refinishing GC3 wood

[dannyd]

I just finished staining my GC3 wood parts.
After sanding I tried using Minwax mahogany stain. It looked good but then I decided to try to get a finish close to the original which does not show as much grain.
I used Minwax Polyshade red chestnut on top of the mahogany stain.
This is poly plus stain mixed together. You can control exactly how much grain you want showing through by the thickness of the layer.
It brushed on like paint but is translucent. I spread it out just enough to let some of the lighter grain show through like the original factory finish.
It worked great. The inside of the ball box is still the original finish and the Polyshade Red Chestnut is a great match. There is just enough grain showing to give it that wood look. If you put it on too thick it will just look like dark brown paint. I could have used just the Polyshade and skipped the mahogany stain and achieved the same results. I will post pics asap.

 

[dannyd]

The pieces looked great last night in the garage however today when the sunlight hit them the color is off. Too much chestnut color and not enough rosewood color like the inside of the ball box that was not refinished.
The colors clash too much to be acceptable.
Unfortunately the room where this table is going will have sunlight so it looks like I will be striping everything today!

 

[rrich1]

Always do a test area!

 

[javi2]

The pieces looked great last night in the garage however today when the sunlight hit them the color is off. Too much chestnut color and not enough rosewood color like the inside of the ball box that was not refinished.
The colors clash too much to be acceptable.
Unfortunately the room where this table is going will have sunlight so it looks like I will be striping everything today!

I've had some luck touching some nicks up on my III with a Cherry 235 finish.
As previously mention...do a test section to make sure.....my table is in my basement, it's never seen sunlight.

 

[mike253]

After a little experimenting, I found that Minwax red mahogany was a spot on match for the rails on my GC3 when applied properly. In my case, that involved the following:

- Sand to 180 grit (any finer and the stain wouldn't soak in properly)

- Apply first coat with foam brush and let it sit for 20 minutes

- Wipe off the excess, keep wiping with clean towels until they don't feel wet anymore

- Let the piece sit 24 hours, then wipe it down again with clean towels

- Apply 2nd coat with foam brush, wipe it off right away

- Let the piece sit 24 hours, then do a final wipe down with clean towels

 

[Ken_4fun]

Do a search on powder coating the parts. You can do a search on my name if you like.

I think I spent about $75 redoing mine and it was worth every penny.

Call me if you want to talk.

Ken

 

[dannyd]

After a little experimenting, I found that Minwax red mahogany was a spot on match for the rails on my GC3 when applied properly. In my case, that involved the following:

- Sand to 180 grit (any finer and the stain wouldn't soak in properly)

- Apply first coat with foam brush and let it sit for 20 minutes

- Wipe off the excess, keep wiping with clean towels until they don't feel wet anymore

- Let the piece sit 24 hours, then wipe it down again with clean towels

- Apply 2nd coat with foam brush, wipe it off right away

- Let the piece sit 24 hours, then do a final wipe down with clean towels

That's what I first did and should have left it at that.
Did you ever use a pre-stain wood conditioner?
Says it's recommended to prevent blotching.
I stripped the pieces and they still have some stain in them.
I am wonder if I should pad sand them again down to bare wood or just stain as is.

 

[mike253]

You absolutely need to keep going until you get to bare wood, otherwise you won't get a uniform finish no matter what you do.

I did not use a pre-stain. I did sand several times (80 - 120 - 150 - 180) which probably went a long way in uniformly opening up the grain of the wood. Using a foam brush instead of a bristle brush made it much easier for me to "work" the stain while applying it. If I noticed any dark spots, I'd work that bit of stain out a little more.

When it was time to wipe off the excess after each coat of stain, I used paper towels instead of cotton rags. Seemed that the cottom soaked up to much at once. I'd start by going end to end (with the grain) to remove the majority of the excess. After that first pass, I'd keep going until all the excess was gone, but instead of end to end, I used a random "circular" motion to help ensure that I got even coverage.

My results were strictly from "trial and error".. I had never re-finished any wood prior to this project. Matter of fact, I debated leaving the blinds as they were because I was afraid I'd screw them up. Finally one night about 3 a.m. while I was down in the basement working on something else, I said "screw it" and ran my palm sander down one of the long blinds. Didn't have much choice other than completing the project at that point