Newsletter
March 15 2003

Quick tip

If you've been planning to refinish your dining room set, or something else big, but have been putting it off because it's such a large task, just think of it as one chair to refinish, then one more chair and so on down the line. Tables are a snap after doing a set of chairs.

You can break it down even more. Don't think of a whole chair, just one leg, then move on to the next part. The next thing you know, it's all done and you can pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

Glue joints

When you repair a glue joint of any kind, whether it's a dowel joint, mortise and tenon, butt joint or any other type of glue joint never sand the old glue off. Many glues get hard and/or crystallize when they get old so if there is a spot of glue and any raw wood at all showing when you sand the glue you'll also sand the raw wood. The raw wood will sand away more than the old glue will, since it's softer and will make a looser fitting joint.

Many glues are gap filling, which helps a loose fitting joint, but nothing will take the place of a good snug fitting wood to wood joint.

A very sharp chisel or razor knife are handy tools for removing heavy glue. Care has to be taken to not remove any wood with a sharp tool, but it's a lot easier to control than sandpaper.

Some times a little chunk of wood will be fastened tight to some old glue and will come away with the glue. If the wood can be removed from the glue it should be glued back where it came from, otherwise you should fill the hole it came from with wood filler.

If the joint has been loose for a while the wood may be compressed from wiggling around. Compressed wood in a joint will usually have a shiny smooth appearance. You can expand the wood by pouring boiling water in the hole part of the joint and placing the solid piece in a container of boiled hot water just high enough to cover the part that goes into the joint. Be very careful not to get any finished portion in the boiled water. Let the hot water work for an hour or so, then let it dry completely. The joint should be much tighter fitting.

Aliphatic hydrocarbon glue (yellow woodworkers) is the best to use on joints, it'll fill any little imperfections to help make the joint tighter.

Clamping glue joints is a must to have a strong joint. The clamp shouldn't be too tight or it'll squeeze all the glue out of the joint and make it weak, but too little pressure will leave the glue too thick, which will also make a weak joint. Air in a joint will compress when clamped and if there isn't enough pressure it will cause a piston action and cause the joint to open.

Resist the temptation to use super glue or a hot glue gun to make joint repairs. Super glue isn't good on porous surfaces and hot melt glue is as flexible after it has been melted and solidifies as it is before it's melted, so it tends to make joints flexible rather than solid.

Quick tip

If you're interested in books and videos to learn about wood, finishing, staining, refinishing and just about anything else to do with wood there is a real good selection at this link.

Refinishing hardware

Last newsletter I suggested replacing your hardware for a new appearance. In some cases that would be very expensive. I received the following email question regarding refinishing hardware. If your hardware around the house is looking old and worn and it's not antique, refinishing can make as much difference as replacing with new hardware.

If you need to replace antique hardware with new reproduction hardware the portion about the darkening solution can make your new brass take on the appearance of the antique originals.

email question.....

I have a houseful of tarnished brass doorpulls---100 or more. The house is only 15 years old preowned. Is there a way I can paint or refinish these cabinet pulls without replacing them at a small fortune? The original varnish type treatment seems to have failed at some point and they were purchased new. I love the new verdi or distressed finishes. Unfortunately all the hardware is moteled or have worn unevenly, some of it still has a high polished appearance. Thank you for any information.

reply.....

There are some products and procedures that might fix up your hardware. The mottled appearance could be from the protective lacquer finish wearing off and the area tarnishing, but it could also be from the plating wearing off. Lacquer rubbed off is easy to fix, but plating rubbed off is a bit more difficult.

The old protective clear finish needs to come off first. The clear finish is generally lacquer, try some lacquer thinner and it should dissolve the old lacquer. If the lacquer thinner doesn't do the job the clear finish could be acrylic or another finish so you'll need to use stripper. Liquid stripper (rather than paste or semi liquid) is easiest for this type of stripping.

0000 Steel wool will make the job easier and faster.

After the lacquer is off and the metal is polished you can use a brass darkening solution, which will turn the metal a dark color. After it gets to a good dark color remove it from the solution and rinse and dry it. After it's dried use 0000 steel wool to rub off the dark color on the protruding and flat areas, leaving any curves or indents with the dark color to give the appearance of age or distress. A good rubbing with the 0000 steel wool will give a high polish.

If you rub off too much just rub the balance of the dark color off and put the hardware back in the darkening solution and try it again. After you get the hardware just the way you want it give it several coats of lacquer and you've got nice new old hardware at a fraction of the cost of new.

If the mottling is from the plating being worn off you can use some of the products shown on our gilding products page of our web site. The gold leaf pen is a good one for this purpose. You may have to use a little blending to get the color closer. You may not be able to get it exact, but it should be less noticeable than a silvery color on the brass. To blend, color the worn spot with gold, then take another color felt pen, probably brown and put a few little dots on the gold, then blend with your finger or a cotton swab. Finger is best, it's lint free. Use this procedure before you use the lacquer spray.

The rub and buff is wax base so it needs to be used after the lacquer spray, because lacquer won't stick to wax. If you use rub n buff it should be on a not too frequently used pull, because it will wear off with use and have to be replaced.

If some of the hardware needs to be replaced you may be able to find replacements here.

I received a reply to my answer.....

Thank you for the suggestions that you sent regarding my brass hardware that has tarnished throughout my house. I'm sure that by doing the job myself I can save hundreds of dollars by not having to buy new. When I questioned people at (national hardware chain) and (national hardware chain) I was told nothing could be done about the situation. Now I have some hope--------Take a chance Columbus did right???

I put the (national hardware chain) in. It was ok in the original email to use their name, but they would have smacked me with a paint brush full of an icky color if I'd have sent their names off to thousands of people.

