Trying to refinish a table top - help? ?

Question

OK, so I'm refinishing a table top. I've stripped off the lacquer with zip strip (actually I used the orange-based stuff) and now just the stain is left.

BUT... I'm giving it a sanding just to remove any residue, and the stuff thats sanding off is really waxy!!! I was expecting it to be basically sawdust, but it's very gummy and resin-like, and the surface is becoming cloudy as I sand it. Do I actually need to sand it any more, or can I reapply stain and then put a top clear coat on it? I'm worried this waxy film will cause an uneven stain.

What the heck is going on? This top I believe is about 1/4" veneer and it still has stain on it. It's only been sanded very lightly with 400 grit paper. Thanks!

Answer 1

Both of these answers are correct.  You are still having residue of the stripper.  Put another dose of the stripper on the table and then scrape it off with a dragging motion of the putty knife.  Wipe down with lacquer thinner to remove any stripper residue.

DO NOT SAND.  The veneer surface is only 1/32 inch thick.  You can lightly sand the top, but be careful.  Coarse sanding will cut through the veneer and show the MDF below.

Answer 2

Water? did you say Water?  wood and water don't go so let it dry then rub the top off with lacquer thinner  and steel wool, it will remove the rest of the stripper and finish that is gumming up the sandpaper, it will also remove a lot of the stain as you wish without  sanding the wood down... note don't try to sand very much , or all the stain off because you will sand through the veneer start wiith 220 and work higher as you like

Answer 3

You have to keep sanding untill all of the stain is off the table Good Luck

Answer 4

What you are sanding off is the reidue of the stripper and the left over finish.

Get some paint thinner and wipe down the top with a clean cloth and paint thinner. If it is still shiney after you wipe it down you didn't get all the finish off. Some of those fatory finishes are hard to remove.

I'll tell you a little trick that I just used on a table my wife bought that had a lousy finish. I sanded the top coat of finish off and was getting the same thing you are getting now.

I wiped of the table with some paint thinner. I got some gloss polyurethane and some dark mahogany stain. I made a mix of three parts poly to one part stain and applied it directly to the table.

I used two coats of my mix, lightly steel wooling (3/0) between coats and the last coat I put on was just clear poly. Looks great. Allow 48 hours between coats for best results

Two of her friends want me to do their tables.