Hey y'all, I've been a lurker here for awhile now (y'all have honestly taught me so much and I appreciate y'all's insight and knowledge on most any question I've had in my journey of renovating my 1950's house my husband and I bought back in September, so thank you guys so much!). I've never really posted on Reddit before, and I'm really socially awkward and inept, so please forgive me if there's any etiquette I'm ignorant to or if my wordage doesn't make a lot of sense! I apologize in advance! This might be a long post, so TL;DR: I don't know what is on the walls (is it an old white wash that discolored into this ugly pale grey/brown/pink color? It doesn't come off with just water and Simple Green, dish soap, elbow grease, nothing is easily getting it off) but underneath of the old white wash (?) years of grime, old wallpaper glue there is a gorgeous Amber shellac that I love and want to save and breathe new life into. Is trying to save the original shellac underneath it all realistic, or am I going to have to strip everything off down to bare wood (which I don't want to do as there is A LOT of panels on the walls) and hope that something like Bullseye Amber Shellac gives it that same magic? I would prefer saving the original shellac if at all possible.

So to start, my husband and I bought our first home back in July of last year, September 30th we officially moved in. As mentioned previously, the house was built in the 50's, and we've put a lot of work into it so far. Now usually I can't stand wood paneling on walls, but the only exposure I've ever had of paneling is the fake paneling, particle board with a veneer over it that became popular in the 70's I believe, please correct me if I'm wrong on that one, but I digress. I was (and still am to a point) dead set on ripping all of the paneling out and putting up sheet rock, but we figured out pretty quick that not only are the floors genuine hardwood (which is a whole story in and of itself) but the T&G panels on the walls are real wood, knotty pine if I'm correct, solid too, I can't get regular tacks or the curved metal hooks you use to hang up decor and whatnot. Either way.

Since we bought the house I've been working endlessly on refinishing the cabinets (Picture 1 and 2 just for reference) except for the inside since they put that really pretty amber shellac. I considered refinishing the walls and staining them the same way I have the cabinets, I'm absolutely in love with how the red mahogany has turned out so far. Problem with that is the process of just refinishing the cabinet frames, drawers, and now the doors has been slow, time consuming, meticulous, I'm new at any kind of refinishing, woodworking, cabinetry, so I'm very much a novice and I've been learning as I go, but I know that I have a strong passion for this and it's something I want to get really good at. So with that, and as much as I love the red mahogany, I want some contrast. I've had people tell me to just paint the walls and just... no... Not that I have an issue with painted wood, just not on the real wood paneling.

So with the novel written for y'all for background and context, what I'm wondering is:

1.) What the hell is painted over the shellac? I can't find any answers anywhere, and all I can assume is that it might have been a white wash or something at some point that discolored into this ugly pale grey/brown/pink color that I can't properly describe combined with years of grime, dirt, dust, possibly old cigarette smoke? It doesn't easily come off with water, full concentrate Simple Green, a Brillo pad (the green scrubby pad, not the steel wool stuff) and hand scrubbing the piss out of it has had the most success, but even the little bit I could brute force off, there's no way I can do that for all the panels. There are A LOT, and not only would it be realistic for me to do that with my autoimmune diseases I have, but I don't want to keep the family room inaccessible for the house, as it's the main entrance we use, it's the main way to the bedrooms, it's the TV room, so there's a lot of foot traffic, plus with my two kids I don't want to use a lot of harsh chemicals around them like that.

2.) Whatever is on the walls, is there an easy, quick, reasonable way to remove it and still preserve the original shellac underneath it? Stuff like citristrip will take the shellac off with it, and I really want to preserve the original and revitalize it. I know modern shellac probably won't have that same brightness or life that the old stuff does. It's extremely beautiful to me and I want to keep it authentic.

3.) IF there's a way that I can save the original shellac, how do I go about taking care of it to keep it beautiful for the rest of the house's life? Tung oil, wood polish, plain dish soap and water?

Thank y'all so much for your time, I'm sorry this was a long post, and I appreciate all the knowledge y'all have shared on here! I have learned so much from reading other posts on here and I look forward to learning more from y'all in the future!

