So, I just bought a dining set I want to restore and plan on starting with the chairs. I do not have a sander but plan on picking one up soon. I mostly plan to use the sander on larger flat surfaces where I have to that the sander won't work.

 

What would be a good grit to start with for sanding and finishing smooth? Any recommended primers for this type of project? Unfortunately, I do not know what type of wood this is. I would also love to sand and refinish the seats to make them shine nicely. Any recommendations on any/all of this for my first project? I am starting from scratch and this will be my first project. I know nothing at the moment! I attached some photos in hopes of identifying wood and help with proper tools for the job. Thanks in advance.

Edited June 13, 20241 yr by MichWolverines1983

I'd consider a paint stripper before sanding. Maybe @kmealy will be along soon. He is our expert.

Thanks, Lew. I'll be waiting for more responses. I know the top layer is grey, I can also see blue and there is also spots of red on the chairs. So, it looks like possibly three layers of previous paint.

if you are going to repaint painted parts, do you really need to take it down to bare wood?  clean it (TSP, trisodiumphosphate) to get the dirt and grease off, paint away.

 

as for the natural finishes, that's a lot more work.  chemical strippers (of which i am not familiar) seem like less labor than sanding, and then you've got to refinish it nicely, at least 2 coats of something, maybe 3 for the top that takes all the wear.

Yes, I definitely plan on sanding down the wood. Any recommendations on what grit to start and finish with for the chairs?

Edited June 13, 20241 yr by MichWolverines1983

There are places with vats they dip furniture pieces in to strip them.  Do a search in your area for such and see if that is an affordable option.  Stripping furniture is not easy and is very messy. 

6 minutes ago, HandyDan said:

There are places with vats they dip furniture pieces in to strip them.  Do a search in your area for such and see if that is an affordable option.  Stripping furniture is not easy and is very messy. 

I'm not too concerned with the mess. I have a good plan in place to address cleanup. Any recommendations on which grit to start and finish with? I was thinking of starting with 120 and finishing with 180 or 220.

if you are sanding off the paint, 80.  the poly/varnish, 80.  and scuffs left can easily be taken care of with 120.  painted finish, 120 is plenty fine.  poly finish, 120 is also fine, light hand sand of 220 between coats for both paint and poly.

 

Chairs:
If this is a factory finish, it's highly probable that it's lacquer.  If it's been repainted in someone's home shop, it could be anything.  If you are repainting, it is not necessary to get down to the wood unless the existing finish is failing.   Chairs are very fussy to refinish because of all the joints and small pieces (like back slats).  When I refinished them, I used a flow-over stripper system that had a more liquid stripper.  The recycling pump put it on, let it sit for a few minutes, then turn the pump back on and brush with a new flow of stripper.  Then I'd spray a finish on.  I can spray a chair in about a minute or less and it would take me an hour to brush on a finish.

 

Table;

The top looks like parawood AKA rubberwood, a wood from trees that produce rubber resin.  It is a common wood in lower end Asian made furniture.  Without seeing more detail, like the edges it could be veneer.   But based on the grain on just the top,  I'd bet veneer on the table top and solid wood on the chair seats. One of the forums on facebook  is full of posts "I started sanding off the finish and ended up with this mess."  It is very easy to blow thru a modern veneer with a sander and then you are stuck  with a spot of particle board or some other undesirable substrate.  The cure for this is chemically strip, then do a light sanding to smooth out.  Stripping is messy but it's much faster, more efficient, and more thorough than "sanding off the old finish."  You'd spend hours and much sandpaper even if you were able to sand it off.  And there's a chance you won't get it all off deep inside and if you stain end up with a blotchy finish.

 

So I'd recommend a cleaning and light scuff sanding on the "painted" surfaces and chemically strip and refinish the natural wood finishes.

 

Many vendors have quit selling methylene chloride strippers because of some idiot consumers.  i used NMP (n-methyl pyrrolidone) that was safer but a little slower.

