Tony Boone Posted May 10, 2003 Share Posted May 10, 2003 Just finished 20 hours of hand sanding my La Scala cabinets. As I've said before these were hanging in a deli\bar for some 25 years. (If they could talk the stories they'd tell.) One was directly over the bar and above the bar stools and the other was off to the side a bit. One cabinet looks in almost new condition all nice and clean and raw birch like the pic on this website (9\10). The other one has more wear on it and is somewhat darker after having been stripped and sanded (7.5\10). It also has a couple of dark water stains one of which is on the top. I guess I could use more stripper and do some more sanding on the second cabinet but I really don't feel like it. At least not tonight. I have a gallon of Minwax clear satin fast drying polyurethane. I guess I can live with the disparity in the two finishes but I have been thinking of maybe using a colored stain instead. I do like the raw birch finish though and was hoping to keep that theme. What thoughts do you guys have on alternative colored finishes? I prefer the natural birch finish and like cherry but maybe I'm looking for something just dark enough to give both cabinets a consistent look. Thanks in advance, Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted May 10, 2003 Share Posted May 10, 2003 My Cornwall's were originally raw birch treated with tons of Linseed oil and furniture wax. Over the years they turned a kind of unattractive yellow. They also had water stains (potted plants), paint overspray and various other blemishes on them. I bleached and sanded the heck out of them. Then had them professionally stained and satin finished for $60 each. Before the refinishing they would have been about a 4 as far as looks go, and after about a 9+. You can see them by clicking the link below. Regards, Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted May 10, 2003 Share Posted May 10, 2003 Most unfinished furniture stores have displays showing various stains on different kinds of unfinished wood. Home depot also has these displays in their minwax section. I found them helpful when trying to match other woods in the room. Personal preference once again. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Boone Posted May 10, 2003 Author Share Posted May 10, 2003 Just got back from Lowes having purchase a rougher grit sandpaper along with the grits I was using before. Going to go over the second cabinet again and see what I can do with it. Possible that I put more effort in the first one and was pretty tired by the time I got to the second one. I like the light birch finish and will use the clear satin polyurethane after I get to best result from my stripping and sanding efforts. After all they were hanging above a bar for 25 years so I can't expect perfection. The imperfections just add character in addition to the fact that these were an icon for that period of time in a local college hang out and deli. Starting to chomp at the bit to listen to these babies with all the new diaphragms in tweeters and new woofers. Will be working tonight if my energy holds out. Thanks for the responses. Will post some pics soon. Regards, Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluless Posted May 10, 2003 Share Posted May 10, 2003 Tony- Investigate using oxalic acid (my mom used to use oxalic acid & vinegar on solid woods) to remove the black water stain and lightening the discolored wood. You may have to re-sand a bit. Then after that remember that most stains/finishes darken somewhat over time, and you can use one coat of stain on the dark speaker and 2 coats on the lighter speaker. Just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Q-Man Posted May 10, 2003 Share Posted May 10, 2003 If you decide to stain them first apply a wood conditioner. Birch is a wood that doesn't take stain well and will look blotchy and dull in spots. Sand sand sand, that is the secret to good finish work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted May 10, 2003 Share Posted May 10, 2003 ---------------- On 5/10/2003 11:31:13 AM ChrisKing wrote: My Cornwall's were originally raw birch treated with tons of Linseed oil and furniture wax. Over the years they turned a kind of unattractive yellow. They also had water stains (potted plants), paint overspray and various other blemishes on them. I bleached and sanded the heck out of them. Then had them professionally stained and satin finished for $60 each. Before the refinishing they would have been about a 4 as far as looks go, and after about a 9+. You can see them by clicking the link below. Regards, Chris ---------------- Chris, Man, your Cornwalls look awesome! Do you recall the color of stain that the refinishers used? I've got a La Scala refinishing project and wondering what I would do for stain. Also, is your finish polyurethane? Appreciate your thoughts. Dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Boone