ocpanther

I thought I would give refinishing my wood a shot. I picked up a few pieces at a junk yard for almost nothing so I figured ... "what the heck" it will just be a waste of my time and a learning process.

So here is my story so far ...

ocpanther

Here is what I started with ...



My center part around the shifter is the worst so I started there.

ocpanther

I then removed all the plastic pieces from the back as I was planning to use a chem stripper and I heard that it will melt the plastic.

ocpanther

Was the chemical stripper ... it was easy to spray on and then wipe off with steal wool. I used a putty knife to gently drag all the heavy debris off. I didn't take any pictures of this part as it was smelly and I was worried for my cameras health.

Here it is after it was stripped and cleaned with cold water.



then i sanded it with 320 and then 600 grit, just to knock down the fuzz that raised from the water wash.

ocpanther

and now with the stain applied ...

ps2cho

Are you planning to apply clearcoat? That is the step I struggled with the most...It was very, very hard to get it smooth and layered enough to give a "depth".

ocpanther

I am applying a laquer over the stain as the protective and "clear" coats. It is drying now from the stain and I will start on the clear tomorrow, but I went with a spray can as I read several struggels (including yours ps2cho) with brush on and sanding. I really like the way marine wood finish looks so I went and researched that technique.

We will see how this comes out ... I have two other center shifter pieces if I totally screw this up. I tested out the laquer on another piece of wood and it looks amazing .. so I have my fingers crossed.

ps2cho

Make sure to post which spray you used if it comes out successful!

Carfreak

Great post. I look forward to seeing the final result.

mjrhouston

I've just completed two of these, aerosol spray is pretty tricky, what stripper did you use?

ocpanther

The Jasco aerosol stripper. It took about ten times being applied and took almost everything off clean. There was one spot at the bottom I ended up sanding the rest of the clear off, but it came out fine.

mjrhouston

thanks for the response, if you have not started the finish coats, I would highly recommend you put on 2 coats of sealer (minwax is good), otherwise the wood will absorb the varnish and raise the grain, you will be sanding for a long time....

mjrhouston

How did you get the front clips off of the back? Are they stapled and glued?

ps2cho

They are stapled. You can probably glue them back on with the right adhesive as it's not like they are stressed a whole lot.

ocpanther

My plastic parts were stapled and glued. I only lifted the staples from the wood (with an awl) but left them in the plastic. Then I very carefully lifted the plastic (that goes around all the switches) with a tiny flathead screw driver.

ocpanther

So after cleaning it all up and getting a coat of stain on the wood I started on the clear.

This is with two coats.



Then I realized I fotgot tp sand it again AFTER the stain. Dammit.

Sanded (alomst everything off) and smooth, back to adding clear. 10x coats later



Sanded again to get the waves out ... then another 10x coats.



Here it is before the final sanding ... about 20x coats.




I have to sand it one more time ... then I think it will be time for the final shine.

ps2cho

Looking MUCH better than the brush on clear...What brand of clear and grit sandpaper are you using?

ocpanther

Thanks !!

I am using a rustoleum spray laquer. It can be reapplied every few minutes without any extra prep or major drying time.

The sandpaper is 320 for the rough and 600 wet/dry for the finish. I will put up a pic of the whole tool set I used.

I am going to try to take a better pic of the depth. It really looks thick now.

ocpanther

Here is all the stuff I used. Along with a spray can of Jasco stripper.



Ok ... well not the zippo and the propane ... but it was close at times.

ocpanther

I am letting it setup before my last sanding, but here it is ...

ps2cho

Well I bought a spray lacquer and dug out my piece. I am on my 8th coat right now and I tell you it really is 10x easier...Man...LOL

I plan to do 50-60 coats I think. I want a real deep coat Will post pictures tomorrow. It flashes real fast in the sun 1min between each coat.

ocpanther

thats great ... one warning, even if it feels dry it isnt set. i left my thumbprint in it last night trying to take those pictures.

speedracervroom

looking good. anyone know a good stain color for burlwood? i wanna redo mine also

ocpanther

I will tell you right off the stain I used does NOT match the original pieces. It is really close but doesn't have the red in it that it needs.

I am going to try to find a formula for mixing the stain I bought with something like a cherry stain to see if I can match it closer to the original.

speedracervroom

let me know what u come up with.

i did this on my old 300E 4 door and it came out nice just didnt put alot of layers on the clear cause when i was close to done i sold it. now i wanna do it on my wagon but the right way 20+ layers