Edited June 14, 20241 yr by kmealy

49 minutes ago, kmealy said:

Chairs:
If this is a factory finish, it's highly probable that it's lacquer.  If it's been repainted in someone's home shop, it could be anything.  If you are repainting, it is not necessary to get down to the wood unless the existing finish is failing.   Chairs are very fussy to refinish because of all the joints and small pieces (like back slats).  When I refinished them, I used a flow-over stripper system that had a more liquid stripper.  The recycling pump put it on, let it sit for a few minutes, then turn the pump back on and brush with a new flow of stripper.  Then I'd spray a finish on.  I can spray a chair in about a minute or less and it would take me an hour to brush on a finish.

 

Table;

The top looks like parawood AKA rubberwood, a wood from trees that produce rubber resin.  It is a common wood in lower end Asian made furniture.  Without seeing more detail, like the edges it could be veneer.   But based on the grain on just the top,  I'd bet veneer on the table top and solid wood on the chair seats. One of the forums on facebook  is full of posts "I started sanding off the finish and ended up with this mess."  It is very easy to blow thru a modern veneer with a sander and then you are stuck  with a spot of particle board or some other undesirable substrate.  The cure for this is chemically strip, then do a light sanding to smooth out.  Stripping is messy but it's much faster, more efficient, and more thorough than "sanding off the old finish."  You'd spend hours and much sandpaper even if you were able to sand it off.  And there's a chance you won't get it all off deep inside and if you stain end up with a blotchy finish.

 

So I'd recommend a cleaning and light scuff sanding on the "painted" surfaces and chemically strip and refinish the natural wood finishes.

 

Many vendors have quit selling methylene chloride strippers because of some idiot consumers.  i used NMP (n-methyl pyrrolidone) that was safer but a little slower.

 

Thanks, kmealy! I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out. Maybe there was a little confusion on my intentions; I plan on stripping (chemically) the chairs/paint and table but also plan to sand the furniture in certain spots. I had no intentions of sanding to "remove old paint". Sorry for the confusion. Still learning.

 

The chairs definitely seem like it will take some time. Link to products used for your setup? I was just planing on brushing it on and removing it with a plastic scraper. Here are some pictures of the edges of the table top and chairs. Maybe this will help identify what I have. What stripper would you recommend for the table top and grit? I plan on starting with the chairs and going from there. No rush. I want to do it right and have everything I need so we are happy with the end result.

 

 

Edited June 14, 20241 yr by MichWolverines1983

if you don't see any endgrain, then you have veneer.

 

frankly, it would take less time to make a new table top than to strip/sand/refinish it.  and you'd get something exactly the way you wanted.

Bryan, something to consider on the chairs. Since the back and legs are painted it is possible that the seat and frame are two different woods.  Flip one over and look at the skirt on the bottom.  They might be dissimilar woods.  Also, I recent refinished my daughter’s kitchen table.  I knocked the bulk of the finish off with cabinet scrapers.

DAB, that would definitely be something I would be willing to try later on. I like the idea. At the moment, I'm going to focus on stripping, sanding, and refinishing and see how I feel about the results. We'll see what happens!

 

Ron, I have to be honest, I'm not totally sure at this point what I have. It appears the grain is in the "end" (referred to as "end grain"?) and underneath the seat of the chairs, and tables, it feels and looks a little differently than the surface material of the tabletop and seat. I'm totally new to this and learning from scratch. What else can I say?

 

Unfortunately, I did notice on the underside of the seat a sticker that reads "Made in Malaysia". A little disappointed but will go with it. We are still very happy with the table and I want to make this table my first project. With that said, if I have veneer tabletop and chair (the seat), what stripper is recommended and what grit? I was planning on going with Klean-Strip. Good choice for this project? I want to put a stain and some sort of protection on it. Want something dark with a lot of shine. It'll go really well with the rest of the place. Any other recommendations on stains/finishes/protection is much appreciated. Thanks in advance and sorry for the delayed response. I've been busy and also doing some fishing! Cheers, guys!

Edited June 16, 20241 yr by Bryan Cassidy

Bryan, I would bet the farm that it is veneered on the top so I would move forward cautiously and sand lightly.  If you use a stripper minimize the water because you could release the veneer from the top.  

The photos of the table top are too dark (at  least on my computer) to  get a good look.   If it is not veneered, the grain line will run off the end, if the grain goes horizontally (side grain) and or perpendicularly,  then it is veneered.  Another way is to look inside the  joint where  the leaf fits.  It it looks different than the top (like plywood, then it  is veneered.   It is uncommon for chair seats to be anything but solid wood.

