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Sanding furniture

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Jedi Knight
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Hey guys,
I need a little furniture refinishing help. I have a dresser made of pine with a dark stain on it. I would like to sand thru the stain and start with clear (unfinished) wood. Regular sandpaper will work fine for flat surfaces, but the molding I am going to have trouble with. I know they have sanding pads that conform to your work, but I wonder how well they work? I remember a product many years ago that would mold itself to the piece and seemed to work well. It was sold on T.V. as one of the early infomercials. Does anybody know what I'm talking about or where I might get some OR just a good idea on how to remove stain from pine? Any ideas would be great.
grin.gif
 
You have a *lot* of sanding ahead. Pine is soft, and stain sinks in deep. Try an unexposed test bit first; you may find you'd have to sand 1/4" off the surfaces. Not good.

For sanding the twisty bits, I use a Dremel with a small sanding wheel. Also, one of the small conical "grinding" points will come in handy. Buy *lots* of these - you'll need 'em.

Hmmm - have you thought of just doing a surface sand and then trying to bleach it? Then re-stain?

You mentioned <span style="font-style: italic">"sand thru the stain and start with clear (unfinished) wood."</span> Do you mean *after* you get to clear wood you'd stain again ? Or that you'd just leave that clear surface and put polyurethane (or oil) over it? or ...?

Tom
 
mailbox said:
Hey guys,
I need a little furniture refinishing help. I have a dresser made of pine with a dark stain on it. I would like to sand thru the stain and start with clear (unfinished) wood. Regular sandpaper will work fine for flat surfaces, but the molding I am going to have trouble with. I know they have sanding pads that conform to your work, but I wonder how well they work? I remember a product many years ago that would mold itself to the piece and seemed to work well. It was sold on T.V. as one of the early infomercials. Does anybody know what I'm talking about or where I might get some OR just a good idea on how to remove stain from pine? Any ideas would be great.
grin.gif
Click to expand...

Mailbox, You can buy the soft sanding pads your referring to from Harbor Freight. Fine, medium and course, in packs.
 
Re bleach
Yes pine is soft and if it was a penetrating stain as used many years ago you will never have clear wood witout removing a lot of material
Wood bleach will not go through stain.You will end up with some effect of the bleach but you will not like it.
 
I've done a fair amount of cabinet work, and I've pretty much stopped using sandpaper. For all my finishing work I use cabinet scrapers. Provided they are burnished properly, they cut much faster then paper (unless you're using a machine), and they leave the surface much clearer and doesn't dull done any important edges. It's not all mushy like when sandpaper is used, especially on mouldings. In the long run, scrapers are also cheaper to use then sandpaper.

However, as mentioned earlier, the stain may run deep on that pine, so test on an inconspicuous spot to see how deep it runs.
 
NutmegCT said:
You have a *lot* of sanding ahead. Pine is soft, and stain sinks in deep. Try an unexposed test bit first; you may find you'd have to sand 1/4" off the surfaces. Not good.

For sanding the twisty bits, I use a Dremel with a small sanding wheel. Also, one of the small conical "grinding" points will come in handy. Buy *lots* of these - you'll need 'em.

Hmmm - have you thought of just doing a surface sand and then trying to bleach it? Then re-stain?

You mentioned <span style="font-style: italic">"sand thru the stain and start with clear (unfinished) wood."</span> Do you mean *after* you get to clear wood you'd stain again ? Or that you'd just leave that clear surface and put polyurethane (or oil) over it? or ...?

Tom
Click to expand...

Sorry I havent replied sooner. Been a little busy. A Dremel is out of the question. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much sanding. My "plan" is to remove the stain then restain a lighter color. I have done some sanding thru to clear wood and it wont take too much wood off, just a lot of curves and such. I think a paint job may be in order.
grin.gif
 
Aint worth it. Garage sale item.
grin.gif
 
mailbox said:
Sorry I havent replied sooner. Been a little busy. A Dremel is out of the question. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much sanding. My "plan" is to remove the stain then restain a lighter color. I have done some sanding thru to clear wood and it wont take too much wood off, just a lot of curves and such. I think a paint job may be in order.
grin.gif
Click to expand...

Ack! paint is better on cars!

Here's a step-by-step on using hydrogen peroxide bleach on stained wood, to prepare it for another stain. Just strip (sand) off the top coat (the finish), and bleach away.

https://www.easy2diy.com/cm/easy/diy_ht_index.asp?page_id=35720398#steps

Tom
PS - the link page has audio. Useless as far as I'm concerned.
 
I remember those sanding blocks they sold on TV. Don't remember who made them though.... Recently there have been numerous posts about Dawn Power Remover....this may be a test for that?
 
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