Anyway, many of the people who work as clerks are nice friendly people, but they've never used a lot of the products they sell, so if you get an answer to a question that makes you wonder if it's correct or just want another opinion just send me your question.

I don't have enough time to answer all email, but I do answer as much as possible.

I don't have all the answers, but sometimes I'll spend hours researching information to give an answer, that's one of the reasons why I run short of time.

If you ever question my information, you're always free to ask me why, or ask someone else to verify it.

Build a paint base

email question.....

I realize you may not be able to reply to this before I have to get started, but I bought a house and decided to repaint the kitchen cabinets. I went ahead and sanded off the old finish. I read your article and see that I could have just degreased and deglossed them instead. At the point I am at now, do I just paint them with a semi-gloss latex paint, or do I need to prime first?

reply.....

You'll need to prime first, otherwise the semi-gloss latex will probably soak in more in some places than others and you could end up having to apply several extra coats.

Any primer for the type of final coat paint will work good. Sand with 180 grit sandpaper after you prime to get a good smooth surface.

Quick tip

When you're building picture frames and using a four corner vise measure diagonally from one corner to the opposing diagonal corner, then diagonally in the other direction. If the measurements are exact, then your frame has exactly square corners. If the measurements are different you need to make some adjustments.

Color

Studies of color have been very thorough and show that we have some common traits as a group, but groups are made up of individuals and not all individuals are the same. Maybe your drummer has a different colored drum. The color studies are a good guideline and very beneficial in making decisions as to how you would like to make people react, but in your home you need to make your colors compatible to your family and not to the desires and whims of interior designers and decorators.

People change too and during the day different colors will have a different appeal to you and different effect on you. As your lifestyle changes your color choices will change too and age makes a difference.

Our daughter has recently made a change, which is a good example of how we change our color desires. She has always been successful at what she does right from her first stint as MC for her first kindergarten musical program to her present day new job.

She has always been an industrious worker and in her late teens she fulfilled one of her greatest desires, a bright red Camaro. She then traded the red Camaro for a red Thunderbird. It was very striking, a beautiful blonde in a red classy car, but as teenagers will do, she tipped into the twenties and proceeded to her present condition of a quarter of a century old. A few months ago she left a successful job to take another job with more opportunity for the future and she decided she needed a new car, but she said she had always had red cars and she was ready for a change. She has become very successful in her new job and has become more conservative. A couple of weeks ago she got her new car, a black Honda Civic.

That's a pretty good example of how we change our color desires and how color can describe a person in general, from the exciting abandonment of the teenage years to an age of getting a taste of life under your belt and realizing there's comfort in settling into a good life.

Just a quick note to the parents of teenagers. You too will some day get to relax with a big sigh of relief. Watch their color choices.

I almost forgot, she kept the red Thunderbird too. She's a very versatile young lady.

Favorite colors are perceived more in the heart than in the mind. Think of your favorite color. Can you say why you like that color? Probably the best answer would be just because you do. That's the color that's best for you personally.

When choosing colors to use on your furniture it's best to use colors that are compatible to all members of your family. If you paint a kitchen table a color that you think is real neat, but another member of the family walks into the room and says, "Bleck!!", it's time to change the color if you want to keep unity among those who will gather around it.

Next time we'll start with the effect each color on our moods. Each color has effects from very subtle to very rattling, depending on the situation, so we'll take each color at a time and give a good description.

Unfinished chairs

email question.....

I recently purchased some pressed back oak chairs from a company called Wood-You. When I begin to stain these chairs am I going to go through the sanding process first even though the store sands its items down. Then in between the staining process do I need to resand the chairs again.

Third question: Is tung oil a good finisher for the final coat or would polyurithane be better.

reply.....

You probably should figure on sanding again. Most unfinished furniture is machine sanded and has occasional skips. Even those who advertise hand sanding will sometimes leave skips. When you look at the amount of furniture they would have to sand by hand it would take an awful lot of time and would leave them with some pretty sore muscles. Where ever there is a skip the stain will soak in more and will make a darker blotch.

A pair of cotton gardening gloves are real handy while you're sanding. Put on a glove and run your hand over the surface and you'll be able to feel any rough spots. Sand everything equally though, don't just sand the rough areas. Sand with about 180 grit sandpaper. Always sand in the same direction as the grain pattern in the wood.

Don't sand after staining, where the wood grain is hardest the stain doesn't soak in very deep and you would probably sand the color off.

Tung oil is a real good finish, especially if you haven't done much finishing. It's easy to apply and easy to repair if it gets scratched or marred. It isn't as hard as polyurethane, but is easier to maintain. If you go over the furniture once a year with 0000 steel wool and a good cleaner, then apply another coat of tung oil your furniture stays new looking all the time.

I would recommend polymerized tung oil, more about it on our tung oil web page. Here is a good source to purchase polymerized tung oil. It's called Chinawood Oil. Chinawood Oil is another name for tung oil as it originated in China a few centuries ago. This tung oil is used on decks, so you can tell it would have to be pretty durable stuff.

You can find more about unfinished furniture on our unfinished furniture web page

Quick Tip

If you need a quick fix for a scratch or gouge in a piece of furniture and you have a child with lots of crayons you're in luck. Scrape a few colors of crayon into a jar lid and using pliers to hold the jar lid heat the crayon colors on a low heat burner on the stove or over a candle. Keep adding different colors until you get an exact match for color, then use a toothpick to fill the void with wax color, scrape it even with a credit card or similar item, then buff with a soft cloth.

Word of caution, crayons are wax and wax is extremely flammable, so use great caution. I normally don't recommend heating things this way, but you will have a very small amount of crayon scrapings and if it does catch fire don't panic, just stand in one spot holding the lid with the pliers until you get over the yipes situation.