 

 

When you are refinishing the chairs, definitely remove the seats by the 4 or so screws.

given the country of origin, it is in all likely hood veneer over some cheap white-ish wood.  veneer is about 1/42" thick (i bought some recently, it was marked as 3/85" thick), so it doesn't take much sanding to go right thru it.

 

that's another way of saying that you don't have "fine furniture" in your hands, just "solid wood" furniture made overseas in a large factory (as opposed to Ikea stuff which is largely glue and dust).  my solid wood dining room table, made by the Amish in PA, shows the end grain of the wood, so i know it is NOT veneer.

 

your edge banding is one way to hide either the  end grain, or more likely, the inner core of the table top with veneer on top and bottom.  they do both sides so the core will not warp.

29 minutes ago, DAB said:

given the country of origin, it is in all likely hood veneer over some cheap white-ish wood.  veneer is about 1/42" thick (i bought some recently, it was marked as 3/85" thick), so it doesn't take much sanding to go right thru it.

 

that's another way of saying that you don't have "fine furniture" in your hands, just "solid wood" furniture made overseas in a large factory (as opposed to Ikea stuff which is largely glue and dust).  my solid wood dining room table, made by the Amish in PA, shows the end grain of the wood, so i know it is NOT veneer.

 

your edge banding is one way to hide either the  end grain, or more likely, the inner core of the table top with veneer on top and bottom.  they do both sides so the core will not warp.

 

DAB, thanks for helping out with identifying the wood. With that said, it appears to simply be veneer. I can live with that at the moment. I definitely do not regret buying the set. I think it looks great and will be a great first project for me. It is would be nice to turn the set into something nice and maybe in a few years when I have learned more, go out and buy something amazing?

 

So, with that said, this will be my plan of attack:

 

1. Strip with Klean-Strip (Starting with chairs and removing seat)

   

I plan on letting it sit whatever time the bottle says and removing with plastic scraper. Will there be any residue left over? Do I need to follow back up with a paint thinner after stripping? I've seen some follow up with 0000 steal wool and "dip" into thinner or stripper to remove any residue. Should I let this sit and dry over night before applying a primer?

 

2. I was going to simply buy primer in a spray can for the extra chair I'm practicing on. I have seven chairs that came with the set and I left one in the garage to practice on first. I was also planing on buying paint in a spray can as well for the chair downstairs. I do plan on buying a paint sprayer later on. Still doing research and not concerned with buying it this second.

 

3. Strip the chair seat, apply a stain we pick out, and apply a varnish at the end. I do not plan on sanding the seat at this point. If I do, it will be with something like 120 - 220. A little nervous about sanding at this point. Also, all sanding will be by hand at this point. I may use a sander on the chair, not the seat, but that will be it at this point. Want to play it safe. Maybe I should just do all sanding by hand.

 

Sorry for the million questions. I want to cover as much as I can before proceeding. I like to be over prepared. Plus, I plan on buying the stripper, scraper, and some plastic tomorrow. I may go ahead and get some spray primer too while I'm there.

Edited June 16, 20241 yr by Bryan Cassidy

many years ago there was a tv show that featured a pair of guys who refinished furniture.  sorry, can't recall the name.  but one thing i picked up was how they removed the stripper and finish residue.  after scraping off the large areas with a plastic putty knife/scraper, they had a large bin of sawdust.  they get a handful or so, and use that to finish removing the stripper and any residue.  it was fairly absorbent (old butchers also used sawdust for the same reason, it would soak up the blood off animals they were processing), wouldn't scratch the wood, and was cheap.

 

perhaps there are some local woodworkers you can track down and see if you can "have" their sawdust waste.  i throw away piles of it when i'm doing a project, most from the TS.  if some one would take it off my hands for no charge, i'd be thrilled.  the type doesn't matter (it does if you want to mulch trees, then you want to avoid Walnut sawdust, as it will kill the trees).

 

and wear some gloves.

found it:  The Furniture Guys.

 

https://www.youtube.com/@thefurnitureguys1113

 

lots of videos available.  good stuff.