Help with a blotchy staining project!

[Scott Pham]

Hi all,

I'm just learning my way around wood finishing and I'm running into a problem with an old desk I'm refinishing. I know that the "blotchy" staining problem is a common thing and I've researched it pretty widely, but I think what I'm running into isn't quite the same as what I'm reading about (although maybe some of the solutions will apply here too?)

Anyway here are some pics that I think will help:

• https://www.dropbox.com/s/j0d2eyoolp...2019.04.51.jpg
• https://www.dropbox.com/s/7wy6x6167x...2019.04.58.jpg

That's with two coats of Watco Danish Oil and no top coat. It had two coats of paint on it, which I removed with Citrus Strip and sanded to 200 with an orbital sander and also by hand. I think the yellowish spots are remnants of the bottom coat/primer that were particularly worked in. I sanded to the highest grain I had and then hoped for the best.

Now I wonder if I should strip and sand again to get those spots and basically start over. Or perhaps I should get a layer of poly on it, sand that, and try to stain some more? That seems to be a common solution for the "blotchy" problem. What do you guys think is best?

[Steve Schoene]

I suspect your problem stems from sanding too much. What I am seeing is that some areas appear to have surface patina removed and others not. At this point I suspect you should strip again--though I would use a methyl chlorine stripper (working out side is good) and then sanding more to essentially remove all the patina. It would have been much easier in the beginning to strip, use thinner to remove remnants of the stripper, and only give a VERY LIGHT sand with 220 grit by hand to deal with raised grain. Using the power sanding took off too much I suspect.

[Howard Acheson]

>>>> I removed with Citrus Strip and sanded to 200 with an orbital sander and also by hand.

Citris Strip is a poor paint and finish remover. Used per its instructions, I will not remove an existing finish very effectively or rapidly. Multiple applications are required. Your pictures indicate that there is quite a bit of residual finish remaining on the item. In other words, the residual finish is preventing a newly applied stain from being absorbed evenly.

My suggestion is to buy a new can of chemical stripper that contain methylene chloride and go through the stripping process again following the directions on the can. Methylene chloride strippers are the most affective and complete strippers. Be sure you get all the prior finish removed. Then thoroughly sand, vacuum off the dust and begin to reapply your clear coats.