SillyGirl
Senior Member
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2017
- Messages
- 7,246
I'm a little protective of my furniture. Ok, a lot protective. Few things aggravate me as much as Stupid Furniture Damage, meaning damage caused by stupid things like failure to use a coaster or ironing on a towel instead of the mini ironing board. Which was exactly what Studly did a couple months ago, and suddenly my beautiful pecan kitchen table had white areas where the iron had touched.
It took all my self-control to not hyperventilate when I saw it. When my sister saw it she gasped and said "omg, is he still breathing?" He appeared contrite and said he would stain it back to it's beautiful self. He made it sound like this would be no big deal, just sand it lightly and throw a coat of stain on. I put a tablecloth on to hide it so I wouldn't get angry every time I looked at the table.
This was in early July. JULY. After about a month I went ahead and bought some stain and lightly sanded the table.
A couple of weeks ago I decided I was tired of waiting and was going to take care of it myself. I knew less than nothing about refinishing furniture but like I said, Studly had made it seem like this would be no big deal.
Thank God I decided to consult with Tboy before I actually did anything. There have been countless pm's back and forth and he has been completely nice and very patient with me through this whole ordeal. I was very nervous about doing this and very afraid that when it was done, I would need a new table.
He explained that the stain/seal combination I had purchased was difficult to work with, so I went back and bought a different kind. He explained that I needed to sand until I couldn't see the damage anymore. He explained that furniture refinishing is an art form and I shouldn't expect it to look perfect when I was done.
So I was beyond ecstatic when, after two coats of stain, it did look perfect. Amazing! Brand new! All that was left to do was put a few coats of clear on to seal it, and I would have my beautiful table back. I really thought the hard part was over.
Silly me. I neglected to ask for specific instructions from Tboy about the clear coat. I slapped it on there like paint and brushed away. I was mortified when it dried and there were countless little bubbles and some brush marks too. I'm not sure what possessed me to put another coat on, I must have been stupid from the fumes.
This was on Saturday. I thought about it and decided it was simple, I would just sand the bubbles out and put another coat of stain on. So that's what I did first-thing Sunday morning. As I was wiping off the stain I realized I hadn't sanded enough, I could still see bubbles.
Completely overwhelmed with frustration, I sat down and cried. Of course I would have to sand it again, and I wanted to do it right that minute. But I wasn't sure if I should do that because I had just stained it. Tboy was not online, so I called my brother and asked him. He said I should just leave it alone until the next day, the wood needed to really dry out before I sanded. He also suggested, ever so gently, that perhaps the fact that I was in tears made a day off a good idea.
So Monday morning I sanded most-thoroughly. I wasn't sure if I should put wood-conditioner on it before I stained it, so I pm'd Tboy and decided I wasn't doing anything until he said it was ok. He got back to me and said no, so yesterday morning I put a coat of stain on before I left to babysit. Second coat went on this morning. I haven't decided yet if I'm doing a third coat, I think I probably will tonight when I get home. Then per Tboy's instructions I will let it dry for 24 hours before I put the clear coat on. Which I will do very, very carefully.
Things I have learned from this experience....Studly is unreliable and can't be counted on to do what he says he will do. Tboy is a very patient man, even when I'm asking stupid questions. Stain-soaked rags left in the washer to soak overnight will stain the inside of the washer. That warning on the label about the possibility of stain-soaked rags spontaneously combusting is not there just for legal purposes...no, I did not learn that one the hard way, that was one of the stupid questions I asked Tboy. It is not ok to dry those rags in the dryer. Thank you Tboy, you prevented a fire with that bit of knowledge.
Tboy and I have not always gotten along on this board, we have had some public disagreements that have at times gotten rather heated. I want to publicly acknowledge all the help he has given me, because I'm sure I've been driving him crazy with my ignorance but like I said, he has been completely nice and very patient about it all. Thank you, Tboy. I appreciate your help more than I can say. I'll send a pic when it's all done.
It took all my self-control to not hyperventilate when I saw it. When my sister saw it she gasped and said "omg, is he still breathing?" He appeared contrite and said he would stain it back to it's beautiful self. He made it sound like this would be no big deal, just sand it lightly and throw a coat of stain on. I put a tablecloth on to hide it so I wouldn't get angry every time I looked at the table.
This was in early July. JULY. After about a month I went ahead and bought some stain and lightly sanded the table.
A couple of weeks ago I decided I was tired of waiting and was going to take care of it myself. I knew less than nothing about refinishing furniture but like I said, Studly had made it seem like this would be no big deal.
Thank God I decided to consult with Tboy before I actually did anything. There have been countless pm's back and forth and he has been completely nice and very patient with me through this whole ordeal. I was very nervous about doing this and very afraid that when it was done, I would need a new table.
He explained that the stain/seal combination I had purchased was difficult to work with, so I went back and bought a different kind. He explained that I needed to sand until I couldn't see the damage anymore. He explained that furniture refinishing is an art form and I shouldn't expect it to look perfect when I was done.
So I was beyond ecstatic when, after two coats of stain, it did look perfect. Amazing! Brand new! All that was left to do was put a few coats of clear on to seal it, and I would have my beautiful table back. I really thought the hard part was over.
Silly me. I neglected to ask for specific instructions from Tboy about the clear coat. I slapped it on there like paint and brushed away. I was mortified when it dried and there were countless little bubbles and some brush marks too. I'm not sure what possessed me to put another coat on, I must have been stupid from the fumes.
This was on Saturday. I thought about it and decided it was simple, I would just sand the bubbles out and put another coat of stain on. So that's what I did first-thing Sunday morning. As I was wiping off the stain I realized I hadn't sanded enough, I could still see bubbles.
Completely overwhelmed with frustration, I sat down and cried. Of course I would have to sand it again, and I wanted to do it right that minute. But I wasn't sure if I should do that because I had just stained it. Tboy was not online, so I called my brother and asked him. He said I should just leave it alone until the next day, the wood needed to really dry out before I sanded. He also suggested, ever so gently, that perhaps the fact that I was in tears made a day off a good idea.
So Monday morning I sanded most-thoroughly. I wasn't sure if I should put wood-conditioner on it before I stained it, so I pm'd Tboy and decided I wasn't doing anything until he said it was ok. He got back to me and said no, so yesterday morning I put a coat of stain on before I left to babysit. Second coat went on this morning. I haven't decided yet if I'm doing a third coat, I think I probably will tonight when I get home. Then per Tboy's instructions I will let it dry for 24 hours before I put the clear coat on. Which I will do very, very carefully.
Things I have learned from this experience....Studly is unreliable and can't be counted on to do what he says he will do. Tboy is a very patient man, even when I'm asking stupid questions. Stain-soaked rags left in the washer to soak overnight will stain the inside of the washer. That warning on the label about the possibility of stain-soaked rags spontaneously combusting is not there just for legal purposes...no, I did not learn that one the hard way, that was one of the stupid questions I asked Tboy. It is not ok to dry those rags in the dryer. Thank you Tboy, you prevented a fire with that bit of knowledge.
Tboy and I have not always gotten along on this board, we have had some public disagreements that have at times gotten rather heated. I want to publicly acknowledge all the help he has given me, because I'm sure I've been driving him crazy with my ignorance but like I said, he has been completely nice and very patient about it all. Thank you, Tboy. I appreciate your help more than I can say. I'll send a pic when it's all done.
