woodwood-finishing
I have an old wood dining table which I would like to sand down and refinish. Unfortunately it has many deep gouges in it. I am hoping that there is some sort of wax finish that I can use that can also fill in these gouges. I am imagining that I can heat the wax to liquify it and let it fill in the gaps and harden… Does such a wax exist?
Ideally I would like to go with a natural entirely non-toxic product…
Thank you!
I'd use plywood with a thicker piece of hardwood glued onto the front edge. This gives you very good strength. Here is an online calculator I use to find what kind of materials you can use and the amount of sag you will have. Here's a good quote from the author of the site.
“The eye will notice a deflection of 1/32″ per running foot.”
Per the question, I used Minwax until it faded, but it was still quite obvious and visible (close to the last pic in the question post).
Then, taking a page from the "mayo and ashes" tip, I mixed 1-part mayonnaise (Hellman's) to 1-part baking soda (not baking powder; I used Arm & Hammer brand) as a cigarette ashes replacement. I rubbed the mixture along the grain directions using a paper towel and some pressure.
The stain faded, then vanished. The resulting wood is smooth, and considering the baking soda is abrasive, appears unscratched. After wiping off the mayo mix, my table may smell like a turkey sandwich, but it's beautiful again.
Now all I have to do is polish off all the Minwax buildup from my earlier cleaning attempts.
I would never have thought of going with the grain had I not spoken to the lady from Restore and Adore, and had the baking soda idea fell through, I would have gone with the "last resort" 4 0 steel wool with a lot of Minwax applied.
Pic of the repair:
Best Answer
Such a wax exists... but before we use it how deep xare these gouges? If you took a fork and dragged it deeply across a finished tabletop you could/would fill the damage with colored beeswax. Deeper gouges would necessitate different fillers, colored shellac sticks heated and melted into the holes works well. Typically, however, if you're sanding off the entire finish, you'd do that carefully and then look again at your problems. Sand only in dire straits..
Is the rest if the finish okay? Sanding destroys a good piece.. Proceed with great caution... do as little as possible. If it's just an ordinary thing - be careful here too - strip it gently, clean per instruction, seal with sanding sealer.. Adjust color, and THEN match a color. If its a good piece, there's a lot to know so you don't ruin it.