Have a table top that I’m working to get rid of old poly and stain. Used Citrus based stripper (twice) and then a standard stripper with steel wool. Took care of the poly but barely touched the stain. No big deal, figured I’d be standing for a while.
After standing the first go around, various spots appeared in the wood. Something is seeping back out of the wood. It’s persistent and all over the piece. I’ll sand over it and seconds later, spots are back. I’ve built a tent with a dehumidifier to see if that would help dry out whatever it is… not much of a difference. Most recently, I put some denatured alcohol on the piece to see if that would help get rid of it.
I’ve attached two pictures, one is pre-removal for reference and the second is of the spots.
Thoughts?
Replies
Empty the dust collector onto the top and press it down with a sheet of plywood and some weights for a couple of days. Stir the sawdust and do it again. The dust should draw the moisture out.
Looks like some of the stain soaked into the most porous spots on the wood. You could do what MJ suggests but I think you're stuck with the spots. Personally, I'd ignore them and finish the top. And, unless you make a deal out of it, I doubt anyone will notice.
Mikaol
You could try wiping it down with naptha-it's an excellent cleaner after stripping. It's just some kind residue bleeding back out of the pores, possibly old stain, possible residue from the stripping process, probably with changes in temperature. I've had the same problem with oil stain on new work where the stain bleeds back out of the pores as the temp of the wood increases.
It will probably stop on it's own eventually. It might mess with a water stain, but I doubt it would cause problems with an oil stain or cause any adhesion issues with the topcoat. A light seal coat with shellac is always a good idea when refinishing old work.
Lots of good advice above. When you are ready to put new finish on, make absolutely certain you use a dewaxed shellac before any final surface finish, or you could have big problems.
I have seen the same thing on a cherry slab I stripped. Except there were four slabs and only one had the issue. These slabs were pretty old. I look foreward to responses.
I'm hoping to return this to a natural wood look, so getting rid of the spots is going to be key, if possible. I've laid down a layer of absorbent for tonight. Hopefully it'll dry it out a bit better. Tomorrow I'll get back to sanding again to see if it returns.
I've also noticed that the piece has warped. Most likely due to one side being still finished as original. I'm assuming that I'll have to strip that side as well to get rid of this warp. I'll update tomorrow!
Thanks for all the input.
Just plane the back side. No reason to mess with strippers.
If you find your wood is really dulled out from a build up of furniture polish, you'll see a haze or streaks you can't get rid of. You can either apply a vegetable-based enzyme cleaner to sit on the wood for a couple of minutes to remove the build up, then wipe with a cotton cloth and buff dry.
walgreenslistens
I wonder if the previous finish was preceded with a coat of BLO that never cured properly? You might try some acetone and a stiff brush. You might also consider taking the top to a professional stripping service. The chemicals they use are much more potent that what is available to us. They would also remove the finish on the other side.
What I ended up doing is putting some absorbent powder (used for garage spills) on top and rubbed it in. Seems to have helped a lot with most of the spots. But, after another sanding with 80 some pop back up again. I think it's just a matter of time until it stops.
I also citrus stripped the back side so hopefully that takes care of the bow that showed up after I stripped the top. I'm too far in to take it elsewhere now, but I'm going to consider it for the future!
Do you know what is the origin or the wood this table is made of ?
Void the residue gatherer onto the top and press it down with a sheet of compressed wood and a few loads for several days. Mix the sawdust and rehash it. The residue should draw the dampness out.
I had this on oak after removing finish with Citra Strip. It was the liquid stuff (stripper and finish) coming out of the pores in the wood. Heat and time made it stop. Wiping with a solvent got rid of the spots.
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