1) Strip
(2) Sand
(3) Refinish with stain/poly combo.
I assume I will need to apply oxalic acid at some point but am not
sure how/when to do it.
A professional refinisher ($275 est) has said it might not be
possible to get a good job. Really all I need is a passable one as the
table resides in a corner in a room that isn't used much.
Any advice you could give would be much appreciated!
Thank you!
Frank


Frank.. OK here is what we have done. Antique oak table. Sanded to very
smooth. Stained. After stain totally dry added the finish. What was used is
one part BOILED linseed oil, One part Turpentine, One part white vinegar.
Flood table top. After 20 to 30 minutes rub off excess. Allow to dry over
night. Do this for about 10 days. This was done 40 years ago and table has
been is use every day. About once a year was repeated with ONE coat. The
linseed oil is the finish. The vinegar is to emulsify the mix, shake before
using. Maybe too much work for you but is a great finish. WW

"frank1492" wrote in message
...
Note that the bare area has some raised grain and that there is
considerable staining.
I propose:
(1) Strip
(2) Sand
(3) Refinish with stain/poly combo.
I assume I will need to apply oxalic acid at some point but am not
sure how/when to do it.
A professional refinisher ($275 est) has said it might not be
possible to get a good job. Really all I need is a passable one as the
table resides in a corner in a room that isn't used much.
Any advice you could give would be much appreciated!
Thank you!
Frank

Depends on what you want as the final result and how much labor you are
willing to put into the project.

1 & 2 are OK, but I'd never use a stain and finish combo.

3 Stain
4 One coat of poly thinned 25% with mineral spirits
5 Sand with 220 lightly
6 First coat of poly straight
7 Sand again
8 Second coat
9 Sand
10 Third coat
11 Fourth if needed
12 Let cure three to four weeks
13 Sand with 320
14 Wet sand with 600
15 Rub with pumice
16 Rub with rottenstone
17 Wax with paste wax
18 Admire
19 Enjoy compliments from others

If the table is not used much and a hard finish (like a dining room use) is
not needed, tung oil makes a good finish.

On Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:34:49 -0700, "WW"
wrote:

-snip-
Frank.. OK here is what we have done. Antique oak table. Sanded to very
smooth. Stained. After stain totally dry added the finish. What was used is
one part BOILED linseed oil, One part Turpentine, One part white vinegar.
Flood table top. After 20 to 30 minutes rub off excess. Allow to dry over
night. Do this for about 10 days. This was done 40 years ago and table has
been is use every day. About once a year was repeated with ONE coat. The
linseed oil is the finish. The vinegar is to emulsify the mix, shake before
using. Maybe too much work for you but is a great finish. WW


A slight variation on that- and I don't have anything that I used it
on in the 60s- so I don't know about long term result, but it sure
looked purty- and lasted for a few years anyway.

Start with 1 part *boiled* linseed oil & 2 parts turps.
Paint on daily until the piece will take no more.
Then rub a 1/1 mix of the oil & turps for a week or so.

Jim

"frank1492" wrote in message
...
Note that the bare area has some raised grain and that there is
considerable staining.
I propose:
(1) Strip
(2) Sand
(3) Refinish with stain/poly combo.
I assume I will need to apply oxalic acid at some point but am not
sure how/when to do it.
A professional refinisher ($275 est) has said it might not be
possible to get a good job. Really all I need is a passable one as the
table resides in a corner in a room that isn't used much.
Any advice you could give would be much appreciated!
Thank you!
Frank

It is not clear to me why a professional refinisher said it might not be
possible to get a good job unless he sees something that your pictures do
not show.

Assuming that you do not have a very thin veneer, your order of
operations is fine and the suggestions of others could be incorporated. I
would just make a few changes:

1) Clean the table before any stripping. Use about a capful of dishwashing
liquid to a gallon of warm water. Do not saturate the wood, just get it
damp and use fresh water right after followed by dry, clean rags. Follow
this up with a wipedown with odorless mineral spirits or naphtha. The use
of both water and a hydrocarbon solvent will take care of water soluble
dirt, grease and oil.

2) You may not need to sand. Do so only if the surface is fuzzy. If you
do sand , do so very lightly. You are basically finish sanding, not
removing 1/16" of wood. I notice that the grain radiates in panels from the
center. Try to sand only with the grain.

3) If you need oxalic acid, it will raise the wood grain. When you sand
after using it, do so very lightly so you do not sand through the "bleached"
topmost layer of wood. If you use oxalic acid, do so on the entire top. Do
not try and spot remove.

4) An oil finish will look nice but will not provide much protection. I
would not suggest using a poly/stain combo. Every layer will make the
finish darker until you can barely see the grain. You can get a good idea
of what the table would look like with a clearcoat finish if, after all the
prep work, you wipe it down with some odorless mineral spirits or naphtha.
The way it looks while still wet is about how it will look with varnish,
polyurethane, lacquer, or shellac. If you must have a stain, apply it in a
separate step.

Good Luck.


--
Remove NGs to e-mail.

frank1492 wrote:
Note that the bare area has some raised grain and that there is
considerable staining.

Note what? This is a text group, and many news servers strip out binaries
from groups which are not set up for binaries.

Post your picture on an image hosting webpage, then provide the link.

Jon

frank1492 wrote:
Note that the bare area has some raised grain and that there is
considerable staining.
I propose:
(1) Strip
(2) Sand
(3) Refinish with stain/poly combo.
I assume I will need to apply oxalic acid at some point but am not
sure how/when to do it.
A professional refinisher ($275 est) has said it might not be
possible to get a good job. Really all I need is a passable one as the
table resides in a corner in a room that isn't used much.
Any advice you could give would be much appreciated!
Thank you!
Frank

It would be great to see a photo...link to a free website. It would
also be good to know whether you have a preference for the final
finish...thick and glassy, satiny, or ? I've refinished only antiques,
and none were in condition to require sanding. Sanding also removes
patina and makes old furniture LOOK refinished. When I have refinished,
it has almost always been after removing several coats of paint. I use
the bad stuff that has to be washed off with mineral spirits...it
removes paint quickly and much of old stain in wood. In using the
stripper and m.s. for wash off, I scrub with steel wool...coarse at
first, fine for the final clean up. The wood is somewhat softened and
the steel wool takes care of sanding.

I once made new oak wall shelves and the only finish was a coat of paste
wax...looked beautiful. On a piano, I used about 5 coats of shellac and
a final two coats of gloss varnish...the deep finish that old pianos
had. Shellac for "build" and varnish to protect the shellac from water
and alcohol. I prefer solv. varnish if it can be found. I used poly on
a round oak kitchen table just because it took a beating in daily use;
it looks "plasticy". Varnish goes on nicely without brush marks if
thinned slightly and more coats used. If I see bubbles in the finish,
more commonly with poly, I give a fine steel wool rub and put another
coat of finish.

I have had no luck removing old black stains from wood, but didn't know
origin of the stain either....india ink? water?