RESOURCES

Preparing a surface to get ready for finishing, should be done with the utmost care if you wish the finish to be of the finest quality. Unfortunately the cost to have a fine finish, can be quite high especially for ordinary jobs,and doing nothing more than a rapid cleaning and sand papering will give you a cloudy natural and stained finish. Due to the fact the price of the finishing job is so low it is quite impossible to do more than a rapid cleaning and sand papering, so that is why you will see many muddy, cloudy natural and stained finishes.

New Surfaces.

When wood is to be finished in natural or stained color, it is crucial that the preparation is completely through for the finishing process. First thing you should do is dust of the area with a duster brush or a broom if you are finishing a floor.

Then you will need to remove all areas that have paster or putty with a putty knife, and clean up all the dirt or grease by washing it with benzene as best as possible. Usually such spots will come off with a washing over with benzene, using a putty knife to scrape off as much as possible. If the wood is of the walnut, oak or other open-grain variety, extra care must be taken in removing dirt, grease and lime from the pores of the wood.

If the cleaning is not done properly, the stain will not take hold and penetrate causing the finish to be spotty in appearance, stain that is not cleaned properly will not take hold and penetrate and the finish will then be spotty in appearance. When new surfaces are to be finished with paint and enamel,
they must be cleaned well, but when a light stain is to be applied you do not need to be so finicky. However all loose particles on the surface should be removed. New surfaces that have sections of dark stains from rust or other substances, will need to be bleached out before finishing in a natural or stained color.

Next if the surface is to be finished in a natural or stained color, it must be sand papered. This will not be necessary for a painted or enameled finish. If a water stain is to be used, you may want to brush or sponge on a water coating before sand papering. . The water stain will raise the grain of the wood, causing wood fibers to stick up all over. By making the surface wet before staining, the water stain does not raise the grain so much and the second sand papering is very light. If you do not wet the area before using a water stain, then it will require a heavy sand papering operation, which could remove some of the stain color out of the wood.

When sanding new wood before or after wetting, a No.0 and No.00 paper should be used depending on how rough the surface is. You may find that you will need to use a No.1 paper if it is to rough, then finish it up with a finer grade. When sand papering ordinary jobs, the cleaning should be done well by using a duster brush. On fine furniture and cabinets more effort should be put forth to remove every particle of dust. In furniture factories the dust from sanding is blown out of the pores with compressed air.

When a section of wood is to be finished in natural color so that it is as light as possible such as maple, birch, etc., the areas are often bleached before any finishing coats of filler, varnish or shellac are applied. After the bleaching is done, a through sand papering must be done. New surfaces to be finished in natural or stain colors and which show cracks and holes should be filled to remedy these defects. Plaster of Paris soaked in water is a preferred method used by many finishers for this filling, because it will absorb stain and also will take on the coloring given by filler. Other types of putty do not absorb color.

On stained finishes as a rule the putty is put into the cracks and holes after the stain is dry. After putty is dry it should be sand papered down smooth and clean. Then the surface should be cleaned up around the repairs.

Old Surfaces.

Preparing an old painted surface for repainting or for an enamel finish simply calls for sand papering to remove dirt, grease and roughness, assuming that the old paint is firmly attached to the surface. If it shows any tendency to crack and scale or blister it should be removed entirely from the surface with sandpaper or liquid paint remover.

Old enamel surfaces which are to be refinished call for sand papering just enough to cut the old gloss and clean up the surface. Defects such as holes, bruises and cracks should then be be filled with good putty. Old varnish that needs to be refinished with varnish, paint or enamel should be sanded down clean and smooth with No. 1 sandpaper just enough to remove the gloss, dirt and grease, assuming that the old varnish has not crazed or blistered. If there are indications of a weak hold on the wood, than it is best to remove all of the
varnish with liquid or paste varnish remover.

After sand papering to remove high gloss some finishers will wash down a varnished surface with benzol or with warm water and soda mixture to make it absolutely safe to paint or enamel. The soda bites into the varnish a little, to help with the removal. Old varnished surfaces which are to be refinished with stain call for stripping off all of the varnish, using liquid or paste varnish remover, a
thorough job must be done. If any of the varnish is allowed to remain on the surface, even in a very thin coat, it will prevent the new stain from penetrating into the wood. A penetrating stain is then needed to ensure a equal coloring of the wood. After stripping off the varnish a thorough washing should be done to remove any wax left on the surface by the remover. Wash up with benzol preferably, benzene, naphtha or turpentine will also do.

On low-priced work, re staining is sometimes done without removing the old varnish. The old varnish is sanded down with a No. 1 sandpaper to remove the gloss and and then it is cleaned up to remove any dirt or grease on it. It is washed down with benzol, by using a brush to cut the old varnish a little,or it is washed down with hot water in which soda has been dissolved in it so that it helps with the cutting of the old varnish. The stain used for such work is a oil stain which must be brushed on in a dexterous manner with as few strokes of the brush as possible to avoid raising or lifting the old varnish. Brush the stain only in one direction. For a lower quality work a good brush can coat the surface with shellac to which a little pigment has been added to make a stain. This process simply colors the wood and implements a glossy finish. This does not enhance the beauty of the wood.

It is with this type of work, that it is sometimes necessary to touch-up bare, worn-through spots with a coat of thin oil stain before staining the whole surface, this is to ensure the worn places match the whole surface in color. Old stained or natural varnished surfaces in which the old finish has been stripped off with varnish remover, it is often too dark in color to produce a nice finish with the new stain. It is then necessary to bleach out the old color before re staining.