A friend asked me to refinish an old table. It is a very dark stain with a
clearcoat finish of some kind. It looks as if the wood is solid as well as
the underlying finish. Most of the damage/wear seems to be on the surface
coat. I've tested a spot with some 0000 steel wool dipped in acetone. That
seemed to remove some of the surface finish and I think that it will be
relatively easy to recoat it.
My question is about the areas where I'll need to sand into the old stain
finish. If I remove enough material to get into the old stain I'm not sure I
can re-stain it. I have a dark color that will match but the wood is so
smooth and the pores so filled that it won't take. Unfortunately I can't
completely take the table apart and sand to raw wood. I'm worried about the
final product being uneven.
Is there a solution where I can mix stain and an interim top coat to cover
and then top coat with varnish, lacquer, shellac or...?
Help appreciated!

Patrick Fischer
Olalla, WA
pfischer$$wavecable.com

An "old" table probably has a lacquer topcoat. Of course, old is a
relative term.

If you are supposed to refinish the table, then do so - strip off all
the finish, color as needed with stains, toners and glazes, and then
topcoat.

Recoating an existing finish is always tricky. The new topcoat could
delaminate in a year or so. If all the piece needs is to have scratches
removed, try polishing them out starting with something mild like a mirror
glaze. If that doesn't work, keep going backwards using progressively more
aggressive polishing compounds. Once the scratches are blended in with the
scratch pattern from the polishing compound, repolish going back up in grit
to give you the sheen you want.

Good Luck.

"Patrick Fischer" wrote in message
...
A friend asked me to refinish an old table. It is a very dark stain with a
clearcoat finish of some kind. It looks as if the wood is solid as well as
the underlying finish. Most of the damage/wear seems to be on the surface
coat. I've tested a spot with some 0000 steel wool dipped in acetone. That
seemed to remove some of the surface finish and I think that it will be
relatively easy to recoat it.
My question is about the areas where I'll need to sand into the old stain
finish. If I remove enough material to get into the old stain I'm not sure
I
can re-stain it. I have a dark color that will match but the wood is so
smooth and the pores so filled that it won't take. Unfortunately I can't
completely take the table apart and sand to raw wood. I'm worried about
the
final product being uneven.
Is there a solution where I can mix stain and an interim top coat to cover
and then top coat with varnish, lacquer, shellac or...?
Help appreciated!

Patrick Fischer
Olalla, WA
pfischer$$wavecable.com