On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 02:11:26 GMT, "Aden Lynds"
wrote:

Do I need to concern myself with the type of protecive coat that is alreay
on it?

Yes. Some finishes (all the good ones) will be fussy. A finish strong
enough to survive in this application will place mechanical stresses
on a finish beneath it. If that finish isn;t the same, then you're
likely to get crackling or crazing. Some (cellulose lacquers) are
just chemically incompatible and will wrinkle.

Do I sand down to to bare wood
everywhere and then re-stain and then apply varnish

Yes.

How many coats...

Depends on your finish.

Do I need to sand between coats.

Not usually. Most finishes have a "window" where they can be
re-coated without sanding. After this window closes, you have to wait
much longer until they're really cured, then sand.

..I basically need a really good "How to"

This situation sucks, especially the tiny time window. The best way
is to remove a few tables at a time, do them off-site, then bring them
back in. However you might not be able to do this.

If you have to do it in situ, then your _only_ option would appear to
be an acid-cure formaldehyde. In the UK I use Rustin's Bar Top finish,
a heat-resistant version of their Floorcoat that I use for stripped
and sanded floors.

This is tough, hardwearing, resistant to mnost spills and works well
in service. It also has _very_ fast curing. In a couple of hours it's
ready to re-coat, and in six hours you can walk on it.

On the downside, it _STINKS_ when it's curing (I wear a full-face
mask). You'll need to ventilate the room well afterwards. In this
weather that could be difficult. It also needs a reasonable "room
temperature" to cure.


Your time window is very tight for getting the tables sanded, and
having two coats on them in this window. I'd want two teams of people
(one sanding, one painting) and a dust curtain to section off the dust
from the sanding area. You might also need to leave a few tables with
just one coat, then re-coat them in the afternoon when trade is slack.
Sort out your sanding machinery too.

I'd certainly remove one table from the bar beforehand, and do a trial
run on it.

--
Smert' spamionam

On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 02:11:26 GMT, "Aden Lynds"
wrote:

Hello!


I have aprox 20 small bar tables that need to be refinished and I am not
sure how to start. The tables are about 2 inches thick but are made a many
small (but long) 1 inch wide pieces of wood glued together. The surface is
not absolutley smooth as a result and the wear in the finshes is
concentrating on the small seams. The tables were stained a very dark red
brown but have a thick shinny coat (but wearing into the wood in along the
seams). So...the tables need to be brought back to life for a high traffic
bar enfironment.

Do I need to concern myself with the type of protecive coat that is alreay
on it? Polyurethane or varnish etc...Do I sand down to to bare wood
everywhere and then re-stain and then apply varnish or polyurethane? How
many coats....Do I need to sand between coats...I basically need a really
good "How to" that I can apply to my situation on the whole sanding and
refinsh stages. Also...the bar is open from 11 am until 2 am...so the work
would be started at close (2 am)...how much time will be need to give a good
buffer for dry time for the 11 am open???

I know there are lots of variables not disclosed...any help would be great!

You could just dump 50-coat polyurathane on it and call it a day. It
sounds like you're completely new to it all, so be advised that 50
coat is a product- not applying 50 seperate coats. It leaves a really
thick, flat surface on a tabletop, and the only sanding I'm aware of
is to clean up the drips on the bottom edge of the tabletop. A lot of
people place photographs, coins or other little things on the table
before dumping the stuff on, and the top still comes out flat.
Personally, I'd avoid the stuff under the poly, because it looks
pretty tacky, but in a bar situation, it may be really popular.

It's not exactly a classy solution, but your patrons would almost have
to *try* to damage it.

Jerry Lynds



Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

You could just dump 50-coat polyurathane on it and call it a day. It
sounds like you're completely new to it all, so be advised that 50
coat is a product- not applying 50 seperate coats. It leaves a really
thick, flat surface on a tabletop, and the only sanding I'm aware of
is to clean up the drips on the bottom edge of the tabletop. A lot of
people place photographs, coins or other little things on the table
before dumping the stuff on, and the top still comes out flat.
Personally, I'd avoid the stuff under the poly, because it looks
pretty tacky, but in a bar situation, it may be really popular.

It's not exactly a classy solution, but your patrons would almost have
to *try* to damage it.

50-coat varnish is actually a 2-part ultra refined epoxy that goes on
clear and is tough as nails. It can be a little tricky to apply the
first few times you try, so if you buy it, test it a few times to get
the hang of it. No clue whether it will adhere to the previous coat,
but I've used it over shellac and over polyurethane with no problem.

On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 03:47:57 GMT, Xane T.
wrote:
You could just dump 50-coat polyurathane on it and call it a day. It
sounds like you're completely new to it all, so be advised that 50
coat is a product- not applying 50 seperate coats. It leaves a really
thick, flat surface on a tabletop, and the only sanding I'm aware of
is to clean up the drips on the bottom edge of the tabletop. A lot of
people place photographs, coins or other little things on the table
before dumping the stuff on, and the top still comes out flat.
Personally, I'd avoid the stuff under the poly, because it looks
pretty tacky, but in a bar situation, it may be really popular.

It's not exactly a classy solution, but your patrons would almost have
to *try* to damage it.

50-coat varnish is actually a 2-part ultra refined epoxy that goes on
clear and is tough as nails. It can be a little tricky to apply the
first few times you try, so if you buy it, test it a few times to get
the hang of it. No clue whether it will adhere to the previous coat,
but I've used it over shellac and over polyurethane with no problem.

Is that the same sort of thing as Envirotex?

On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 16:24:25 GMT, "U-CDK_CHARLES\\Charles" "Charles
wrote:

50-coat varnish is actually a 2-part ultra refined epoxy that goes on
clear and is tough as nails. It can be a little tricky to apply the
first few times you try, so if you buy it, test it a few times to get
the hang of it. No clue whether it will adhere to the previous coat,
but I've used it over shellac and over polyurethane with no problem.

Is that the same sort of thing as Envirotex?

Yep. Envirotex Lite (I've never seen Envirotex normal?), Aristocrat,
Famowood Glaze-Cote (which is a thinner formula than any other I've
seen, makes a slightly thinner coating, of course you could wait for
it to 'set up' to the thickness that the other two have). It's strong,
but flexible enough that it won't crack from most wood shifting.