>Kmealy what did you mean by "water cleanup" and which of General's wipe-on finish do you think is good? (unless 50/50 Tung-oil/Water is better...

 

I assumed, since I am not familiar with the stripper you mentioned, that "hosing off" would be water.

 

A lot of people like Arm-r-seal that is an oil-based poly that can be wiped.

 

50/50  Tung-oil/Water ???  Oil and water do not mix.   

 

Be aware that many products called Tung Oil _Finish_ are not 100% tung oil, may not contain tung oil and some are varnish,  thinned varnish, or oil-varnish blends.

 

 

It's entirely up to you if you want to finish it to look like ages of use or refresh to a new finish.  You can apply gel stains over existing finishes.  Other stains need raw wood.  Both need to be sealed in with a top coat to avoid rubbing off.

Edited June 4, 20241 yr by kmealy

5 hours ago, JudySmith said:

Lew, thanks for all your efforts and links! I had noted that for some reason, the Minwax poly and lacquer doesn't come in Matte. Is there a reason for that? Is Satin as good as Matte insofar as retaining the vintage look?

 

Matte and satin are the same for all practical purposes/

5 hours ago, lew said:

Matte and satin are the same for all practical purposes/

Sheen is measured on a 0-100 scale.   Rarely, if ever, will something rate below 5 (dead flat) or above 80+ (gloss).   To get very high, you need to buff out with finer and finer abrasives and polishing pads (maybe an exception is French polishing).  High gloss is nice that you can see your nose hairs but it is very fragile to scuffs.  So is  dead flat.  I was glad when one of my customers who sold a lot of high gloss stuff closed their store.  I'd prep it before delivery and often have to run out to the customer because the delivery guys put a moving blanket on it. 

 

My most ridiculous story was a woman that bought a high gloss table.  Then she put it in a room with 3 walls of full windows (the worst possible place).  I'd prepped it before delivery.   She kept bobbing her head up and down to point out spots that were less glossy (moving blanket).  So I spent another hour on site.   To add irony,  she had me run to the basement to show me her prior table.  My daughter has that exact table, so  I know it's a catalyzed finish that cannot really be touched up with lacquers.  She showed me a scratched area that she had done with a Magic Eraser trying to remove some juice.  I  told her all she had needed was a damp dishcloth.  We went back upstairs and told the cleaning lady that she had scratched the old table by trying to remove some juice with a Magic Eraser.  The cleaning lady said, "All you needed was a wet cloth."  (Cha-ching!)

 

To add more irony, she had two elementary school aged kids.   I gave that table less than a week before it was scratched again.

 

Anyway, if you want a less glossy finish, buy the lowest sheen you can.  Let it sit for a couple of weeks.  Then decant off the top and the bottom layer will have most of the flattener.

 

I had a sheet that indicated the proportions of my 5 sheen and my 80+ sheen finish to get the desired sheen in between.  And it's not linear (50-50 80+ and 5 does not give you 42)

 

And the names (not the numbers) are totally up to the manufacturer.  I know of one whose Satin of one finish was 40 and Satin of another was 55.

 

end of story

John Morris,  kmealy & lew, thanks for the further info! Indeed, i'd definitely like to keep the "look" and "soul" of Grandpa's chair. Kmealy, sorry i absentmindedly typed "water". I did read what you said about diluting the Tung-oil with "thinner" but  when trying to process so much new info and responding to it, one can become absentminded.

 

I contacted the local guy again. He's very busy, thus sparing with info. He basically has many years experience, and cooly stated that he prefers to use his own methods by now, rather than what anyone suggests based on research. In fact, when i asked him if he heard of Tung oil, he seemed unenthusiastic while saying he does know about it, but that he sticks to his own methodology. (I'd even emphasized that it's supposed to be thinned)...

 

The main factor that concerns me is that he's giving no guarantees about the stain/or/finish remaining colorfast. So my question is - if i take the leap and choose his service, but then find that its not colorfast, or even that the finish has remained sticky (and so forth) would there be a fix for such scenarios?

Edited June 9, 20241 yr by JudySmith

Please do not take offense Judy, but I am in the camp that if you are having (potentially) an experienced pro do the work - and he has good references and you've seen some of his work - then let him do his thing.  He didn't get where he is by turning out shoddy and sticky work...

