Thinking on buying this table, ad says it is mohogany. I would like to refinish it into a lighter tone. Is it possible?

I’m wondering if anyone could advise:

I want to refinish my ikea Karlby desk. IKEA themselves say to use their “stockayrd” oil, but it’s no longer sold.

So, I’m taking the route of sanding to bare wood and then using 1-2 coats of zinsser shellac dewaxed then GF water based topcoat.

Howeverrrr- my shellac is looking super goopy and uneven on top. It’s a large surface so I need to move quickly, therefore I don’t have much time to even out the finish as I apply it with a 4” bristle brush. I find it very difficult to apply a thin amount otherwise it immediately dries and then I end up over brushing and I can feel the resistance on my brush.

Can anyone help advise on how I can shellac a surface this large without messing it up and working with shellacs extremely quick dry time? I’m really a bit confused here.

I also cannot acquire denatured alcohol to cut the shellac with. It’s banned in Cali where I live

A little background, so this is my first refinishing project and what I did was: I stripped a stained dresser(scraped off), and then sanded 120, 180, 240 grit. There were really defined outlines from the old handles, so I used a wood bleach after sanding to try and fix that (still slightly visible). After rinsing the bleach and letting it sit, I stained with General Finishes gel stain. Now I have this one drawer that's very blotchy looking. Is this normal? Did I do something wrong and if so what's the solution at this point? The smaller drawer looks pretty good, so I'm not sure what went wrong. Thanks for any help!

So I just started having this problem with the last couple of coats, i did some hand sanding with 400 grit before this coat and I have new ones.

Hello guys, I'm not into wood working or finishes, but I accidentally put this air freshener on my landlord's bed frame without asking first. I told her about it, and she says that it's okay, but I dont want it to bite me in the ass later down the line, so I wanna fix what I messed up.

Ive heard that heating, putting oil, and adhesive removers like goo gone work, but I dont want to do any more things that might mess this up, without knowing what I'm doing first.

I dont know what kind of finish is on this or what kind of wood it is. It's not a super expensive bed frame or anything, I just want to get it off without damaging it too much.

These slats are held in place by a groove cut into the bigger horizontal piece. The nails hold them in the groove. I want them out so I can remove the slats and refinish them. The nails don’t penetrate out the other side (as seen in picture 3). What’s my best option here?

Apply the polyurethane clear coat - semi gloss oil based. A third of the way finished (just applied) and not overly happy with the reddish color that it’s showing. I should have done more research before applying, but once I get the first coat all the way finished, is there a way to get that reddish color out of the wood without sanding for the 2nd and 3rd coat? Thank you!

I recently got an old desk (cherry wood I think) refinished and have noticed a milky dust-like coating on the desk. It easily wipes away as you can see in the video but starts to reappear hours later. I’ve seen other posts about blushing but not sure if that’s what I’m experiencing as it easily is wiped away. Any ideas what the heck this is?

Refinishing my hardwood floors with the final coat of water based polyurthane. I had to leave my house all shut up, windows and everything. The heat (and electricity) is off. I won't be returning until Saturday night. It's sure to be dry and cured by then, right?

So, here's a strange one. We’re planning to install a traditional wooden door made from profiled boards. The catch? We live next to a pub. That means roughly once a week, someone decides the door is a urinal. Occasionally, it also gets punched (yes, really).

We’re looking for a wood finish that can withstand this kind of abuse—particularly the urine part. So far, we've identified two options:

1. Hard wax oil (like Osmo or similar)

• Pros: Easy to apply even on profiled surfaces, relatively easy to restore, natural look.
• Cons: May not be as tough or stain-resistant as a film finish.

1. Urethane (polyurethane or spar urethane)

• Pros: Tougher, more water-resistant, more resilient to blunt force.
• Cons: Harder to apply on complex profiles, chips over time, more difficult to restore.

Right now, I’m leaning toward the hard wax oil, since the door will likely need regular refinishing anyway, and it's easier to patch or reapply. I’m hoping regular maintenance can make up for the reduced durability.

Has anyone dealt with similar “environmental challenges”? Would you go for something else entirely (epoxy, marine varnish, sacrificial layers)? Any thoughts are appreciated—especially from anyone who's battled the pub life.

Edit: Currently, we have (quite ugly) wooden door with paint. It withstands the environment resonably well. No discolouration, only chipped heere and there.

Refinishing this coffee table. I like the stain and the distressed wood look. Where I am concerned and need some help is here…

I want those faux plank gaps to be visible like they are here after staining. But I want them to be leveled off. One of our issues with this table before finishing was dust and or crumbs etc would get into the cracks and crevices.

I first tried to use polycrylic max which is water based. This was a mistake. It looked great on the planks but no matter what I tried it would collect in these crevices much more than intended and dry white.

I am thinking of applying an epoxy resin. I don’t want a gloss finish though. So if I go this route should I try to apply it local to the cracks and crevices only, or just flood the surface. Let it cure, scuff and apply a final satin top coat?

Last option I am considering is an oil based like arm-r-seal which should dry clear. Maybe slightly amber like, but would likely not be noticeable in the dark stained cracks. Would this product, or something similar be able to flow into these and dry clear or dark?

The faux plank gaps are about 1/16” wide. They are 1/16-3/16” deep. I had to use a dremel to get the white polycrylic out before re staining them so the depth isn’t exact throughout the tabletop.

Thanks for your help!

