Furniture finisher gets seal of approval
REFINISHING ANTIQUES
Q: How should I seal and protect the antique Mexican pine furniture I’ve stripped? One of the items is an outdoor bench and the other items are interior cabinets.
A: The photos you sent show me that a bit more work is required before applying any finish. I’d start with a 120grit abrasive by hand and in a 1/4-sheet finishing sander to remove any remaining old finish. If that cleans things up nicely (and I expect it will), switch to 150-grit, then 180 in the same sander.
For the bench, steer clear of any kind of finish that forms a surface film. This means no varnish or urethane of any kind. The issue is peeling in the future. Benches have a lot of nooks and crannies, and all film-forming finishes eventually peel, leading to the tough job of completely stripping before re-coating. An exterior oil finish, by contrast, only needs to be reapplied because it never peels. Keep the bench under a roof during the off-season, then brush off the dirt and give it another coat of exterior finishing oil before the start of the season. Minwax Teak Oil is my favourite outdoor oil-type finish right now.
As for your interior items, how much protection would you like them to have? You can use the teak oil for interior wood that doesn’t get much water and dirt, but urethane provides much more protection when you need it. Urethanes have gotten considerably more difficult to use well since government regulations have forced manufacturers to change to water-based formulations, but there are still a few easyto-use urethanes. Varathane Pro Finisher is one of them. It’s the only solvent-based product I know of that works as well and as easily as the urethanes of yesteryear. The satin version gives best results in my experience. Visit baileylineroad.com/23339 to watch the best way to finish furniture and interior wood work. (Link for online layout: https://baileylineroad. com/whats-the-best-way-tofinish-wood. Anchor text: the best way to finish wood).
CHOOSING DRYWALL COMPOUND
Q: What’s the best type of drywall compound for patching large areas? Can this same stuff be used for seams when installing fresh sheets of drywall?
A: In my experience, there’s not a huge difference from one brand of drywall compound to another except for one thing. If I had to choose one in particular, I’d use a low-dust version. CGC Dustcontrol Drywall Compound. The dust seems heavier than usual and just falls to the ground, rather than floating around in the air. There’s at least 90 per cent less airborne dust than with conventional compounds. If you’ve got a big hole to patch, you’ll need to begin with a different type of compound, one that hardens by chemical reaction not water evaporation.
BETTER TOOL SHARPENING
Q: Where can I find a hard felt buffing wheel for use sharpening tools? I know you recommend this approach as superior to sharpening stones.
A: Sharpening chisels, plane irons and knives with a buffing wheel on a bench grinder is simply a matter of holding the edge of the tool against the spinning wheel at the correct angle. It’s so much better than using sharpening stones. I began sharpening with the buffing wheel in the mid-1980s and I’m still at it now. I bought my first felt wheel from a jeweller’s supply outlet, but since then woodworking suppliers are offering buffing wheels, too. Lee Valley Tools is a Canadian supplier that offers 1”-wide hard felt wheels that are perfect for use sharpening tools. Visit baileylineroad. com/8086 for a video tour of how to sharpen woodworking tools. (Link for layout: https://baileylineroad.com/ tool-sharpening-tips Anchor text: how to sharpen woodworking tools)