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Help! I am very new to refinishing wood and decided to refinish our kitchen table that had bad water marks on it. I sanded the entire thing (which my hand is still tingling). Right as I was cleaning the table off getting ready to move it into the garage it started raining. I didn't think anything of it and moved it inside. I let it dry and put the first coat of stain on with no problem. After the second coat of stain, I noticed the drops that you see below. I finally realized what the marks were after the 3rd coat of stain (I told you I was knew at this). The table is mostly perfect except for these spots - any suggestions? Please don't tell me I have to start over!
Thanks for any advise!
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(10-10-2017, 10:57 AM)StaceyG Wrote: Help! I am very new to refinishing wood and decided to refinish our kitchen table that had bad water marks on it. I sanded the entire thing (which my hand is still tingling). Right as I was cleaning the table off getting ready to move it into the garage it started raining. I didn't think anything of it and moved it inside. I let it dry and put the first coat of stain on with no problem. After the second coat of stain, I noticed the drops that you see below. I finally realized what the marks were after the 3rd coat of stain (I told you I was knew at this). The table is mostly perfect except for these spots - any suggestions? Please don't tell me I have to start over!
Thanks for any advise!
If the stain you used is water based, try gently wiping it with a cloth dampened with water, in the direction of the grain. If your stain was oil based, use mineral spirits instead of water. (Another approach would be to use an almost dry paint brush instead of a cloth. I might try that first. ) Don't just try to do those little spots individually, do the entire area, and beyond. With luck the water spots will fade away and you can then carefully feather in some additional stain.
One way to figure out what is going to work best is to recreate the problem on some scrap wood. Take a similar piece of wood as your tabletop, sand it like you did the table, put on your 3 coats of stain, and then drip some droplets of water on it. Now try to fix it. What works best on your test specimen also should on the table top.
I'm curious why you are using so many coats of stain. Stain is typically used once, twice at the most. What kind of stain are you using and what wood are you putting it on?
John
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10-11-2017, 08:04 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-11-2017, 08:07 AM by StaceyG.)
(10-10-2017, 02:02 PM)jteneyck Wrote: If the stain you used is water based, try gently wiping it with a cloth dampened with water, in the direction of the grain. If your stain was oil based, use mineral spirits instead of water. (Another approach would be to use an almost dry paint brush instead of a cloth. I might try that first. ) Don't just try to do those little spots individually, do the entire area, and beyond. With luck the water spots will fade away and you can then carefully feather in some additional stain.
One way to figure out what is going to work best is to recreate the problem on some scrap wood. Take a similar piece of wood as your tabletop, sand it like you did the table, put on your 3 coats of stain, and then drip some droplets of water on it. Now try to fix it. What works best on your test specimen also should on the table top.
I'm curious why you are using so many coats of stain. Stain is typically used once, twice at the most. What kind of stain are you using and what wood are you putting it on?
John
Thanks for the response! The reason that I had to do 3 coats is because it wasn't dark enough for my taste - I also don't think that I put the first 2 on thick enough. I actually have no idea what type of wood it is - I do know that it's a very thin sheet overtop of the rest of the table.
I checked the table last night and the water spots are actually indented - it's almost like they repelled the stain away from them. Do you think it would work if i filled the small indents with stain and worked it out into the rest of the table?
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(10-11-2017, 08:04 AM)StaceyG Wrote: Thanks for the response! The reason that I had to do 3 coats is because it wasn't dark enough for my taste - I also don't think that I put the first 2 on thick enough. I actually have no idea what type of wood it is - I do know that it's a very thin sheet overtop of the rest of the table.
I checked the table last night and the water spots are actually indented - it's almost like they repelled the stain away from them. Do you think it would work if i filled the small indents with stain and worked it out into the rest of the table?
My guess is they are actually dents that were there before you started, nothing to do with the rain. Since they are lower than the rest of the table top, they didn't get sanded so the original finish is blocking the stain.
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(10-11-2017, 08:22 AM)Souperchicken Wrote: My guess is they are actually dents that were there before you started, nothing to do with the rain. Since they are lower than the rest of the table top, they didn't get sanded so the original finish is blocking the stain.
moisture would have raised the dents
I wonder how this top was taken care of prior to being refinished
Pledge or some other silicone based product would resist the stain but water would dry and stain would be accepted
Let us not seek the Republican Answer , or the Democratic answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future John F. Kennedy
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(10-11-2017, 08:22 AM)Souperchicken Wrote: My guess is they are actually dents that were there before you started, nothing to do with the rain. Since they are lower than the rest of the table top, they didn't get sanded so the original finish is blocking the stain.
+1
If they are below the surface, the rain (unless it was molten lava and not rain) wouldn't have done this.
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. -- G. Carlin
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(10-11-2017, 08:04 AM)StaceyG Wrote: Thanks for the response! The reason that I had to do 3 coats is because it wasn't dark enough for my taste - I also don't think that I put the first 2 on thick enough. I actually have no idea what type of wood it is - I do know that it's a very thin sheet overtop of the rest of the table.
I checked the table last night and the water spots are actually indented - it's almost like they repelled the stain away from them. Do you think it would work if i filled the small indents with stain and worked it out into the rest of the table?
Oh, low spots sure suggests those were dents in the wood, as stated above. And your comment that the top has "a very thin sheet overtop the rest of the table" means it is veneered. With that in mind you don't want to sand it much more, if at all, or you risk cutting through the veneer and then you will have bigger troubles. Your story is illustrates why I almost always chemically strip off a finish rather than sand it, especially with anything veneered. But even with solid wood, sanding doesn't get down into the low spots unless you take off more wood than I like to.
I see two or three options. One, chemically strip the entire top and start over. Stripper may not remove all the existing stain, but that won't matter. It will remove any finish in those low spots and any silicone that may be there, too. Or two, use a gel stain to mask the problem. General Finishes Gel Stains will mask what you have now, although it may take two or three coats to do it. You wanted dark, and if you like the Pottery Barn look, that will do it, specifically their Java color. Or three, seal what you have now with BIN shellac based pigmented primer and then paint it.
John
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