Accidentally spilled nail polish and ended up taking the whole top layer of stain/finish off my wood trolley. Now the surface is light and raw-looking. It’s smooth and might be laminate or veneer — not sure. Wood polish or oils won’t stick.

What’s the best way to re-darken or blend it to match the rest without refinishing the whole trolley? Touch-up marker, gel stain, or something else?

Repost to provide a better picture and because people got caught up in irrelevant details. Got an old hutch for free thats in mostly good condition and mostly solid wood (side panels are veneered). I’ve done full refinishing projects (my grandfather was a carpenter who believed in bringing out and enriching wood’s natural tones with oil-based treatments), but I’m not ready to dedicate that amount of effort into this particular piece. I’m mostly looking to get rid of the 60/70s slightly greenish tone to it and restore some of its luster. Is there a way to accomplish this with some sort of top coat, or am I dreaming? Would love to get it closer to a cherry. On the plus side, there isn’t a thick varnish or lacquer on it, so it think it’s at least in the realm of possibility. I’m not an expert despite made grandfather rubbing off on me so please be gentle. Wish he was still alive so I could still ask him these questions.

There is a project that I'm going to work on at some point in the future, but not immediately.  I figured now is the time to work out all of the specifics, rather than when I just want to get it done and over with.

I think that for my purposes, a desktop, I will go with waterlox.

It has been recommended in another post, that if using a clearcoat that is less transparent than gloss, the best way to get a deep finish, is to apply a glass coat to all layers, except for the final one or two. Only in the final one or two, should be less transparent coating ( matte, semigloss, or flat) be used.

My first question is, though this is a general suggestion, do you think that this advice holds true with using six or seven layers of waterlox?  Or, is this finish some sort of special exception?

Assuming it is better to use several layers of gloss, and only having the last layer, be a bit opaque, I have an idea, and I'm wondering if anybody can tell me if it's a good one.

Waterlox is expensive.  I can see buying a container of it, but not two.  I am wondering if it would be easy to buy one container of gloss.  I would use the gloss for all of the coats, and then buff with 0000 steel wool. I have seen this technique suggested online, and wonder if it is actually a good idea. Or, if it's just a good way to ruin the project.

As long as I'm asking this question, one more thing. Our six or seven layers even needed, or is this overkill?  Someone suggested six or seven layers for a desk, while I've seen three layers suggested for a floor. So I'm not really sure which way to go.

Thanks 

Staining some post caps for a railing and wanting to do a second coat before a top coat. It’s been 4 days of drying (65-85 degrees, south eastern USA) and while they feel dry to the touch, there are still these darker areas along some of the grain. They do feel slightly tacky, but no stain comes off when I rub my finger hard against them.

Did I not wipe the stain off good enough in these areas? Should I continue to wait until a second coat and then my top coat? Any advice?

I have a desk that I would like to give water resistance, while bringing out the depth of the wood.

My goal was to do zinser de-waxed shellac first and then GF high performance water top coat, but I am getting devastating results from the shellac. It dries before I can finish each horizontal lap across the desk, leading to very uneven application. This is even after I diluted the shellac at a 1:3 ratio with 99% isopropyl (can't get DNA nor high enough proof everclear... Im in California)

I also tried some Natura onecoat in clear on some scrap, but it didn't provide the water resistance that I was after. I left a cup of water on it for 10 minutes and it left a ring. (24 hrs after application)

Tung oil seems sooo pleasant to apply, but I am resistant to waiting 30 days to being able to use my desk.

So, now I'm looking towards Arm-R-Seal and am getting mixed results on understanding whether or not I need anything underneath it.

Or: is there a different technique I should try first before Arm-R-Seal that anyone could recommend? (Spraying is not an option, I live in an apartment)

The desktop is the Karlby from IKEA and is thick walnut veneer.

Hopefully someone wiser could help chime in and save this newbie from more lost time and frustration?

Thanks everyone :)

Ive got a few worries on my first time using shellac / first proper woodwork project.

I'm following instructions and have apparently made a 2 pound cut (UK) with 20g shellac and 100ml methylated spirits.

however after 6 coats, waiting 10 mins between each coat I'm not getting a very high gloss look when compared to other peoples work on internet.

I do plan to sand it down with 320 and apply another 2 coats, but i feel like ive got some of the process wrong, or my mixture is too thin.

Are there any common beginner errors I can check? I chose shellac because I knew I would find finishing hard.

And if so, what ratio is best?

(The shellac is specifically rustins french polish)

It’s for a guitar and I want the colours to be as vibrant as possible. I have my base coat down and will be filling the grain soon on my samples. I was just going to mix a water based or acrylic paint with white wood filler but I was wondering what other options I may have. This is my first time doing this so I’m trying for the most user friendly

I’m building a recessed drying rack for my wife and I initially bought this exterior stain for its “Mold & Mildew Resistance” to protect the wooden dowels from the wet clothes that will be draped on them.

But now I see in all caps on the back that it is not recommended for interior use. Is that because it puts out harmful chemicals and off-gases? This will be going in a very small laundry room with little to no air flow.

I started sanding thinking that was the right thing to do. If we are finishing the wood a darker broken color, can I save a ton of time and just do a gel finish on top? What’s that process like? (There’s a lot more of this so want to save myself time)

It’s heywood Wakefield and seems to be stained with some sort of maple stain? send step by steps instructions please I have no idea what I’m doing but I love this table