All,
The wife’s mission to obtain a headboard has overrun my opportunity to make her one. This is decided. She found a style at Ethan Allen that she likes, but despises the stain they put on it. Ethan Allen claims that there are “minerals” in the wood that cause black, ball-point pen spot reactions to the stain- sounds like ‘hoo-ee’ to me. I’ve seen examples of stained maple in FWW magazine, and there are no black spots.
Does anyone know the mechanics of the “Ethan Allen top secret gov-mint minerals”? If so, would I sand off the top coat/stain coat and slather the piece with oxalic acid to remove it? That’s my guess, but I’m an oil ‘n wax guy, so I just don’t know.
To answer the obvious question- no. Ethan Allen will not special order the headboard with a clear poly finish. It comes from the factory in a choice of “Fawn” or “Sierra”. “Natural” isn’t an option, but “Obscuring” is.
Cheers,
Seth
Replies
Seth,
Although I've not been given top-flight clearance to Ethan Allan's formulas, perhaps I can help.
My guess is they abraded,or distressed the maple headboard. Then stain can pool and dry in these pockets.Then a topcoat (clear ) is applied. Strip the topcoat,and remove as much stain as you can with mineral spirits. Belt-sand and refinish.
It might be interesting to find out where Ethan Allen furniture is actually made - and don't be surprised if you find that it's made in Asia.
My daughter just bought a nice "Cherry" dining room set (not Ethan Allen) and although it looks great, it sure ain't made of cherry - lol
The moral of this story is that lots of store bought furniture has a nice finish but is actually made from whatever wood is readily available wherever it's made. Trying to strip and refinish to a 'natural' look may turn into a mess.
Dave and Jackplane
Thanks for your thoughts. I have wondered how much it's really worth of my time to essentially re-finish a "finished" piece of furniture. Of course, all this would be moot if I wasn't such a boor, wanting clear finish on a piece that Ethan Allen requires to be stained.
Yes, there is definitely worth in discovering where the furniture is made, although there is the possibility that logs from American forests are being shipped to off-shore manufacturing facilities; methinks I should be binary, and either buy or not buy based upon reading the wife's tea leaves.
If I detect a crack in the wife's resolve, I could conceivably instill enough FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) to get a green light for me to make the project. I'll have to be clever enough to accomplish this by the "win by losing" method, probably the cost of an Ethan Allen night stand and 20 shop hours sanding and finishing.
Cheers,
Seth
Take a look at the undersides, insides, bottoms, etc of any piece you may want to refinish. You should be able to see what the 'unfinished' wood looks like - and decide if you really want to try it.
First of all it is most likely veneered. Unless you have a lot of experience refinishing veneers is iffy at best. The black spots are either the distressed pockmarks the other poster describer, or more likely stipling marks. They use a toothbrush loaded with a dark stain and flick the spots on, like when you are trying to clean your tooth brush. This gives that charming "sprayed with the finish not thinned enough" look that is so desireable. Lastly, as another poster touched on there is likely a reason that the finish is so dark.... to hide mismatched and poor quality wood. Personally I would only consider refinishing it with an oil based enamel. AKA house paint.
Keep the wife happy!
Mike
All,
Thanks for the advice. The wife has moved on from Ethan Allen, so I can put this issue to rest. Personally, I'm glad that I don't have to go through the trouble of refinishing purchased furniture.
Cheers,
Seth
Good Thing she's moved on... Therapy might have been in order! Old Ethan Allan has been quite dead for a long long time!! What was it, 1777 or there abouts? I'd imagine he'd look rather wretched -- at least worse than Lenin -- with another coat of varnish by now.--Steve
http://www.ApacheTrail.com/ww/
Penury is the Mother of Invention
Yeah both Ethan and Lenin should not be refinished with varnish. Shellac is much better, Dewaxed.
Philip
:-) :-) :-) :-) but the amber cast of some shellac can have a nice softening effect on wrinkles :-) :-) :-)--Steve
http://www.ApacheTrail.com/ww/
Penury is the Mother of Invention
That must be what Cher uses.
Philip
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