r/finishing

Unfortunately, I did have to rush the finishing of my project due to my HSC Trial exam study messing up my schedule, but fortunately I was able to finish it in time with no issues! For any of you wondering I used Sample73 a hard wax oil finish developed by FourEyes Furniture a great YouTuber I recommend you all watch.

I want to sand and stain the wood on my door, windows and garage i also want to seal it. How could i go about this? What is the realistic cost and how long should i expect it to take?

Client cabinet, not mine. Came in solid, no repairs needed, they just didn't like the color anymore.

Stripped the whole exterior and re-toned it to a dark slate. Looks basically black indoors, goes blue-gray when the sun hits it. Left the interior in the original cherry on purpose so it still glows through the glass. That contrast was the whole point of the job.

Took all the panes and hardware out before starting. On glazed doors thats not optional in my opinion, you can always see where somebody masked around fixed glass, theres a ridge at the muntin and it never looks right.

Only tricky part was keeping the molding profile even. End grain on those profiles drinks color faster than the flat faces so you have to build it up slow or you get blotching in the coves.

Anyway, happy with how the two tone landed. Curious if anyone else does the dark outside light inside thing on glazed pieces or if you tend to take the interior dark too.

I’ve had these 1966 Klipsch H700’s since I was ~13 and they’ve always looked a little beat up, so I figured it was finally time to look into resurfacing them. I couldn’t really find a simple/cohesive guide, and I intend to hold onto these so I really want to make sure I don’t mess them up. For some context, i’m in college and don’t have immediate access to a garage/workbench or anything of that nature, but I should be able to get a rotary polisher from a family friend if that would be useful. From my very limited understanding, I think I should be sanding them down, applying wood stain (maybe?), and then a top coat/sealant? I hope to keep things on a fairly small budget if possible, but I really don’t know where to start/what to buy. If someone could point me in the right direction or give me some steps that would be greatly appreciated.

This is my first refinishing project and I’m not doing the work myself — a friend’s brother is handling it, and I don’t think he’s done many pieces. So I’m trying to make sure the plan is solid before anything starts.

What I’ve been going back and forth on:

1.    Gel stain vs. penetrating oil stain for getting oak this dark without blotching. And which of these I’m considering would be the best fit for what I’m going for. I chose these all mostly because of what the color looks like online!

https://generalfinishes.com/wood-finishes-retail/oil-based-wood-stains-sealers/gel-stains

https://www.minwax.com/en/wood-stain-color-guide/browse-color-stains/brown/espresso-273-semi-transparent

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Varathane-1-qt-Kona-Premium-Fast-Dry-Interior-Wood-Stain-266161/203332251

https://www.minwax.com/en/wood-stain-color-guide/browse-color-stains/brown/dark-walnut-mw2716-solid

https://www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-1-qt-TIS-518-Espresso-Transparent-Oil-Based-Advanced-Formula-Interior-Wood-Stain-B351804/311620808

2.    Whether a piece like this needs to be stripped or whether a scuff-sand and gel stain is acceptable

Photos attached. Any advice on process, products, or things to check first would be really appreciated.

1st photo is the piece I bought, 2nd and 3rd photos are references.

Thanks for any help!

I’m using General Finishes milk paint, and it looks awful. This is my second time trying. First time, I used a brush, and it looked even worse. I stripped that down, resanded, prepped the surface, stirred the paint, put on a coat with a Purdy White Dove roller, waited over 2 hours — the recommended time on the side of the can for the climate of Northern California in the summer —, scuff sanded with 320 grit, cleaned the surface, second coat.

Am I simply using the wrong type of paint? Literally everything I’ve seen online about GF milk paint is positive, but I don’t see where anyone else is coming from anymore.

Is there a specific type of brush that I need to use to get a more even, flatter coat?

Legit, losing my mind over this project.

I am planning to sand and refinish this front door of my house. I will need to sand it extensively, but am wondering if there is a sanding tool to make the sanding more effective.

I want to remove all residue/paint/varnish from this mahogany door so that I can add a finish.

How can I do this with this door? I'm a bit scared of sanding it because I don't want to damage the door.

The 2nd pic is the side of the door looking towards the outside and receiving sunlight. That’s why the wood's a bit lighter.

So I recently bought my dream coffee table on Facebook marketplace but my cat decided to claw it up last night ):
I don’t know anything about woodworking, minus how to wipe it down lol
Any suggestions/help on how to repair the scratches would be amazing! I think it just has a thin finish on top and the scratches aren’t too deep thank god

Does anyone know what these white smudge marks are on the right-hand side of the table? They just look like white smudge marks. Any idea what might have caused them and if its possible to remove them?

I have sanded this pice and I think I have messed it up can anyone help please!

I've been sanding (random orbital, 60 to 110 to 220) this cheapo picnic table getting it ready to finish, but it's been hard to get it looking even, and I'm worried that a transparent or semi-transparent finish will just highlight how crappy it looks. Does it just need a lot more sanding, or more of a colored finish, or is there something else I'm missing? Thanks!

Im pretty much at a loss here, so any advice would be very much welcome. Here goes the story:

So I got this door from facebook marketplace. I have no clue what type of wood it is. It was painted black, so I decided to strip it and go for a natural look.

I started with Citristrip, followed by sanding up to 220 grit. I let it dry for like a week, then applied two coats of the stain shown, waiting 4 hours in between like the tin instructed. I waited about 12 hours, and applied a thin coat of the spar urethane shown. After about a week, it was still kinda tacky/oily so i decided to wipe with mineral spirits twice. This took away the tackiness so I just figured it was too humid. I turned on a window AC unit and let it dry a day or two. Then applied another coat of spar. same thing.

Take two. decided to citristrip again and start from scratch. sanded back down, going to 220 grit again. then waited a few days and applied only one coat of stain. I then waited like a whole week before spar because I figured uncured stain is what prevented the spar from curing the first time. Same thing again!!!!

It is definitely drying better than the first time but its been over 3 days at this point and still a bit tacky/oily.

Im really at a loss here. If I cant get it right this time i think im just going to strip and paint it black again. I really dont want to do that because im very happy with the color.

This is meant to be my front door btw. It will go under a covered porch.