 

 

 

6 hours ago, JudySmith said:

I contacted the local guy again. He's very busy, thus sparing with info. He basically has many years experience, and cooly stated that he prefers to use his own methods by now, rather than what anyone suggests based on research.

 

Judy, that is perfectly expected and perfectly the reaction anyone in the arts, crafts and trades would have. There are million ways to skin this cat (just as you saw in this topic between us guys) and when we find a method that works for us, we stick with it, and if you are in this business professionaly, you most certainly stick with what works.

Like Cal said, just give the guy your chair, tell him what you expect to visually see in the finished product, and let him do the rest. I guarantee you if he had any issues with your concerns I quoted below, he would not be in business. Sounds like he's full time in to this business, supporting himself and quite possibly a family, he knows what works

Also, the reason why he can't give guarantees about finish or stain, is because there are so many variables in how the chair may be used, he doesn't know if you are going to make it a porch chair left in the sun, or? Sounds like he'll do a good job. The sticky concern, it's a non concern Judy

 

6 hours ago, JudySmith said:

The main factor that concerns me is that he's giving no guarantees about the stain/or/finish remaining colorfast. So my question is - if i take the leap and choose his service, but then find that its not colorfast, or even that the finish has remained sticky (and so forth) would there be a fix for such scenarios?

 

19 hours ago, Cal said:

Please do not take offense Judy, but I am in the camp that if you are having (potentially) an experienced pro do the work - and he has good references and you've seen some of his work - then let him do his thing.  He didn't get where he is by turning out shoddy and sticky work...

 

 

 

I chuckled at your graphic! Except it wasn't me who worked on it first, rather the original producer, so does that count?

Edited June 10, 20241 yr by JudySmith

John Morris again, thanks so much for all your clarifications and reassurances! I gather that there's a long wait with him. So i hope to eventually post an updated photo when/if the chair gets satisfactorily restored. That's if he'll even be interested in doing it anymore - after my nitty gritty questions.

Edited June 10, 20241 yr by JudySmith

3 hours ago, JudySmith said:

So i hope to eventually post an updated photo when/if the chair gets satisfactorily restored.

 

Please do!

4 hours ago, JudySmith said:

That's if he'll even be interested in doing it anymore - after my nitty gritty questions.

Ya know, maybe the next town over may have a craftsman that'll suffice?

Or, you got a bunch of folks here, one of us may be close enough to your location to work with

If you guys would bump this post every so often, it would help as a reminder to get eNotified every so often. That way I can remember to update you. How coincidental your saying about the next town over, because I just happened to be chatting with someone at an occasion last night, griping to her about my flood and how much I want to repay my BIL with a restored chair. So guess what - she gave me a lead I'd never even heard of, because she works at a fabric store and has contacts! She said the guy does very good work including restoration. So i just sent this other guy an email, as he gives estimates. I may yet retain the original [repair] guy, depending on how much more communicative the new guy is.

 

BTW, nope, i'm not in your locations, but had you guys been in my area, for sure I'd have found you - even without this message board!

 

I'm curious what you guys would charge for restoring this type of chair to its original patina, as I'm leaning toward that, rather than stripping. I had even been mulling that over before John Morris' input, because I think its what my BIL would want.

Edited June 10, 20241 yr by JudySmith

Judy I think you got some great info on how you and the guy you hire to do some work for you should be handled..  Like I suggested using 100 % tung oil will make any wood stand out more than anything I have ever used and it so easy to use but there is a big learning one has to go through before they get into using it. And especially if anyone has not had good results when tried then they will and should not do it for a customer for they have completely different ways of doing things so they don't want to chance something different and this is the best thing to do to wood if they are going to put the things outside.

     For inside use anything on the market will work. Some not worth a flip but some are too easy to use and this is why suggestions will be made on certain things.

  If you hire someone to make something out of wood you need to give them an exact sample of what you want including the wood needed for the color to turn out right. Don't just say dark oak or medium color walnut. This will screw up anyone's idea of what you are wanting exactly for there are a million shades one can make on wood.

