OT. Period furniture stripping?

[robgil]

I have a big refectory table, it is brown.
It's Oak but has that brown grain painted onto it and a brown varnish painted over the top. Its like that 'Old Charm' furniture, not very old and not very charming.
I can sand the varnish off and paint stripper will also remove it however the painted on grain is quite deep into the Oak and is difficult to remove, it is black and when waxed or oiled it shines through and the table will look like a Zebra.
I don t want to risk dipping, apart from the 75 quid cost it could darken the Oak as it is caustic.
Any ideas on how to proceed?
I will take some photos later if I get a chance.

 

[LadyArowana]

Does the paint stripper lift off the black paint at all?

 

[plasticpigeon]

Don't dip it!!! I don't know what painted on grain is. Has the grain been filled with a dark grain filler so the dark is just in the pores? If it is grain filled I think it could still look good so long as the varnish has been taken off evenly and then it is refinished. It would look better stained slightly darker than natural I'd have thought. Do you have a picture?

 

[Penners]

As plasticpigeon has said, it's quite possible that the oak has been treated with a grain filler. This will be a b*gger to remove. It's a paste that does as its name suggests - fills all the pores in the grain of the wood (and oak has quite deep pores) to enable to "perfect" finish to be applied on top.

Assuming you've stripped off the top finish, I would try giving the table a good scrub with detergenty water and a stiff scrubbing brush. I offer no guarantees that this will work, but it's probably worth a try.

If that doesn't work then - at your own risk - try using the scrubbing brush with some cellulose thinners. But do try a test patch first - perhaps underneath or somewhere insignificant - to see what effect it has. Wear goggles and rubber gloves and do it outdoors.

If all else fails (or maybe before all else fails) I'd give Strippers of Sudbury a call and see what they suggest.

 

[robgil]

Thanks guys, it could well be a grain filler. I did think it was just a build up of Oak Tannin under the varnish as I think that turns the Oak black however a grain filler makes more sense. I have taken the varnish off and will give it a light sanding to get to the clean wood however this filler cannot be sanded off as it is too deep into the grain.
If I can find out what it is made from thern I should be able to figure out what can dissolve it.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Is the table old, say from the first part of the 20th century or before? I would imagine the grain filler could be part of the original finish, it's unlikely to have been done during a diy varnishing job, and if stained a medium oak or a bit darker could look good I think. It just depends what finish you are after. I really don't think you will get grain filler out and looking nice although of course there is no harm in trying, it might just be a lot of work for a disappointing result. If you really really want a light oak type finish then I'd be tempted to plane the top as scraping would take forever, and sanding even longer and would probably make the surface bumpy, but it's not something I would ever do myself as I don't mind darker wood furniture!

 

[robgil]

Im not sure how old it is, not too old. 1960's perhaps looking at the screws holding it together. I like the golden colour Oak takes on after a while with the help of a little linseed oil. I have read laquer thinners might dissolve it?

 

[robgil]

The varnish is all stripped now. Penners I did try some thinners and it did work, it didnt work wonders but it did soften the filler after a while. Its going to be hard work.
I was using a tooth brush though to minimise any impact on the wood but it dried off and didnt stain so perhaps a more agressive approach will shift the rest.

This is the varnish,

This is it removed,

And this is the grain filler stuff , This is how it looks when wet.

 

[LadyArowana]

It's progressing well, just keep going and all will be fine. I did similar with an oak window seat, took ages to get to the point where the soapy water wasn't brown and yucky. After that I let it dry completely and gave it the Osmo treatment. The wood fared very well, surface still nice and smooth, enough to put silk cushions on without any snagging......... which I know because being a girl I dress the bed during the day and then Teddy and the cushions have to be put somewhere else. Good luck.

 

[Penners]

The varnish is all stripped now. Penners I did try some thinners and it did work, it didnt work wonders but it did soften the filler after a while. Its going to be hard work.
I was using a tooth brush though to minimise any impact on the wood but it dried off and didnt stain so perhaps a more agressive approach will shift the rest.

That looks like excellent progress, Rob. Did you use cellulose thinners, or just white spirit/turpentine? If the latter, then you might find the former more effective. As for your choice of brush, a toothbrush may be a bit feeble. Personally I wouldn't worry about a scrubbing brush damaging oak. Just use your judgement in how hard you scrub.

 

[robgil]

Thats a good job LadyArowana, what did you finish it with?
It was cellulose thinners I used Penners, I only got a tiny little bottle to test it with and the tooth brush was only to test also, I shall use a big scrubbing brush when I get more thinners. Some of the planks look pink so I may need to sand more first.

 

[LadyArowana]

I had a big tin of Osmo Polyx? that the chaps had used to do the oak floorboards, so I gave that a try and it seemed to do a great job and I carried on and did the whole thing. As I remember they said it was quite an expensive product but went a long way. I used it on an unfinished oak shelf as well ( the person that made it did them raw or shiny and I wasn't sure about glossy varnish ) and it made that look great too, so I am a fan.

 

[robgil]

It looks really good. I use linseed oil my self, first coat I mix with a little white spirit.
This is a table I did earlier.

I like oil because it wears down after a while and needs topping up, so It's a nice patina in the making.

 

[LadyArowana]

That looks like a great project too. Will your little one be test driving it with some wax crayons and paper soon?

 

[robgil]

That looks like a great project too. Will your little one be test driving it with some wax crayons and paper soon?

Absolutely, and marker pens, food , ink, paints , Ribena, glitter, and not forgetting stabbing it with pens and the like. She also likes to dance on it from time to time.

 

[Penners]

Rob, I expect you know this but if you use a more aggressive scrubbing brush, just be sure only to scrub along the grain - never across.

 

[robgil]

Rob, I expect you know this but if you use a more aggressive scrubbing brush, just be sure only to scrub along the grain - never across.

Will do Penners, I will be sanding afterwards with a medium sandpaper so should remove most marks and raised grain.