Can I salvage this mess?!?

[Tom Overthere]

I built a king-sized platform bedframe with headboard. It serves as a prototype for future endeavors, so I built it out of edge-banded oak plywood (cheap).

I've always been a DUNDERHEAD regarding finishes, and was true-to-form in this case.

STAIN:
Varathane Premium Interior Wood Stain No. 245 "Traditional Cherry".
I simply brushed it on and waited overnight (duh) for it to dry.

PROTECTIVE FINISH:
Varathane Natural Oil Finish " No. 66 Clear
Penetrates like an oil. Seals like a plastic." I've had this quart can around for ten years at least, and I don't think Varathane still makes this exact product anymore...

I applied the "Oil Finish" directly over the stain. It wiped most of the stain right off! I had no choice but to proceed (time constraints) and applied several more coats of the finish. Well, the wild-grained, high-contrast result is a FAR cry from the beautiful solid cherry dressers I was attempting to match...oh, brother.

QUESTION 1:
Does there exist a dark, nearly-opaque cherry GLAZE or other product that can be applied OVER the Varathane "Natural Oil Finish"? Something I could use to blend and equalize the extreme color/shade variations. Or perhaps something that can prepare the Varathane surface for application of a hiding gel...?

QUESTION 2:
Can anyone recommend a relatively simple, systematic, step-by-step METHOD?

PUH-LEEZ and Thank You,
Tom

[Jim Becker]

Well...a few things...and pardon that I'm direct since it's just the most expedient way to help, if not now, for the future. I really am trying to help here!

Always do your finishing regimen on scrap from the project first...and completely through every step. You need the top coats involved as they change the color when applied. Names like "traditional cherry" can be misleading, too. Who's "tradition"? Real cherry or furniture store cherry? Working things out on scrap first will help you determine what you need to do to match a shade and it may take quite a few steps. Factory finishes are generally built up using products far different than you and I can source easily, too.

One problem that can't be solved is the fact that oak isn't going to look like cherry in any way no matter what. Oak plywood is even harder sometimes as it's very common for it to be rotary cut, especially when sourced from a non-plywood supplier. You may at some point be able to get somewhere near the shade of the existing furniture, but the open pores and grain pattern are still going to scream "oak". Good "substitutes" for cherry (after using a dye) include poplar, maple and alder.

Using a 10 year old finish is pretty dangerous...many wouldn't even cure at that point. Dispose of it properly and get new finish for each of your projects...buying in smaller quantities may seem to cost more due to the unit cost being higher, but finishes do have a shelf life.

I'm really at a loss to tell you specifically what you can do to rescue your project using things like glazes, tinted shellac, etc. I really, really, REALLY hate to say it, but you may, in fact, be better served by using a high quality 100% acrylic paint...perhaps in a satin black...to contrast nicely with your existing cherry pieces. It will downplay the "wild" oak pores and grain. I don't know the style of the furniture you're working with, but the existing finish under that paint could provide a nice opportunity to do some light distressing at the edges and so forth using some 320 paper, to soften the look into a more country feel, followed by a clear satin acrylic top coat.

Food for thought...

[glenn bradley]

What Jim said. I have saved my behind on more than one occasion testing my finishing regime, precisely, on a scrap piece from the project. As for salvaging; strip it (you'll want to finish a scrap as you have the piece and strip it too) and finish it as close to a matching (asthetically, as in contrast, not exactly) color that can live with the original pieces you wanted to match. Sorry about that.

[Doyle Alley]

If you did a "strip job", maybe you could get that finish and dried stain out without doing much damage. Since you haven't got much to loose, try rubbing it out with a scotchbrite pad soaked with acitone. Try another spot using denatured alcohol. Depending on the chemical makeup of the finish, one of them should do a decent job of stripping junk off without doing any damage to the wood. Just work outside (especially with the acitone) and a respirator mask would be preferred. The fumes will be nasty.

[Tom Overthere]

Thanks Jim, Glenn and Doyle, for the replies - and Jim, your directness is no offense whatsoever; just well-meaning advice as far as I'm concerned.

I don't have time/opportunity to strip and start over (assuming that's even viable at this point).

So I'm holding my breath hoping somebody might know a way, ANY WAY(!) that I might be able to roughen/degloss the surface and cover it with a cherry-ish stain plus polyurethane...

Thanks,
Tom

[Sam Shank]

Also, don't use an $8 can of 10 year old finish on something that took you 30+ hours of labor and hundreds of $ in materials. Be a big spender and buy a NEW can of $10 finish.

I'm as guilty as the next in saving finishes, but when I KNOW it's really old I won't use it.

[Steve Schoene]

If the old finish you applied has cured enough to sand to a powder you can roughen the surface using 320 grit paper. If it hasn't done that overnight then you must strip the old partially cured finish. If you don't durability of anything you put on top will be very suspect.

Assuming you can sand the surface, about the only reasonable hope of improving the look without spray facilities would be to use a gel stain (as a toner). It won't look like cherry but perhaps a little more even. Top that with a wiping varnish such as Waterlox.

Frankly, I like Jim's suggestion to paint it black.

[Tom Overthere]

I think black would look good too, but have little faith in the durability of any painted surface I might apply now - especially considering the dubious character of the current--soon-to-be underlying--surface.

The shelf age of the Varathane Natural Oil Finish seems to have caused no problem at all - poor technique in applying stain-plus-finish is the problem. The ten-year-old material handled the same as always. I think the large "hard areas" of the rotary-cut oak is what caused the Oil Finish to wipe off so much color.

Ugly as it is, the finish has been intact for about two years now, and functions just fine. I guess I'll test-sand a hidden area with 320 grit and attempt a gel stain "toner" per Steve's suggestion.

Steve suggests: "Top that with a wiping varnish such as Waterlox."
I have no experience with wiping varnish application. Is there some advantage to this over a polyurethane? Or is it even possible to apply a polyurethane over the recommended gel stain?

Duh,
Tom

[Steve Schoene]

Any oil based varnish can be made into a wiping varnish, even a polyurethane varnish just by thinning it. Many people find that applying the wiping varnish is easier than brushing on varnish. Being thinner it sets more quickly so less dust is accumulated. You can usually apply two coats in a day, but more coats are needed in total. Waterlox is a good brand, with a phenolic/tung varnish that applies well and dries hard. It comes in three flavors--Satin, Original/Sealer which dries to an attractive mellow gloss, and Gloss which is, uh, glossy, and a bit thicker, pretty much like brushing varnishes and might need a bit of thinner for wiping on easily.

There is nothing special about polyurethane varnish it is just a varnish that has polyurethane resin included. In most consumer grade, single-part varnishes the polyurethane is an addition to alkyd resin, the resin in most traditional varnishes. Varnish with polyurethane is a bit more abrasion resistant, but has a couple of downsides. The one most relevant here is that it has somewhat "trickier" adhesion properties. The other is that it is a little cloudy if built to a fairly thick film--that's pretty subtle and not likely to be a big problem in this context. The traditional resin varnish is less likely to have problems with adhering to your undercoat system over the long term than a polyurethane varnish.

By the way, a good oil based black enamel would give a finish as durable as the clear finishes. If the gel stain and clear finish will go over the existing finish, so will the black enamel paint.