refinishing an old table, interesting issues.

[David Herr]

Ok let me explain what I've got going on. I bought an old table from a friend. Its nice but had significant heat and water marks, rings and different splotchy areas. I wanted to see if I could get rid of these without having to do a complete refinish, as I don't have good space for heavy sanding. Being a novice I didn't know what the finish was on the table, so I looked at various online DIY water stain removal tricks, oil and vinegar, ironing, mayonnaise, etc. I first cleaned the table with water and murphys oil soap, then tried a bunch of these. What actually worked was a water and baking soda paste mixture. I sort of did it on accident and noticed it pulled off a layer of some finish that was on there, including water marks. It did not however, seem to affect the stain or wood color, so I did the water / baking soda paste over the entire surface until it looked even. Having gotten to an evenness I was happy with, I chose miniwax polycrilic as a finish coat. I wiped it free of dust, and put the first coat on using a foam brush. It went on fine, but I noticed it was leaving a brown color on the brush and in the pan. It was not, however, affecting the look of the table, so I kept going. First coat went on and looked ok, I let it dry and did a mild 220 sanding, and did a second coat. Still had residue coming off on the brush, but still looked ok. Let dry overnight and did a 3rd coat this morning, and still a light brown color came off on the brush. That's where I'm at now. My original plan was to do one or two more coats of satin polycrilic and then let it cure for a week or so.

So my main question is, is this ok since the table looks good? Will it cure ok in the end? Even though something is still being pulled off with the poly? Is it safe? Should I worry about potential fumes or toxins anything?

Why is it still leaving a light brown / yellow residue on the brush and in the pan when i put on the poly, even after 3 coats?

any help / tips / suggestions / criticism is all very welcome thank you so much!!!!!

the first pic below is after I pulled the water marks and whatever finish off with the baking soda and water, and the second is after the first coat of poly.

--David.

[Jim Becker]

Nothing obvious jumps out at me outside of asking whether or not you thoroughly washed off the baking sofa compound before you commenced with your finishing. Other than that, it's pretty interesting that you continue to get color-lift with subsequent coats. I'm looking forward to what the "experts" think!

[Wayne Lomman]

David, it's not uncommon for stains to bleed into subsequent coats although usually after the second coat it is not much of an issue. You will be seeing the effect more with brushing. Spraying doesn't have the physical contact so it is mostly ignored by spray finishers. I suspect that the stain and the finish are quite compatible which is a good thing. If the coating is curing as you would expect, and the colour is not streaking, I would proceed as you were.

You could leave the job to cure an extra day before the next coat. This can help seal in the colour.

The risk of continuing is minimal. You have already done most of the work. I don't think it likely that the polish will fall off if you keep going. In fact, you are to be highly commended for your lateral thinking in finding this way to restore a table.

And no, it is extremely unlikely to be a toxic. Cheers