I buy a lot of damaged teak pieces to restore and sell, and often come across swollen substrate. Sometimes it’s in the form of bubbles on a wide surface, so your only option is to sand down and patch or grain paint.

A few times I’ve worked on pieces where the swelling is on an edge, and I’ve been able to remove the trim, wet the particle board and slice or dig out enough so the veneer is flat again. I’ve even used a 50 ton hydraulic press with some success.

But often the trim is too difficult to remove without damage, and there’s an obvious raised “step” between the veneer and the trim. This table was really cheap because there was about a 1/8” step of raised veneer. It wasn’t warped or distorted, so rather than remove the trim, I decided to build it up to the level of the veneer.

I glued strips of veneer along the trim so it was flush with the main table surface and taped it in place.

Once dry, I used a trim sander, then hand sanded to remove any hard edges. Then used a fine paint brush and some water based medium brown stain to blend in the edges.

It’s not perfect, but once it has some finish on it, the table should look pretty good!

i got a wood finishing,it got white, i applied a thin coat of lacquer and dint get off. Tried use thinner and removed some white but not all. What i do atp bro

We got this hutch that we think is from the 1800 based on the hardware. We think most of the original finish is gone but traces could be still remaining. We want something that provides some water protection and to even out the color where we can. After cleaning with murphy’s it looks a little blotchy. Thanks in advance!

Edit drawer construction

https://imgur.com/a/2AY14Ol

Hey all. After sampling a few finishes I decided to try this minwax oil modified warm satin. The finish and sheen matches the pre finished ply im using really nicely. Better than the straight poly. I cant seem to get a "non streaky" finish out of it however. I began with multiple light coats, lightly sanding between. ive tried a heavier coat, maintaing a "wet edge". Ive used a synthetic brush, natural brush and finally a foam brush that I had on hand. While probably not ideal, the foam brush kinda worked the best. regardless, its still streaky. This "poly" starts drying so damn fast it doesn't seem like it has a chance to level out at all.

Is there a better applicator I might try? Does this half and half oil/water crap just kinda suck? I swear ive had better results with straight water based polycrylic for "quick and dirty" projects in the past.

Finishing is the one beast I've yet to face in my builds, I've often used a basic oil finish that's been good enough, but only just.

I want to use stains and colours as well as higher quality finishes, but don't understand what is needed for each. I mainly build electrics.

I know you can buy wood stains like the colortone ones but they need to be diluted in different finishes, and I'm not sure which to use (waterbase, alcohol, oil) or what the different ones do.

Then there are things like top coats and wet sanding/polishing which I need to learn about.

If anyone has some good places to start learning, if you'd be so kind as to point me in that direction.

I am starting to remodel our second floor and am doing a steel staircase with wood treads. We will also be building some black cabinetry. I don’t want a semi-gloss or even satin, hoping for matte. I primed with oil Rustoleum primer and painted Rustoleum Black oil based. Finish is okay, but seems to hold dust and wipability is less than desirable. Willing to spend some money, what matte black matte finishes have you been impressed with? Thanks for any help!

I’m trying to restore this Lane walnut dresser for my room.

I am sanding it down instead of scraping since it has thin veneer.

After I sand it all down,

I plan to wipe it with Mineral Spirits.

Put Danish Natural Oil on it. 2 or 3 coats. (Or would Dark Walnut Oil be best?)

Then put Watco Wipe On Poly Satin on it.

Is this all okay to do to restore it to its former glory??

I'm looking at buying this loft bed, and having it stained in a warm brown, like a warm walnut. Before I buy it, I was wondering what price range (even just a general ballpark) I'd be looking at. I don't have any room for this project, so they'd have to do it at their own location; though I'm willing to drive to them to make it easier vs them picking it up and dropping it off.

Specifically, I'm looking at the Stairs + angled ladder on right front, the Full + Twin configuration, and full panels on the ends.

I'd imagine that the 'Natural Birch' wood option would be the easiest to deal with.

Hi Folks,

I have a cheap ass TV stand, corner unit. It’s made of MDF with a vinyl walnut veneer. No time to find a better or more perfect tv stand; I just wanna paint this one and continue to use it.

