Ideas?

[revena]

So I have this bookshelf that I stole from my parents forever ago. I think it was originally my grandfather's, actually. Anyhow, it had some scratches and dings on the top of it before I ever got a hold of it, but then in my foolish youth (we're talking pre-teens, here), I put a fish tank on top of it. And then it leaked. And I've never really fixed it.

So here's what the shelf looks like on top:



I'd like to have it in the living room. The details on the front are really pretty, and I like that it's a piece with some history for my family. So I want to fix up the top, but I don't really know what to do. I'm guessing that staining it would be the right course, and probably stripping the existing stain first? I'm hoping that one of you has done something like this before and can point me in the right direction for my research. Anyone?

Comments

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

Sand the thing down and see what it looks like. If you can get back to almost bare wood then you can re-stain it.

[affreca.livejournal.com]

I'm lazy, and would just cover it with a nice cloth dustcover.

Otherwise, I believe stripping and sanding it to bare wood, and restaining would be the complete way to do it. However, I suspect the nice details will be a pain. And vague memories of antiques roadshow about destroying the value by restaining. Which I doubt matters to you.

[mattmatt.livejournal.com]

IANAE, but we've just been through a thing with our new offices where they stained all the wood much darker than the colour we approved. Long story short, my boss made them replace ALL. THE. WOOD.

In discussing the options, it was mentioned that with a stain, it's much harder to sand it back because it soaks quite deep into the wood, it doesn't just sit on top like paint does. Because most of the wood concerned was plywood panelling, the stain would have gone right through the top ply, meaning that it was impossible to sand back without destroying the wood.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'm not sure you'd want that kind of sanding job with your wrists.

[betacandy.livejournal.com]

You could just stain it, and that might look fine. To be really sure you get it just right, you could sand it down first, then stain it. Or if the original wood is pretty enough after sanding, you would only need to apply tongue oil to give it some gloss.

At least, this is what my mom discovered when she restored a piano years ago. It had been painted (badly) with black lacquer - turned out to have the most gorgeous coppery red wood underneath.

[saiermune.livejournal.com]

Hey there, painting/refinishing is what I do for a living, so I thought I could help! You will definitely need to strip that first (don't bother to sand that..it would be a huge pain in the ass). Make sure you are in a well ventilated area when you do it, and wear chemical gloves (stripper burns!) Apply a heavy coat of the stripper on a 2' x 2' square with a 3" or 4" chip brush (since they are cheap and disposable). Once you get a thick coat on a section, place wax paper face down on the stripper, making sure that the stripper is touching the wax paper. Apply stripper to the next section, and cover it with wax paper as well. Continue until the entire surface to be stripped is covered. When the first section has been sitting for about 15 minutes, remove the wax paper and use a plastic putty knife to scrape away the finish. Repeat on the rest of the sections. Apply more stripper to areas where the finish was not entirely removed. It sometimes takes a couple of coats before you get a clean surface. When you have gotten everything you can get off with the stripper, take a piece of fine steel wool and some mineral spirits and scrub the surface lightly. This will help remove any finish that is stuck in the wood grain. When you are finished, take a rag and some mineral spirits and wipe the surface down. You will then have a surface ready to stain!

If you need any advice on staining, let me know!

[revena.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thanks!