I want to refinish my stand

gcvt

gcvt

Functional Aquaholic
Mar 15, 2001
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SF, CA
www.motorworld.com
Whaddya think of this idea? I'd like to sand down my stand and canopy to get rid of the stain.

Here's what it looks like now...kinda "1970's" if you ask me...

stand2.jpg



So, I tried a little sanding on the inside of one of the doors, and got this...which I like a lot better...

stand1.jpg



What do ya think? The lighter color would match the rest of my furniture much better.

If I sand the whole thing down, what do I use to seal it? While I'm at it, I'd also like to paint the inside of the canopy white - what kind of paint should I use for something like that?

I figure if I don't like it, I could always just re-stain it, right?

Thanks!
 
After you sand it down, if you want to stay with the natural color just finish it with satin or gloss polyurathane. It is in the same isle as the stain. You can also use a white stain inside your canopy, better chance it wont peel and fall into the water.
 
You could give it a milk wash. Something like really diluted white paint. You would still be able to see the grain but would take away some of the '70's feeling your seeing.

Phil
 
Yea, there are a lot of light color stains available now. I like to use the waterbased stains by Minwax because it is easy to clean up. If you do go with water based stain, there is a wood conditioner that needs to be applied beforehand to assure even distribution of the stain. I like to use poly-crylic satin finish by minwax for the final finish. Makes the work look real professional.

For the inside of the canopy you could use latex paint. Be sure to remove all residue such as lime deposits, grease, etc. so that the paint can adhere to the wood real well. I know they even make a product to apply to wood before you paint it to remove all that gunk. Or you could just use diluted mineral spirits. You could even go a step further and apply a primer before the paint. Primer aids in adhesion as well. IMO I would just clean it well and paint it with a gloss latex paint. The gloss will keep moisture out of the wood.
 
Well, I still can't decide...but I think I might go ahead and sand it down. The doors and canopy will come off so I can do those with the random orbital sander; it's the area around the doors and near the tank that I'm not looking forward to. I hate detail sanding! Plus, I think it'll take at least three grades of sandpaper to get the job done - gotta have coarse stuff to get the stain off and then down to finer stuff to smooth everything out. :sad

Philbe - gotta link on how to do a 'milk wash'? I don't know what that is.
 
I think your thinking of "white wash". A watered down type of paint that poor people used to paint fences with in the older days.

There's even talk of Tom Sawyer painting a fence with white wash in the book.

The only problem is that it washes off pretty easily.
 
gcvt said:
Well, I still can't decide...but I think I might go ahead and sand it down. The doors and canopy will come off so I can do those with the random orbital sander; it's the area around the doors and near the tank that I'm not looking forward to. I hate detail sanding! Plus, I think it'll take at least three grades of sandpaper to get the job done - gotta have coarse stuff to get the stain off and then down to finer stuff to smooth everything out. :sad
Click to expand...

I hear ya!! The stand that came with my tank had a very dark mahogany stain. Since my living room is all in oak colors, the dark had to go. It's finally done (took forever since I'd get so sick of sanding I'd walk away) and waiting for it's new coat of stain (honey oak). The stand looks great and I'm glad I did it, so the work is worth it. Just be glad you're not sanding off dark stain that's soaked in. The lighter stuff will be easier. Good luck!
 
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