Hi All,
I been asked to look into a re-finishing job. The attached picture is of a chair rail in a restaurant that has obviously taken major abuse. For the repair, my thoughts are that I will have to remove the clear coat by sanding and possibly re-staining. I would like to use a different type of clear then when it’s “dinged” it doesn’t leave behind the white marks. Should I use an oil…? The chair rail is located in the dining area of the restaurant. I still need to do a site visit to determine other details (thickness of the clear coat, plywood with veneered edges or solid).
Any thoughts would be helpful.
Thanks
Chris
Replies
Here is the Picture
Chris.
I do a fair amount of restaurant millwork and my finisher does the following on small jobs that must be done in situ.
After sanding as required, application of solvent based wiping stain. He's good and can shade stain if necessary.
Leave it alone for six to twelve hours or enough to allow the nasties to off gas completely.
Three coats water based varathane. Sand as required.
Some may tell you not mix solvent based with water based but they are all lying scumbags, every man-jack of them!
When the finish gets dinged, "Brain-Damage" as he is commonly referred too comes back and, yes... Sands, As required!! He then wipes on enough stain to to "trompe-la mort",(paint-still life deception), and re-applies the varathane.
Maybe not furniture grade standards but hey it's a restaraunt, not a piano!
Al least thats what ole B.D. tells me.
I concur with the technique of wash-coating something like this with a stain that is a reasonably close match. Personally, I like the gel stains, that color, but basically lay on the surface.
It looks like a flat surface, so I would go over it with a ROS that has dust collection (like a Festool).
You won't remove all the dings, but I would bet my last dollar the restaurant people would be pleased.
I would opt for a fast drying varnish instead of WB poly. Zar and Ben Moore both have such products.
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"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
I don't know how much of that rail there is but my first impression is that's it's ugly as a mud fence. I wouldn't put much into it and would rather rip it out and do it nice, if they want a wood finish. Otherwise, I'd fill the dings and paint it. From the little I see in the picture, they need some decorating help. A little paint might fill the bill. You won't have to worry about all the sanding, multiple coats, time waiting for it to dry, getting whacked before you are done. Easy to touch up later.
Another thought is to put a nice nosed cap on the existing, face it with 1/4" ply or peel and stick veneer and tuck a scotia molding underneath. It would all be new and you can pre-finish most of the parts in the shop instead of having to be careful with the walls. You might be able to install it quicker than you could resurrect the existing.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
Ditto.
Hammer-time.
Your first impression is correct. Something I missed entirely.
Hilarious!
And no kidding, a few hours and a some trim turns a dogs breakfast into "la petit dejeuner".
I cannot tell you how fast your exact post came into my mind when I saw that. Paint that sucker.Gretchen
Poor ChrisV, didn't mean to gang up on him, just offer an alternative, but that is a rather hideous looking combination.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
The finisher in the shop I was involved with repaired a large number of rooms that contained a chair rail like that. He first sanded the chair rail with 150 paper followed by 180 paper. The dust was vacuumed and the rail wiped with a rag dampened with mineral spirits. He then applied a two coats of a non-poly exterior varnish. The reason for the exterior varnish was that exterior varnishs are softer and more flexible. They do not chip when dinged. Rather they will dent without compromizing the integrity of the finish.
There is no need to remove the existing finish if you can wipe the existing surface with mineral spirits and the "white" areas disappear. After all, a chair rail is designed to get banged up. That's what it is for and in a darkened public dining room, furniture quality finishing is not necessary or expected.
All,
Thanks for all the feedback, no problem on the decor comments...at the end of the day it's up to the customer, not me.
Chris
Before I got to Hammer's response three things immediately came to mind:
1. It looks like it would be cheaper to replace it than repair it. It would certainly be easier to finish in the shop.
2. The new one will get beat up too. I'd recommend painting with a textured paint that will help hide future marks.
3. If they want this one repaired, I'd suggest the paint scheme in #2.Greg
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Hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like that rail has been painted several times and subsequent chipping exposes multiple layers of different colors of paint. You can paint over it, and in three weeks it'll look just as bad, or worse. If the owner wants it done cheap, that's what he'll want you to do. If he wants it done right, he'll have you tear it out, replace it with a good hardwood rail, stained and poly'd. Subsequent dings won't stand out nearly as much.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
And if it does get torn out, put in a nice piece of molding, not just a 1X4. Chair rails DO have a use--as in the name--but they can be attractive.
Gretchen
Edited 7/3/2007 9:20 am ET by Gretchen
In addition, if the (new) chair rail has a bit of complex profile, it will conceal the eventual dings and dents better than a flat board.
Hi All,
Well, we finally go the OK form the customer to fix this job. We have to refinish the wood rail and then install a decorative metal railing that will take all of the abuse.
In re-finishing, I would like some recommendations on stain and clearcoat. This work has to be done on-site so odors and drying times are a major concern. Spraying on the clearcoat is not an option so I will have to go with a wipe-on.
Thanks,
Chris
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