Refinishing my Maple mk3

[shush]

I am interested in taking my mk3 combo apart so all Im left with is my hardwood cabinet. Its 20 years old and could do with the wood being stripped and restained. Anyone here ever taken on such a project, I would be keen to know what stains etc you used and what method of stripping you used to get the wood back to its natural self before refinishing. I'm concerned about disturbing the dovetail joints on the cabinet, so any tips would be very useful. I will post pics of befors and after once I do it, thanks in advance for any help.
Chers
Sean

 

[trickyrick]

Forget about solvents. The only way to effectivly remove the old finish is to sand. You didn't mention if the wood is currently stained or has it just aged to a darker shade? If it is just a clear coat, after 20 years it should be pretty easy to sand off the old finish. You can start with 120 or even 150 grit if you are using an orbital sander, and move through grits until 220. If you are just going to top coat it without stain, there are a lot of options. Rockler make an awsome gel poly that goes on with a rag and doesn't drip or run. 3 coats of that and you are good to go. I have tried other products but to me they are not as good. You can always use a tung or danish oil, but it will not hold up to a pounding as well as the poly and you will need to recoat every so often, maybe once a year.

If you intend on staining the wood first, you should use an NGR stain, which is a " NON GRAIN RAISING " stain. Belkin makes these stains and they are great. Unlike a pigment stain which only lays on the surface of the wood, the NGR penetrates it and gives a more even look. You can get it water solulable or the more prefered alcohol based. To me this is important because you are working with maple which is a very blotchy wood and some grain will soak stain more than other and give a darker apperance. This is tough to fight and woodworkers have been doing it for years, but if you precondition the wood first with a cut version of whatever your topcoat will be it will help keep the blotching down. You may need to just apply more coats of stain to get your desired shade.

There is also a product called transtint on the market. It is sold in 1 oz. bottle and can be added to denurtured alcohol to for what ever shade you wish. Colors can be mixed and matched. I am failrly certain that is what Mesa uses to stain thier cabinets. If the wood is figured maple, it would be my suggestion to not stain it and put on a clear coat and enjoy the beauty of the wood, because staining figured maple just sucks. It can be done, but you must be patient and let coats dry fully.

I hope I did not overwhelm you with info, I am just trying to help. Good luck.

 

[trickyrick]

I am interested in taking my mk3 combo apart so all Im left with is my hardwood cabinet. Its 20 years old and could do with the wood being stripped and restained. Anyone here ever taken on such a project, I would be keen to know what stains etc you used and what method of stripping you used to get the wood back to its natural self before refinishing. I'm concerned about disturbing the dovetail joints on the cabinet, so any tips would be very useful. I will post pics of befors and after once I do it, thanks in advance for any help.
Chers
Sean

One more thing I forgot. Don't worry about the dovetail joints. They are halfblind dovetails and are 3/8" thick they woun't go anywhere. If the cab is 20 years old, that is 40 seasons of expanding and contracting depending where you live. I would be shocked if the DT's are not protruding in some places after that long of movement. If you chose to sand the cabinet out, you will be killing 2 birds with 1 stone and will be able to even up the uneven DT's. Good Luck.

 

[Boltino]

Forget about solvents. The only way to effectivly remove the old finish is to sand. You didn't mention if the wood is currently stained or has it just aged to a darker shade? If it is just a clear coat, after 20 years it should be pretty easy to sand off the old finish. You can start with 120 or even 150 grit if you are using an orbital sander, and move through grits until 220. If you are just going to top coat it without stain, there are a lot of options. Rockler make an awsome gel poly that goes on with a rag and doesn't drip or run. 3 coats of that and you are good to go. I have tried other products but to me they are not as good. You can always use a tung or danish oil, but it will not hold up to a pounding as well as the poly and you will need to recoat every so often, maybe once a year.

If you intend on staining the wood first, you should use an NGR stain, which is a " NON GRAIN RAISING " stain. Belkin makes these stains and they are great. Unlike a pigment stain which only lays on the surface of the wood, the NGR penetrates it and gives a more even look. You can get it water solulable or the more prefered alcohol based. To me this is important because you are working with maple which is a very blotchy wood and some grain will soak stain more than other and give a darker apperance. This is tough to fight and woodworkers have been doing it for years, but if you precondition the wood first with a cut version of whatever your topcoat will be it will help keep the blotching down. You may need to just apply more coats of stain to get your desired shade.

There is also a product called transtint on the market. It is sold in 1 oz. bottle and can be added to denurtured alcohol to for what ever shade you wish. Colors can be mixed and matched. I am failrly certain that is what Mesa uses to stain thier cabinets. If the wood is figured maple, it would be my suggestion to not stain it and put on a clear coat and enjoy the beauty of the wood, because staining figured maple just sucks. It can be done, but you must be patient and let coats dry fully.

I hope I did not overwhelm you with info, I am just trying to help. Good luck.

Excellent information! Thanks!

Can you use Zircon encrusted tweezers to aid in the process?

 

[trickyrick]

Just get a cup of coffee and give your foot a push....