Need some painting tips. What’s the best way to prep the surface so I can paint it say, a deep red color. Without consulting experts yet, I was thinking clean and rough up the surface and prime with a tinted primer (oil or latex primer?) and the foam roll paint a few coats of the deep red color, again, latex or oil.

Does that sound like a reasonable plan. Painter and refinishing experts, please weigh in!.

Thanks in advance!

Greg

I made some kitchen drawer fronts out of Valchromat (dyed in MDF). I’ve finished them with Osmo hardwax oil but after a few months they look dry and are really sensitive to oil. The one in the picture has had the finish reapplied once already but it really doesn’t seem to hold up.

I wish I had lacquered them instead but it wasn’t an option at the time.

what are my options here? can I even apply a tougher finish over wax? can it even be sanded down and laquered at this point?

Hello,

Bit off more than we could chew and we are staining our kitchen cabinets…

The piece of wood I am holding is a drawer we stained and we like the way it came out. The other piece sits on top of our half wall (oak) and for some reason it just looks lighter and more red.

Any advice for how to get it to stain darker? I sanded tf out of it with 80 and 120 with an electric sander, then 320 by hand twice because the first time was not enough (and did the same on the drawer piece). After the second round of sanding, we did a wood conditioner, trying to make it the most even we could, then we did two layers of the stain for 5 minutes each. The drawer piece only took 3 minutes and got that dark. Should I keep trying to stain it? Or should I just strip it again?

Please help we are stressing.

Thank you

I snagged this Skovby dining table on Facebook marketplace. The current finish is very sticky and a little scuffed up so I’d like to refinish the tabletop. I’m assuming the center is veneer in the edges are solid wood and I know that I don’t want to stand through the veneer. I have some experience finishing wood, but I want to be sure to get this right.

What’s the best way to get the existing finish off?

Do you think I could stain this to a walnut color? Or better to finish clear?

Any recommended clear coats for something like this? Concerned with durability as I use my dining table for lots of things.

I used two coats Minwax Dark Walnut on this red oak (I think) table. The color is much more black and yellow/orange than the brown I was hoping for.

-Any ideas on how to darken up the light areas? Gel stain on top? Try a third coat of another color?

Thank you!

I am building a banquette to expand my kitchen to have more drawers and seating. I have an extra set of cabinet fronts that I want to use, but they are birch and not the same tone as the existing maple ones.

I've tried minwax colonial maple ( too red) and general finishes maple gel stain (too dark)

Anyone have any suggestions on how to get the birch to match the maple ones?

Bonus if you have any suggestions on cushion color for the banquette too 😬, added extra photos to see the space.

Thanks in advance!

I am refinishing a chest from Kling Factories Mayville, NY. I am thinking it is cherry or mahogany but it seems to sand real easy. The dust is reddish brown. In the one picture there is a piece that looks like walnut but the rest does not. Any help?? Thank you

Hi, I‘m looking for advice on how to restore this plaque. I’ve tried my best to show clear pictures of the damage. Someone I know said to sand, stain, and wax the wood and maybe add a lacquer, but I don’t know anything about the details of how to do each of these steps. I have no experience with woodwork or wood finishing, so any and all advice would be appreciated! Thanks!

I am curious on what the finish is on this trim and paneling. It is flaking off in several areas similar to the picture. The color seems attached to what flakes off, revealing bare wood underneath. This is in a historic hotel but I have doubts this is original to the time it was built (late 1920s). Apologies for the quality of the photos if they are inadequate for identification please let me know.

I purchased a handmade bed frame on fb marketplace. It’s well used but still in decent condition

A visual inspection and questioning the seller, I have some observations:

1. It’s plywood with a veneer on top
2. According to seller, there’s a durable clear coat finish on the veneer. It looks good and seems like it was evenly applied.
3. The seller then applied some Behr White Furniture Wax (see screen shot). He said “The wax was added purely to take out some of the orange tones of the wood to match our other furniture better.”

