help with finishing

Apr 01, 2005 5 Replies

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Sam the Cat 21 years ago

I have a piece of cherry furniture that I am (re)working due to finish problems.

Original finish was 3 coats full strength pure tung oil (lee valley). On the top I added a coat of furniture wax.

I thought I gave the tun oil plenty of time to cure in the process (about 2 weeks), but evidently not. The oil and the wax reacted and the surface became very rough and blotchy -- even places where I did not use the wax became rough as well.

I am in the process of trying to remove the old finish and start over. I have since used the same pure tung oil (this time mixed 50/50 with Mineal spirits) on other project with great results.

I have tried using pure mineral siprits to cut through the wax and it did not seem to help. I am currently trying to sand / scrape my way through the finish. Its getting a bit frustrating as I am loading up sanding pads on the order 1/sqft of wood with caked on gunk (I assume finish)

I am looking for any thought on what else to try -- if sanding / scraping is the way to go then so bit it, just want to make sure I am not missing anything.

Cheers

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Patriarch 21 years ago

"Sam the Cat" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

VM&P Naptha, in a well ventilated shop. Use lots of rags, and hang them to dry, outside if possible. You want to remove the wax most of all, first, and the naptha should do that. You shouldn't need more than that.

BTW, some cherry is going to blotch anyway. What you have may be prone to that. DAGS on cherry + oil finish, and or look over at Jeff Jewitt's site,

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Patriarch

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dadiOH 21 years ago

Hate to ask but you did thoroughly wipe off the tung oil that remained on the surface after applying each coat, right? I ask because my lame father in law tried to put it on like varnish, wound up a pretty mess. Also a sticky one :)

-- dadiOH ____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

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Sam the Cat 21 years ago

Sure did -- I have also used tung oil full strength before as well, but it was a different brand

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Dave Balderstone 21 years ago

When you say scrape, are you meaning with a cabinet scraper? I had to remove wax from a maple CD shelf recently and a sharp scraper with a 5 degree hook did a great job.

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George 21 years ago

Try a woven pad that you can rinse out periodically. Alternative is wet sanding with SiC.

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