I’m buying this aquarium and cherry cabinet. It’s a little beat up so I’d like to refinish it. Anyone have advice on what products and techniques I should use to get a similar color (I like the dark reddish look) and good protection from saltwater?
Thanks in advance!
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The stand has a good deal of plywood in it (which must not get wet with saltwater), so I'd just choose a dark red gell stain that you like, go over the cabinet, let it dry for a couple of days, then paint/spray it with polyurethane.
Conversion varnish (a type of epoxy) would be even better, but it's not beginner's stuff, as it's a catalyzed two-part mixture that must be correctly mixed, thinned and sprayed to get a good outcome.
Laquer would be an -okay- choice, but it won't stand up to repeated saltwater exposure the way polyurethane will.
Okay. Any recommendation on types/brands of gel stains? I haven't used them much before. Mostly I finish projects with watco danish oil and spray lacquer.What is the advantage of a gel stain over something like watco oil?I think I'm going to actually paint the inside where it's not visible so that it's super well protected, but the polyurethane on the outside seems like a good idea.Thanks!
Well, the idea here is that you're not going to completely strip the cabinet, just cover over/stain the scratches and coat it overall with a new finish. A gel stain will prevent a bunch of stain soaking into the areas that are scratched as would happen with an oil stain, or especially, a dye. What that'd do is REALLY highlight the scratches - they'd come out almost black. The gel stain will sit on the surface and avoid some of this (but test it on an inconspicuous area first!). If you scuff-sand the outer finish (with the grain), you'll get a fair amount of the gel stain to stick to the surface finish as well (which might be good if you want it darker).
As for brands, I really don't have a specific recommendation. I'm not terribly brand conscious when it comes to finishes. I figure most of the manufacturers know what they're doing, and it largely comes down to a personal preference. That said, I often use MinWax because it's inexpensive and readily available (most big box stores).
With regards to painting the insides of the cabinet, I'd highly recommend doing that with polyurethane as well - you can get opaque pigmented polyurethane that amounts to paint (usually white on the insides of my aquarium stands). It's possible latex exterior house paint would stand up to the exposure to salt water, but I kind of doubt it.
I'd clean it REAL well with mineral spirits and see what it looks like then. It might not need much except some Howard's. It will be dull after cleaning I imagine.
There are some pretty deep scratches. I don't think cleaning it well is going to do the trick. Also, I'm thinking about making some modifications, so I'd have to finish the cut/modified areas anyway. It seems better to just sand it all down and give it a new finish.
Wait. If you are going to strip it, DO NOT sand it down. Use a stripper. Sanding is not the way to remove a finish.Gretchen
Hmm. Why don't I want to sand it? I was thinking that by sanding, I could remove the scratches and completely start with a new finish. It seems that unless I sand it down the scratches will still be there, no?Thanks for the help, guys. I've done a fair amount of finishing but refinishing is new to me.
Most of the scratches will be in the finish--stripping removes that. Stripping leaves a surface more receptive to new finishes, allowing stain to take more evenly, retains patina if that is significant, and accepts top coats well. Just be sure that you remove all the stripper residue, usually with mineral spirits.
Finally, there is nothing to sand on plywood. Plywood veneer is VERY thin and it takes very little to blow right through it. One moment and there is lots of old finish on the surface and the next you are seeing the glue. DAMHIKT If you have scratches in the plywood you are stuck with them unless you replace the plywood, or do some sophisiticated filling and faux finishing to cover them up.
Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation! I'll get some stripper and get to work. :-)
Steve's right about sanding clear through the plywood. What I was suggesting is scuff-sanding. That essentially means very, very lightly sanding the existing finish with 220 grit sandpaper to remove any surface contaminants, rough the existing surface a little to get it to bond stain better, and even out any orange peel or surface irregularities in the ecisting finish.
Steve's right also about stripping - stripping the existing finish and lightly sanding the resulting bare surface will give you much better adhesion of a subsequent finish and/or stain. My comments were more directed to minimizing the total labor involved - stripping and completely refinishing is a big job. Might be worth it for a solid wood dining table, but debatable for a Craig's list aquarium stand. Actually, were it my stand, I would simply prime and paint the whole thing a nice glossy black, but that's just me. ;-)
Yeah, I understand scuff sanding, but I think I'd rather completely strip and refinish. This is going to be the centerpiece of my living room and I'll be looking at it a lot more than I would some table. Given that, I'm willing to put time and effort into making it look as nice as possible.
Just one point. If you were going to just scuff sand and coat over, scuff sanding doesn't remove surface contaminants. You need to wash the surface with something like TSP to remove watersoluble contaminants, and with mineral spirits or naptha to remove oily contaminants. In each case use lots of cloths so you don't just smear the bad stuff around. Sanding can actually drive some contaminents further into the surface making the problems worse not better. So in the overcoating sequence, clean and then scuff sand. But, never try to sand off all the finish--that way leads to problems.
True enough, assuming the contaminants are oil (which they would be if they're fingerprints, I suppose). I'm more thinking of just plain ole dirt, which will be removed assuming the sanding's done with a bit of care. Looks like the OP is going with a completely new finish, though, so the point's moot.
One item related to your observation was something in Bob Flexner's most recent article in Pop Woodworking on strippers. He observed that a good many of them contain wax, which has to be removed by washing down the resulting surface with mineral spirits or naptha. That's an interesting sidelight - I can't quite figure why you'd want wax in a stripper (to slow the evaporation?)
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