Cabot oil stain over old nitro lacquer?

[Rob Diz]

I've got an old table with a nitro lacquer finish. the finish is crackled a bit, and shows signs of wear and some fading in a portion. I have cleaned the top with Mineral Spirits and scuffed with 400 grit sandpaper to take the high points down.

Can I wipe on a thin coat of an oil based stain like Cabots (BORG ready) and then apply a shellac sealcoat and then put on the topcoat of my choice? I'd rather not have to strip this top down to the wood as it is a veneer.

If I let the oil based stain dry will my sealcoat of shellac pull up the stain? If it doesn't pull up the stain, will everything stay adhered together or will my finish fail?

Thanks for the help.

[Scott Holmes]

Stain can't penitrate into the wood with lacquer on the wood. Stain is not paint you must wipe the excess off after 5-15 minutes.

It will wipe off clean everywhere but the cracks... is this what you want?

[Howard Acheson]

In a quick word, no. Oil based pigment stains must be applied to virgin wood or wood that has had all vestiges of prior finishes removed. The coloring must be able to be absorbed evenly for best results.

You have a number of choices. First, use a chemical paint stripper containing methylene chloride and remove the existing finish and start over. Second, clean the surface with mineral spirits rubbed on with 4/0 steel wool. Then wipe dry with lots of paper towels. If you are already at this point, padding on another coat or two of nitro lacquer should fix up the surface just fine. New lacquer melts right into and smooths existing lacquer. Make pad from soft, lint-free cotton material. Fold it into a pad that has no seams at the bottom. Load some MC lacquer in a squeeze bottle. Wet the pad but not dripping. Now, with the pad in your hand, swoop down at one end of the board, draw the pad the full length of the panel and swoop up as you get to the end of the board. Think of a air pilot practicing "tough and go" landings. Move up a line and do the next line continuing line to line until you get to the other edge. Go back now and do it again. Recharge the pad when it sort of sticks as you wipe. Padding is the way furniture restorers fix and refinish lacquer finished items. It will leave an excellent surface. Finally, you can spray on another coat of lacquer if you have spray equipment.

[Rob Diz]

Stain can't penitrate into the wood with lacquer on the wood. Stain is not paint you must wipe the excess off after 5-15 minutes.

It will wipe off clean everywhere but the cracks... is this what you want?

That's pretty much what I am after - giving a bit more color back and filling inthe cracks and chips with color.

I got a bit aggressive with the chip fill in late last night I started with a q tip and ended up wiping down the tops with the stain and then quickly wiped it off again. The stain didn't sit on the top for more than a minute or two before getting wiped down, but clearly there was enough left to color the top up nicely.

Frankly, the table top looks great right now and seems ready for a seal coat.

I wonder if I should wipe the top down with a solvent like MS or DNA, or just try sealing with shellac? I will propably wipe an area with DNA tomorrow and see if the color comes up. If it does, I will clean off the top, if not, I'll seal with some amber shellac (unless my finish is already doomed for failure).