r/finishing

I've got some not too bad patio furniture in which the wood is now getting worn and leading to eventual cracking. I want to fix it up before it gets too far gone

How would I go about this? sand it all and then?

New to restoring antique furniture but there are so many fun pieces in the Midwest I can’t stop buying off of marketplace! The desk front is a bit worse for wear and has paint/cup marks. I think it could benefit from sanding fully and applying mineral spirits to see where I’m starting but wanted to see if anyone had advice on how to best preserve the beautiful color of this desk and restoring the hardware. Thanks so much!

I've had this piano bench for over 20 years. I got it in the mid-2000s when crackle finish was in. I regret that I painted it with white latex interior paint and then coated it with some paint crackle product.

You can see the original deep rich stain color on the Inside. I'd love to strip off the paint and stain it a deep mahogany color.

I live in a small apartment and have pets. Would it be safe to open all the windows, and put it in a room the pets can't access, lay down plastic drop cloth and then coat it in citristrip to remove the paint? Would I then have to sand it? I don't have an outside space to do that.

Please provide any advice you have.

Hey there - we bought this table on Facebook marketplace and one of the leaves has this scratch to it. Is there any way to make it less noticeable without refinishing the entire table?

Hi everyone. Beginner from Russia here, working on a very tight budget. I made a classic mistake and now my thick pine slab is cupped.

The Setup:

Pine butcher block (800x800mm, 38mm thick). I used an 800W electric spray gun to apply 2 heavy coats of water-based acrylic varnish to the bottom side only. I thinned the varnish with about 30% water to get a "mirror" finish.

The Problem:

2 days later, the slab cupped 10mm (0.4") in the center. I disrupted the moisture balance by soaking one side with water-based finish while the top stayed dry.

Current Situation (Photo attached):

I placed the slab face-up on a flat table.

Put a layer of paper and plywood on top.

Added 20kg (44 lbs) of gym weights in the center.

Increased room humidity to 65%.

I just started this "press" and I'm not sure if 20kg is even close to enough for 38mm thick wood.

The "Print Shop" Advantage:

I work in a printing house. I have access to:

Two sheets of plywood (size of the table).

Massive stacks of paper (hundreds of kilograms). I can use these as a heavy press if my gym weights fail.

The Base (Photo attached):

I’m using a central pedestal base. The top mounting cross is only 500x500mm (20x20"). It’s not strong enough to "pull" the edges of an 800x800mm slab flat with screws. I MUST get it flat before mounting.

Questions:

Is 40kg enough for a 38mm thick slab, or should I go straight to the 300kg paper stacks?

Should I wipe the bare top side with a damp cloth now to speed up the counter-bending, or will it raise the grain too much before varnishing?

If I spray the top side with the same water-based varnish now, will the moisture "pull" it back naturally, or will it just lock the cup in place?

I have zero budget for clamps or new tools. Any "poor man's" advice from pro woodworkers would be life-saving!

I’m refinishing these doors on the hinges. I applied a general finishes 450 water based poly. Two coats so far. Having trouble getting a smooth application in spots as you can see in the pictures. How can I fix these spots on the pics zoomed in. They seem to be uneven or dull or too shiny. Even dull and shiny at the same time.

Also any tips on how to feather in where two different grains meet up? One section will already be tacky by the time I’d like to feather in to the opposing grain section.

Making cabinet boxes and after moving the material around the shop I got a few scratches on the show side of prefinished maple plywood. Hoping there’s a way to blend these/make them less visible. Thanks!

Hello, posting to see whats the best way to try and restore this? I’d want to keep the door in the wood finish and not have do the old wood filler, sand and paint as I really do like the look of the door and it matches the other doors but it just awful with all those dings and scratches.