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Polished furniture has a very “ceremonial” look. It is quite specific, but many people like it. The difficulty lies in the fact that it is easy to spoil a shiny surface, and it is difficult to restore its attractiveness. Often the only way out is to polish the furniture.
The most common problem is scratches. You can still get rid of small ones with the help of polishes with special properties. Deep ones, with damage to the very wood or veneer, can only be removed with new polishing (if it is old Soviet-era furniture covered with nitro-lacquer). To do this, first completely remove the entire old coating, then apply varnish and grind the entire part completely. That is, polishing furniture – new or old – occurs according to one algorithm, with the only difference being that the old layer of varnish has to be removed.
If the product is newer, it is most likely covered with a thick layer of varnish. If the scratch is deep, but has not reached the veneer or wood, the situation is somewhat simpler. First, the scratched layer is peeled off with sandpaper at 80 and 120. Then it is polished with finer grains. Then one or two layers of varnish are applied, after drying – polished.
Another case where furniture polishing may be required is when the varnish becomes cloudy or yellowing. This often happens. The treatment is also not easy – the complete removal of the old varnish and the application of a new one with polishing. Similarly, problems are solved with all other traces that cannot be removed by conventional means (read about the restoration of polished, veneered, wooden furniture here).
Another point: furniture polishing is done only and exclusively in a horizontal position. To do this, you often have to disassemble everything. It’s difficult, but there is no other way. You can only work on a horizontal surface.
Pre-sanding
Furniture polishing is a long process and it starts with polishing. First, all cracks and other defects are covered with putty on wood that is suitable in color. After its complete drying (the period is indicated on the label), grinding begins.
A sander is best for polishing wood or veneer. Tape go disk – a matter of taste and preference, it also depends on the complexity of the shape of the furniture. You will also need a set of sandpaper with a grain of coarse (80) to very fine (1200).
In extreme cases, an angle grinder with a special nozzle (disc and Velcro) may come up. But when working with it, it is difficult to achieve a really good result – there is no required mobility of the sanding platform, so the result of such wood polishing will not be above average.
We start grinding with grain 80. We work with it carefully, removing only large irregularities. Then we repeat the processing with a sandpaper at 120, then – 180 and 240. During the work, it is necessary to periodically remove dust and inspect the surface for irregularities and other defects. sometimes they are better defined by touch.
Then we take water and sandpaper with a grain of 320. Wet the surface to be sanded and the sandpaper. We grind everything again, but with water. At this stage, you should get a good result – everything should be smooth. If everything suits, we move on, if not, we grind for some more time.
Primer
It is necessary to prime wooden and veneered surfaces so that the varnish lies more evenly. When grinding, we opened most of the pores, released some of the fibers. If you immediately cover them with varnish, it will be absorbed unevenly, due to which the surface will become stained. The primer closes most of the pores, so that the varnish will lie more evenly.
Priming veneer coated furniture can be done in two ways. The first is fast, but accompanied by a strong smell. It is necessary to take a nitro varnish or polyurethane varnish, dilute it by 10-20% (depending on the initial density), cover the surface.
The second method of priming is long, but correct and almost odorless. We take epoxy glue, a soft cloth swab. Better – flannel, preferably white, so that it does not shed and does not change the color of the furniture. With this swab we rub the epoxy into the veneer.
While everything dries, dust will definitely stick to the surface. It must be removed. Again, this can be done in two ways: scraping and grinding. If scraping – we take a sharp blade (it is possible from a wallpaper knife) and we clean off everything superfluous with it. In order not to damage the veneer, you need to move the blade along the fibers. With grinding, everything is known: sandpaper with a grain of 320 and water. The prepared surface is cleaned of dust, washed with water, dried. After drying, varnish can be applied.
Actually, further polishing of furniture may not be necessary. Already at this stage, the product looks decent.
Applying varnish
Immediately about which varnishes are best to use. The best are alkyd (Tikkurila Unika-super series), polyurethane and water-polymer (good – Swedish Bask).
Despite the lack of smell, water-based varnish is not the best choice for the first varnishing experience. It is essentially a water-based suspension. But it is not nearly as harmless as it is commonly believed. Water-based varnishes contain very harmful solvents, however, in small quantities. Just the usual acetone and others cannot keep such a composition in a stable state. So you have to use much more “cool” solvents.
This is by the way, but the reason is essentially different – the complexity of processing. When varnish is applied, water is absorbed into the wood fibers, they rise. As a result, after the first treatment, the surface is far from smooth, but very rough. This effect is especially pronounced on pine products. So after the first layer of water-based varnish has dried, we take an angle grinder or a grinder, we cling a sandpaper with a grain of 320 to it and grind it to smoothness. If you are lucky, the next layer will lie flat and the pile will not rise again, if not, you will have to repeat the operation again. The situation is not fatal, of course, but unpleasant. This does not happen with other varnishes.
How to apply varnish
Now a little about how to apply varnish. Professionals believe that the best is spraying from a spray gun. Maybe it is so, but not all home craftsmen have such a device, and you also need to be able to work with an airbrush. Of the manual methods of application, a popular method is application with a piece of foam rubber (you can use a new kitchen sponge) or a fabric swab (the fabric is soft, white, lint-free). To decide, you need to try what is more convenient for you, how it turns out smoother (if it works at all).
The next method is with a small foam roller. Suitable if a surface of a simple shape without small details is varnished (a door leaf, for example).
The use of a brush when varnishing furniture, oddly enough, is in last place. The fact is that it is difficult to apply a layer of varnish evenly in this way. You need a good brush with soft, thick, natural bristles, which in no case should climb.
Technology
Regardless of the chosen method of applying varnish, its layers should be thin, of uniform thickness. On a brush / sponge / roller / swab we take a little money, rub it over the surface as thoroughly as possible. We dip in the varnish next time only after the “tool” no longer leaves traces. In this way, cover the entire surface, leave to dry.
The applied layer of varnish does not dry completely, but the time indicated on the package of varnish in the column “to touch” or “applying the next layer”. On average, for water-based varnishes it is 1 hour, for alkyd – 5 hours. The next layer is applied in the same way. The total number of layers is usually from 5 to 9, depending on the quality of the veneer and preliminary grinding. When the surface becomes absolutely even, the varnish is dried until completely dry – 2-3 days. After that, grinding starts again.
polishing varnish
The process is the same as in preparation, only we use skins with a finer grain – starting from 400. Be sure to grind with water – moisten the surface and sandpaper. Having finished processing, we attach sandpaper with 600 grain, then with 1000 and 1200.
This stage is the last one before the actual polishing. After this treatment, the surface must be absolutely even, uniform, without defects.
Furniture polishing
The final stage is finishing with polishing paste. To do this, you need a polishing paste. You can use furniture, but more often used automotive. Any one that does not contain wax is suitable (for example, “Antitsirapin”). A good result is given by those in which there is at least a small percentage of Teflon. They also smooth out small scratches and inhomogeneities.
Polishing furniture after varnishing requires less time than all the others. For this stage, natural felt is required – they rub the paste over the surface. In order not to work manually, a felt circle cut to size is attached to the Velcro of a grinder or angle grinder. Paste is applied to the surface to be polished, the grinder is turned on at maximum speed and the furniture is brought to the desired degree of gloss. With good preparation, it is possible to get a mirror surface.