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ANTIQUE FURNITURE RESTORATION DISCUSSION BOARD
Posted By: James Schooley <furnitureissues@earthlink.net> (0-1pool247-197.nas2.sioux-city1.ia.us.da.qwest.net)
In Response To: Re: i've made a real mess of this one (Linda)
Date: 5/29/5 17:07
My apology for not noticing that you used no stripper, I am thinking that you may have some old finish, or one that had frozen in storage? There could, also, have been contamination in the wood from much earlier. What was the reason for it's needing a new finish, was there an oil or water stain on the top? Please tell us if you find a solution.
On another note;
For some reason a lot of advice has centered around breathing wood, but that is not a real concern. A finish should seal the wood, an oil finish can allow the wood to have moisture inter the grain, but this is disadvantages to the finish and the wood. The wood needs to stay at about 8-12% moisture to remain in good condition and avoid warping and mildew, a good film coating will protect this moisture level for many decades. today we have very dry homes in most parts of the country, due to forced air furnaces and air conditioning. The result is that many old wood surfaces will split due to shrinkage and warping can occur as well from drying out, breakage will also result in dried out joints. We often seal the bare wood on old furniture to prevent this happening, on table and chair bottoms, inside dresser drawers, and any solid wood surface with one finished side. This can be done with a simple oil where water is not a problem, but a thicker film may be needed in the more problematic areas like outdoor furniture or bathroom items. A finish does not need to breath to function well, and the best finish will expand and contrary with the wood, to stretch as it were. A finish like poly should be a bit thicker to stretch at all and tends to be a bit brittle. Look closely at an older poly finish and you will notice thousands of tiny fractures in the finish film, this will result in moisture getting through the finish when left wet for a period of time, say from a glass, and the result will be that the moisture will go around the finish and stain the wood below. The finish will suffer little damage from the water, but the wood will instead. The claims of a water proof finish are safe, but the wood below is not.
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