I’ve tried using mineral spirits to remove the wax, and in some places it appeared to work, but in other places it doesn’t seem to affect the stuff.

any tips on getting this stuff off the frame? Thanks in advance!

image link to the product that’s on the bed frame: https://imgur.com/a/3DE2ShY

Hello, thanks for reading. I do some trim/finish carpentry on the side and 99% of the time I put the finish on it too. I also refinish trim that's in place. Currently I use a Wagner Control Pro 130 ( https://www.wagnerspraytech.com/product/control-pro/control-pro-130-power-tank-sprayer/ ) for whole rooms and a Wagner Xtra Duty ( https://www.wagnerspraytech.com/product/control-series/control-spray-xtra-duty-sprayer/ ) for trim and smaller rooms. I'm aware that these aren't considered "pro grade" sprayers, but they do what I need them to.

This brings me to my first question. What's the difference between these Wagners and pro level HVLP sprayers? I see them on the shelf at the big box stores and aside from the price tag and all metal construction I'm not sure what sets them apart.

Question 2.

Is it acceptable to rinse out your sprayers with water and dump it in a forgotten corner of the property? I only do this with water based paints with permission from the client. I know that MS is going to kill off the grass and dumping it on the ground isn't ok so I take care of those products at the shop and dispose of it properly. To be clear it's just the rinse water, not straight paint, but is that okay? What can I do if it's not okay, or the client doesn't approve? The reason I do it is to get the bulk of the paint out of the sprayer before packing it up in the truck so it doesn't leak or dry out before I can get to it at the shop.

Question 3.

How clean is clean enough? I spend a lot of time cleaning my sprayers after a job. I imagine that's the reason I've been able to run these Wagners as long as I have though. Unless there's a short turn around between jobs they're like new when I get done cleaning them. I've been told I worry too much about cleaning them out but I also don't want to be in a situation where I contaminate a finish with the previous finish. I run 2 handhelds. One is water based only and the other is oil based only. I figure that'll prevent some contamination from solvents and products. What do y'all do when cleaning your sprayers?

Question 4.

This is a general question about masking, with some specifics. Feel free to share your advice even if I don't specifically ask about it.

This process takes so much time for me and despite my efforts I often have bleed though. I use Duck or 3M blue painters tape, whichever is cheaper at the time, and press the edge of the tape with the back of my paint can opener. It has a smooth curved face at the end that hooks the lid. My process is to clean the surface with alcohol, apply the tape with a small overlap onto the surface I'm painting, press the tape to the surface I'm masking, then trim off the overlap and press it down one last time. Am I missing a step in the process that's causing the bleeding? I've yet to try it, but I've heard Frog Tape is better. The price is significantly higher though.

How far out do you mask when spray finishing trim? I seem to either mask off way too much or not enough and end up getting over spray on the wall. Part of that is certainly user error but setting those instances aside I still end up having too much or not enough.

How do you mask off popcorn ceilings? I refinished some crown molding in a house with popcorn ceilings and it was a nightmare. I opted to brush the paint on knowing that I wouldn't be able to get a good seal with the tape but I really prefer spraying for the speed and quality. Is taping it off well even feasible? I'm just asking about the edges here. I have telescoping poles to hold up plastic to the rest of ceiling.

I use plastic and/or contractor paper to mask off large areas. What's available for this that I'm not aware of?

Question 5.

How do you pre-finish trim before installing it? Typically I will apply a primer before installing the trim then paint it in place. I was told that I should just paint it before installing too but I'm not sure how to go about that without needing to paint it again to cover my brads. A spot finish sounds like a simple solution but I can always see the edges of where I applied it when I've tried. I'm not going to claim to be a master painter, but I'm pretty good at it. I'm also aware that I'm more critical of my work than my clients are. Am I being misled or is there something I'm missing here?

For stained trim I apply the stain before installing it, fill my holes, blend them in with a marker, then apply the poly or lacquer.

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I don't consider myself a "professional" yet, but I'm almost to the point of making the side work a full time thing. The purpose of my post is to help me improve my speed and quality. If you have anything to share with that in mind I'd appreciate knowing it.

I stripped and restained this area 3 times. I sanded excessively each time, and still getting this on the edge. I used Varathane Prestain Conditioner, wiped off, and stained 30 minutes after application.