HenryinMI

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Viewing 9 posts - 91 through 99 (of 99 total)
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  • in reply to: what is the best finish for a dining room table? #251076
    HenryinMI
    Participant

    The “best” finish for you depends on your situation and defination of “best”. If you have kids and expect your table to have rugged use, oil based polyurethane is the toughest that you can apply. Since you will be putting a lot on, I would buy a polyurethane marked for floors and put three coats of poly on everything with one extra on the table top and the first one cut with mineral spirits to about 80% poly.

    The down side of the oil based poly is that it has an amber cast that will not let your maple stay as light colored as possible. If this is a criteria, I would go with a water based poly, 4 coats, and don’t thin this.

    If you are going for the shiniest look and deepest luster, I would go with lacquer and spray a lot of coats on with intermediate sanding about every 4 coats. This will have some amber look but not as much as the oil based poly.

    One other item to consider is the shine. A gloss finish will look great but show off any defect in your finish. The gloss will also show more effects of use and normal wear and tear. A satin finish will make any defects less visible. Some say that satin oil based poly does not adhere between coats as well as gloss. I have never had a problem but it is not unusual to use gloss oil based poly for the base coats and a satin finish of the same brand for the top coat.

    Just like any painting or finishing project, the amount of prep work you do will have a big effect on the finished product.

    Henry in MI

    in reply to: musty smell in wood boxes #251062
    HenryinMI
    Participant

    Skittles, the best way to get rid of the smell is to seal it into the wood with clear/white shellac. Zinsser’s Bulls Eye is both a good product and readily available. One secret is to check the date of manufacture and not buy any that is older than a year and the newer, the better. You can probably cut the shellac in half with denatured alcohol and adequately seal the surface. One attribute of shellac is that alcohol will always remove it so it’s a good product to use on something that might be a valuable antique some day and where closeness to original condition might be an issue.

    Henry in MI

    in reply to: Plans for a simple queen-size platform bed #250968
    HenryinMI
    Participant

    Azalea, your best bet for plans is probably your public library. They have books full of plans and you can see exactly what you will be getting in your plan plus there is usually a section in the book with more general information. You might just copy one or 2 plans and kind of think about how you will go about building what you want or figure out how much material you will need and the cost.

    Henry in MI

    in reply to: floor paint #250967
    HenryinMI
    Participant

    You might try taking some of the flakes from the second floor back to the store where you got the Benj. Moore paint. The store might not be able to tell much but they should send the flakes to the manufacturer for their comments. That should answer your questions and might result in an even better answer for you.

    Henry in MI

    in reply to: 30 year old wallboard or laminate, the shiny kind #250966
    HenryinMI
    Participant

    If you do any writing, the effect of a pen will soon have any paint flaking off. Tile is great but the surface will not be smooth and may make what you want to do on the desk difficult. Adding a layer of laminate that matches your decor is one way to go but this will be difficult if you don’t have a table saw and router. My desk top is real linoleum but this is difficult to find. You might see if you can find sheet vinyl flooring that fits your needs.

    Henry in MI

    in reply to: childcraft mattress height adjuster part #250712
    HenryinMI
    Participant

    The stores that specialize in childrens furniture often have, or can get, replacement parts for items like you seek. You might start with your local phone book.

    Henry in MI

    in reply to: veneer coffee table #250687
    HenryinMI
    Participant

    Newer veneer is usually pretty difficult to restore as the veneer layer is pretty thin. If you just have white water stains, this is damage to the finish and can be restored without doing anything to the wood. If you have black water stains, that is damage to the wood and is very difficult to repair on modern veneer without “burning through” the veneer when sanding. You could, of course, replace the veneer but this typically requires more equipment than most people have. Having more clamps than Norm is a start.

    If you are in a situation where you will have people using your furniture that don’t take the care you do, plan for the worst. Solid wood furniture is more restorable. If you have young kids, furniture with a laminate surface will make life a lot easier and can look pretty good. If your decor allows, another alternative is tile topped tables.

    Henry in MI

    in reply to: Remove carpeting from stairs #250686
    HenryinMI
    Participant

    The key question is “what is under the carpet?” If you have oak treads in place, you might be able to just fill the holes from the nails and staples and “renew” the finish. If you have soft pine or plywood, your most reasonable option is to replace the carpeting. You may be able to apply hardwood treads to your stairs but this will be much more difficult and expensive, plus you will have to insure that you follow the applicable building code for your area. You may be able to get a look at the construction from under the stairs.

    Henry in MI

    in reply to: cope cut molding #250661
    HenryinMI
    Participant

    This web site, http://mywebpages.comcast.net/krumy/ , has a good description with photographs to show a better way to make a cope cut. Look for the index of pages on the page after Steve’s home page and click the one for cope cuts.

    Henry in MI

Viewing 9 posts - 91 through 99 (of 99 total)