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Finishing Question

2K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  teenagewoodworker 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I am applying finish to a nightstand I built. It is made of white oak. I stained it and let it dry
and now I am trying to apply Waterlox. When I applied the waterlox on the bottom of the
bottom shelf, I noticed a big hand print. When I cleaned the surface I didn't see it. Once I
saw it I wiped the waterlox in the vicinity of the print. What is the best way to repair this.
Can I sand or scrape the area with the hand print, restain and continue adding coats of
waterlox? Any suggestions are appreciated.

Tom
 
#4 ·
Hi notottoman. The wood had stain applied and then I applied the Waterlox. Perhaps the surface was
contaminated after the stain was on. If I scrape down to bare wood I should get rid of the contamination.
What would benzine do to the stain that is on the wood already? Any ideas? Thanks.

Tom
 
#5 ·
Tom,

From what I have read, I assume the Waterlox did not take to the area where the hand print is.

The only fix is to sand, scrape or strip that shelf back to bare wood and re-stain and recoat with Waterlox.

I think you will spend more time trying to repair this "spot" and it will never blend it in correctly (the stain).

Benzene is an old term for Toluol or Toluene. A very strong solvent that will strip the stain below right off; you might also try mineral spirits or paint thinner, they remove hand oils, etc just as well.

Hope this helps.
Chip Schaffner - Waterlox
 
#6 ·
Hi Chip. Yes, it looked to me like the stain was fine but the Waterlox didn't take.
I scraped back to the bare wood and stained again. However, I didn't do the whole
surface but only in the area of the hand print. Once the stain is completely dry I will
try to reapply the Waterlox and see what it looks like. It is on the bottom of the
shelf, and the shelf is about 5 inches off the ground. So, it won't be too noticable
in any case.

Thanks for the tip on the Benzene. I will avoid using that over the stain. It sounds like
the mineral spirits or paint thinner should be fine on a dried oil-based stain?

Thanks for the information.

Tom
 
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