Re-Finishing Maple Problem
 

I did a job for a company that ordered 50 maple items. They chose maple
because they wanted to match their existing office decor. These are
small (2² X 10²) desk name bars with engraved plates. I used hard maple
and finished them with Natural Watco Oil then buffed them with Carnauba
wax with the Beall system. When they received them, they saw that they
were lighter than their office furniture and advised me that their
office furniture is done in cherry-maple, a wood that I¹m not familiar
with. They asked me if there is a way to darken the name plates and I
told them that, if there¹s a way, someone on this newsgroup will come up
with the answer. Sanding and re-staining would be a very last resort.
Thanks

How about a naptha wipe-down, sealing coat of dewaxed shellac, followed
by toner coats to get the color right?

Dave

Robert Kline wrote:

I did a job for a company that ordered 50 maple items. They chose maple
because they wanted to match their existing office decor. These are
small (2² X 10²) desk name bars with engraved plates. I used hard maple
and finished them with Natural Watco Oil then buffed them with Carnauba
wax with the Beall system. When they received them, they saw that they
were lighter than their office furniture and advised me that their
office furniture is done in cherry-maple, a wood that I¹m not familiar
with. They asked me if there is a way to darken the name plates and I
told them that, if there¹s a way, someone on this newsgroup will come up
with the answer. Sanding and re-staining would be a very last resort.
Thanks

why not just different colored shellac?

"David" wrote in message
...
How about a naptha wipe-down, sealing coat of dewaxed shellac, followed by
toner coats to get the color right?

Dave

Robert Kline wrote:

I did a job for a company that ordered 50 maple items. They chose maple
because they wanted to match their existing office decor. These are small
(2² X 10²) desk name bars with engraved plates. I used hard maple and
finished them with Natural Watco Oil then buffed them with Carnauba wax
with the Beall system. When they received them, they saw that they were
lighter than their office furniture and advised me that their office
furniture is done in cherry-maple, a wood that I¹m not familiar with.
They asked me if there is a way to darken the name plates and I told them
that, if there¹s a way, someone on this newsgroup will come up with the
answer. Sanding and re-staining would be a very last resort.
Thanks

David wrote in
:

How about a naptha wipe-down, sealing coat of dewaxed shellac,
followed by toner coats to get the color right?

Dave


Do you think the naptha will remove the buffed carnuba sufficiently?

Maybe a colored wax, like one of the Briwax varieties. It should be easy
enough to test. And I know that THIS time, I would make certain to do a
color test against their expectations.

Wanna bet that there is a designer involved? ;-)

Patriarch

No, I don't think it's the ideal solution; I was trying to give the OP
some suggestions SHORT of sanding it all off, as he indicated he'd like
to avoid sanding. :) The best looking finish would probably be sand to
bare wood and dye or stain the wood to the customer's spec.

Dave

Patriarch wrote:

David wrote in
:


How about a naptha wipe-down, sealing coat of dewaxed shellac,
followed by toner coats to get the color right?

Dave



Do you think the naptha will remove the buffed carnuba sufficiently?

Maybe a colored wax, like one of the Briwax varieties. It should be easy
enough to test. And I know that THIS time, I would make certain to do a
color test against their expectations.

Wanna bet that there is a designer involved? ;-)

Patriarch

David wrote in
:

No, I don't think it's the ideal solution; I was trying to give the OP
some suggestions SHORT of sanding it all off, as he indicated he'd
like to avoid sanding. :) The best looking finish would probably be
sand to bare wood and dye or stain the wood to the customer's spec.

Dave


I wonder if a shellac guru could tell us whether the carnuba wax would, in
fact, cause a problem for a waxy shellac, say garnet or buttonlac,
overcoat?

I did a bit of online research; the results I came up with didn't want
shellac put over an obviously waxy surface. I've never tried to coat a
heavily oily/waxy surface with any of the shellacs I've used, so I
can't say from my limited experience how good shellac is at adhering,
but what about shellac based primers; don't those hold back crayon
marks, et al?

Dave

Patriarch wrote:
David wrote in
:


No, I don't think it's the ideal solution; I was trying to give the OP
some suggestions SHORT of sanding it all off, as he indicated he'd
like to avoid sanding. :) The best looking finish would probably be
sand to bare wood and dye or stain the wood to the customer's spec.

Dave



I wonder if a shellac guru could tell us whether the carnuba wax would, in
fact, cause a problem for a waxy shellac, say garnet or buttonlac,
overcoat?

"David" wrote in message
...
I did a bit of online research; the results I came up with didn't want
shellac put over an obviously waxy surface. I've never tried to coat a
heavily oily/waxy surface with any of the shellacs I've used, so I
can't say from my limited experience how good shellac is at adhering,
but what about shellac based primers; don't those hold back crayon
marks, et al?


What holds back is also held back. That's the way it is with oil (wax) and
water (shellac) - they don't mix.

I'd say non-polar and polar solvents, but someone'd probably complain again.

I appreciate the advice. I tried removing the wax and wasn't successful.
I'm taking the items back and putting them in inventory and making new
ones. Like one of you noted, it's a lesson.
Thanks

Hopefully you'll end up with a totally happy client. That might be
worth the effort, huh, Robert?

Dave

Robert Kline wrote:

I appreciate the advice. I tried removing the wax and wasn't successful.
I'm taking the items back and putting them in inventory and making new
ones. Like one of you noted, it's a lesson.
Thanks

Robert Kline wrote:
I appreciate the advice. I tried removing the wax and wasn't successful.
I'm taking the items back and putting them in inventory and making new
ones. Like one of you noted, it's a lesson.
Thanks

A bit off topic... But in Cabinet Maker (?) magazine I saw something
worth repeating...

One fellow said the way he avoided this (after a similar lesson I will
bet) is that he finished a sample item, he then sawed it in half in
front of the client. Then he made the entire order, and finished it the
same as the sample. He noted that the signatures and the marked and
signed samples stopped complaints cold -- as all they had to do was hold
the samples against the finished products...

fwiw

--
Will
Occasional Techno-geek