Ask Experts Questions for FREE Help !
Ask
    inkydi's Avatar
    inkydi Posts: 5, Reputation: 1
    New Member
     
    #1

    Feb 24, 2008, 09:58 AM
    refinishing cedar hope chest & pine table
    I've just joined the Ask Me forum because of a plumbing problem. In exploring the site I've found that I "need" to ask the experts here about some of my own furniture questions.

    Several years ago I rec'd an old hope chest that seems to be made entirely of cedar. (The wood looks like the lining of my own Lane hope chest.) The top has what looks like copper bands. I refinished the top and made the copper shiny again and sealed it. (It was pretty grungy.) But after a few years the copper & nails started to tarnish. What would you recommend I do to make this look nice again?

    Also I rec'd a dining room table that I think is made of pine. The top is pretty beat up. Some marker, some ball point pen carving and misc. stains. I tried sanding it but there are still many recognizable blemishes in it. Would you recommend planing it? Or should I stick with sanding? If so, what grit would you start with and graduate to? It is a rustic looking table and I 'm fine with some random gouges (distressed look). But I'd like to remove obvious "graffiti". I'd appreciate your opinions.

    If you need photos I could post some later today.
    Thanks,
    Inky Di
    Clough's Avatar
    Clough Posts: 26,677, Reputation: 1649
    Uber Member
     
    #2

    Feb 24, 2008, 11:06 AM
    Did you seal the copper banding and nails with a clear coat of some kind? If not, I would suggest shining them up again and sealing them with a clear gloss or semi-gloss lacquer like Deft. It is a low-solids lacquer that comes in a spray can. You can also buy it in quart or gallon cans from which you can then use a brush. But, for your purposes on your project, I would recommend using the spray cans. If you would need to seal the copper and nail heads that way, you could mask off the areas that you don't want the spray to get on.

    For your dining room table, I would recommend apply a liquid, paste furniture stripper by following all of the directions on the can. That should lift most of the stains out of the finish. Then I would sand with 80 or 100 grit abrasive (sand) paper using a palm sander. I just get full sheets of abrasive paper and cut them to size for the palm sander. I would final sand before applying a finish with 150 grit abrasive paper. 220 or 240 grit abrasive paper is good to use between coats of finish.

Not your question? Ask your question View similar questions

 

Question Tools Search this Question
Search this Question:

Advanced Search

Add your answer here.


Check out some similar questions!

Preparation for painting knotty pine table [ 15 Answers ]

Kitchen table is made of knotty pine. Top finish is rather worn and because the wood is a soft wood, you can read everything anyone has written on the table (kids homework). The rest of the table is in good shape. I believe the top of the table is a pine vaneer. Would like to paint the entire...

Can I create records with OLE objects in Access & append to a linked SQLServer table? [ 2 Answers ]

There's a table in our SQL Server Database that stores various notes. There are text fields for the type of notation ( i.e. C = Customer, V=Vendor notes etc) and one for the "Owner_ID" (ie the Customer ID or Vendor ID). There's a date field for the create date of the note and the notes themselves...

No hope of receiving a W-2 & I don't have my last paystub! [ 3 Answers ]

In October, my employer filed for bankruptcy. It took them 3 weeks to get us our last paycheck. Today is Feb. 13th and I still have no W2 and no way to contact my employer at all. I've spoken with several of my former co-workers and none of them have a contact or a W-2. Short of paying for...

How to Prep & Paint Cedar Shakes [ 7 Answers ]

Hi. We moved into our house last summer and need to paint it this year. It has cedar shakes which are in very good shape. Lots of peeling on everything other than the shakes though. Can anyone offer advice on how to prep and paint cedar shakes? For example, do I need to scrape, prime, then...

My uncle & Bad chest pains. [ 4 Answers ]

My uncle was rushed into hospital this morning from work because he was having really bad chest pains. He is having tests done and I am having to wait by the phone for any news. I am really worried about him and finding it hard to concentrate. I asked my Mum what it could be and she said it...


View more questions Search