Posted May 10, 2003 Author Share Posted May 10, 2003 ---------------- On 5/10/2003 9:14:01 PM Q-Man wrote: If you decide to stain them first apply a wood conditioner. Birch is a wood that doesn't take stain well and will look blotchy and dull in spots. Sand sand sand, that is the secret to good finish work. ---------------- Will check into the wood conditioner. However, if I sand anymore unless its 600 grit used for varnish I'm afraid I'll remove the entire top layer. At least that's been suggested and I've been warned about it. Thanks, Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Boone Posted May 10, 2003 Author Share Posted May 10, 2003 ---------------- On 5/10/2003 7:23:54 PM cluless wrote: Investigate using oxalic acid (my mom used to use oxalic acid & vinegar on solid woods) to remove the black water stain and lightening the discolored wood. ---------------- Seems like I've heard that before. Will look into it. I've gotten them stripped and sanded, ready for finish. I'm in no hurry to do that, at least not in the next few days. That will give me time to research these last two posts. They're looking much better though. Sure is hard work but I know I wouldn't be able to enjoy them in any other condition. A bit anal retentive I suppose. Regards, Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Boone Posted May 10, 2003 Author Share Posted May 10, 2003 ---------------- Chris, Man, your Cornwalls look awesome! Dee ---------------- They do look great. Looks cherry to me but not sure. I do like the color but also like the raw birch. Guess I'm a purist or something. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted May 11, 2003 Share Posted May 11, 2003 Hey tony , Ive restored about 15 or 20 pairs of la-scalas and one tip i'll pass on to you and anyone else dealing with birch. Birch and maple are 2 woods that do not take to be stained , at least not like oak or other hardwoods. The most successfull manner is to use a alcohol base spray stain, now this may not be possible for you, that i'm not sure of. pro results can be achieved at home but are not easy. Have you given any thought to a tung oil finish ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Boone Posted May 12, 2003 Author Share Posted May 12, 2003 ---------------- On 5/11/2003 9:40:16 PM DALE WALKER wrote: Birch and maple are 2 woods that do not take to be stained , at least not like oak or other hardwoods. Have you given any thought to a tung oil finish ? ---------------- Well no. Actually the first time I heard about Tung Oil was here so that should give you some idea as to my previous wood refinishing experience. I'll entertain all ideas. What does it look like when applied? I'd like to keep a light finish as close to the original birch as possible. More a sealer than an actual colored stain but just enough color to bring out the beauty. Does that make sense? Thanks, Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted May 12, 2003 Share Posted May 12, 2003 TONY: here is a picture of the last pair of lascalas that i have, these ones are stained in a fawn colour then bear tung-oil. The tung oil can be applied then lightly scuffed and reapplied with as many coats as you desire. More than 3 would likly be wastefull though. This is a hand rubbed out finish, the more elbow grease you put into the project the more gloss and depth the finish have. This pair has 2 coats of tung oil and " no " polishing at all . Very smooth and durable finish. Sometimes steel wool is used for rubbing between coats 00 or 000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisK Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 Dee, Sorry 'bout the delay getting back to you. My Cornwall's were not stained Cherry. That red color you see is what appeared when the shop started adding some brown stain to the yellow color they had turned over the years. Actually they are not quite as red as they appear in the photograph. I'm not sure what brand of coating they used but it is an extremely smooth satin. One last thing, the shop owner made me promise to NEVER use any kind of wax, wood cleaner or anything but a damp cloth on them. He said that modern finishing materials will outlast the wood and wax only attracts dust and dirt. Regards, Chris BTW They were originally raw birch and took the stain just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted May 13, 2003 Share Posted May 13, 2003 How does tung oil compare to boiled linseed oil. I used BLO on some stained maple and it really looked nice although I never heard of anyone using it other than for restoration purposes such as restoring dried out/previously oiled wood. This was on unfinished maple that I put a light stain on. I've only done shelves and it's not to late to switch to tung oil. Maybe I'll get some and compare. Any thoughts/experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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