  If you are going to apply a finish yourself I can explain the very best way for 100% tung oil to be applied and all it takes is a few rags. But you have to accept what color the end results will be for the actual stained wood will be the what you get.  On your chair why not leave the color it is now but sand everything lightly with 320 grit or somewhere close . 

  If the chair will be used to sit in a be a part of your furniture then it needs to be glued up first. 

 

This is a towel rack in the bathroom as booth pieces of wood was stained with the same oil base stain then three coats of 100% tung oil was used on the rod the wet towels hang on and a clear finish was sprayed on the other piece.

This picture is the best way to show what using 100% tung oil will give you.  Both pieces of wood are the same Ash wood. And there is a way to achieve this look which is really easy but it takes three or four weeks of sitting and waiting.

  Oh, and I was just getting fancy as I was remodeling a bathroom so I wanted to add my personal touch most bathrooms don't have..... But I learned the hard way the elderly folks sheds lots of old skin and it ends up in the crooks and crevasses that are hard to keep clean.

One thing I forgot to say about the towel rack........The light area of the wood is made with 320 sand paper after the stain is dry then apply the tung oil. I like a finish top look good and maybe new but still make it look like it was cleaned for a few years and thus removed some of the color that was added in to the wood which was the original Ash to start with. Giving it a little character or something like that!

 These two pictures shows the top parts of the pieces are much lighter than around to bottom areas for I sanded off most of the color I had just put on.  Just things I do to my projects and in my mind makes it looks like I care about how things I can control turns out 

Edited June 13, 20241 yr by Smallpatch

Wow, you made them stunning!

OK well so here's my update (but i might not have time to respond for quite awhile, due to endless things to attend to in the house)

 

...i got the chair back and yes, i had my wind knocked out of my sails as much as you may be. Because when he picked it up, he'd mentioned on his own that it would make sense to go along with the "patina" (which had made me feel relieved. I then also specifically specified Matte to which he agreed). But now, as you see, when he returned it, he said he decided to use Rust-oleum Laquer because it wasn't in good shape so he felt that only the Laquer would preserve it well. I emphasized that i'm wondering if my BIL will like it this way. (My BIL didn't see it yet, rather was just told about it.) What can i say, by now its a done deal, and that's that. Any comments?

 

He said he wants to put pads underneath the legs. What sorta pads would be best? Felt?

My BIL thought maybe wheels, then he decided to think about it.

Edited June 25, 20241 yr by JudySmith

I know the camera flash sometimes makes things look worse than they are, but his work doesn't look all that professional to my eyes. There's seems to be a lot of uneveness that resembles orange peel in the finish he applied. It almost looks like he decided to take the easy way out and do nothing except apply a finish. But then maybe it doesn't look that bad in natural light. In any case, I personally wouldn't put wheels on it, they will not only raise the height unless you shorten the legs, they'll put a lot of stress on those legs as the chair is moved around. The choice of what pads is usually dictated by the floor it will sit on. Hardwood floors usually have felt pads.

Clearly, no wheels but felt pads.  I will agree with Fred that it doesn’t appear that the chair was stripped by looking at the bottom.

@Ron Dudelston, Judy didn't want it stripped, she wanted to keep the original patina and blemishes, but I agree, it does appear that not much effort was put into it. It looks like this is the first coat only to me, it should be sanded down to level out the imperfections for a second coat and possibly a third.

He didn't even get the bottom of the rungs, they look dry and unfinished. He could of gone with a matt finish.

The finish should be satiny smooth, no orange peel.

 

I'm sorry Judy, the gent did not serve you well. If you don't mind me asking, how much did you pay?

A well finished piece of woodwork should be able hold up against any flash of the camera in any lighting. That's how us woodworkers detect blemishes in our finish, with brutally honest lighting.

Also, he did away with grandpas old repair blocks, and added his own attempt. That completely defeated the purpose of what you were trying to accomplish, did  you communicate with him that you wanted to keep those old repairs on the bottom as is?

As far as pads, I find the felt ones usually slide off after a while.  I've used the ones that have a hard felt inside a nylon cup that has a sharpened edge cylinder.  Pound in it and it's good for quite a while.