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I built a coffee table out of boldly figured open pore ash and finished it with a Clearwater gel coat waterbased stain and top coated it with General Finishes’ Water Soluble Lacquer. After 3 years the finish on the top of the table is completely destroyed and the stain had faded badly from UV exposure, despite being located in the soggy Northwest. Can’t recommend either product.
I plan to refinish the table and would appreciate any advice. First, anyone have an opinion on a stripper for waterbase lacquer? I anticipate using a fade-resistant stain, either Behlen’s Solar-Lux dyes or Sutherland Tung Oil Stain, filling the grain with a wood-filler, and top coating with Behlen’s Rockhard Varnish. Does this seem rational? I have an HVLP if your idea needs spray equip. Thanks in advance.
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I can’t help you with the stripping part, but I can say that the Rock Hard is an excellent choice. I use it for all my tops. It is not easy to work with, and it takes forever to dry, but the results are worth it. Here’s how I apply it. I seal the oil with a thin coat of dewaxed shellac.I don’t thin the varnish, but I do warm it in the can, by placing it in a pan of warm water. I never work out of the can, instead I pour a little in a disposable cup. I apply it with a brush, and I doubt that it would spray very well, since it is quite thick. I use a high quality 2” china bristle brush, made by Omega. The first coat should dry for 36 hours, than sand with 220 grit paper. If you have the guts, you can use a RO sander for this, apply 2-3 more coats sanding as before. Then apply a full wet coat brushing it out carefully. Let this coat dry 10-14 days. I wet sand with 800 grit paper, using paint thinner as a lubricant, until I have an even sheen. Then I work up to 1500 grit paper, before switching to 4F pumice on 4/0 steel wool, using mineral oil as a lubricant. Follow this with pumice on a felt block, and then rottenstone, again using mineral oil as a lubricant. Be sure to clean the surface between grits. I now use a Milwaukee automotive buffer, so I can skip a few steps. With the buffer, I level sand with 800 grit paper and then go to the 4/0 steel wool with pumice, and finish with the buffer using the 3M buffer polish. Clean the surface with soap and water, and apply a coat of Behlen Oz polish if you’d like. While this sounds time consuming, it isn’t, and the finish looks and feels perfect, and it is a very tough finish.
*RobThanks for the detail. I look forward to giving it a try. Any recommendations for filling the grain? I've heard folks are generally pleased with Behlen's Pore-o-pak.
*In the past, I used the grain filler made by Constantine’s, but I think they are out of business, so I have switched to the Behlen. It works fine, but it dries very quickly, so work in small areas, or add a little linseed oil to slow things down. I always apply it over a sealer coat of thin dewaxed shellac. I apply mine with a cheap brush and wait until it’s hardened to the point that it scares me, then scrape it off with a plastic putty knife. Make sure the knife has a smooth edge or you’ll scratch the wood. I wipe it off across the grain with burlap, and finish with cheesecloth going with the grain. You want to make sure the filler, doesn’t leave any streaks, as these show up under the topcoats, like a sore thumb. I let the first coat dry a day, and then apply another coat. I let the last coat dry 3 days, and then I sand very lightly with 320-grit paper, so as not to cut through to bare wood. Give it a wipe down with naphtha, and apply the Rock Hard varnish.
*>>I used the grain filler made by Constantine’s, but I think they are out of business,Constantine's has changed to a totally web based firm. You can reach them at: http://www.constantines.com/
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