In today’s Weekend Warrior, we’re going to show you how to apply a penetrating resin to your furniture.
Check out Furniture Finish – Penetrating Resin for more information on the finish.
Before getting started, there are some things you should know:
- Penetrating resins can actually be used over stains as long as they’re not vinyl-based or varnishes. If not, you don’t have to sand ahead and re-stain the furniture.
- There are 2 types of penetrating resins (phenolic and alkyd). While not drastically different, phenolic resins may penetrate the surface more deeply.
- Penetrating resins work best with open-grained woods, since it has to penetrate the furniture. The best candidates are oak, walnut, rosewood and teak.
- It is important to choose the right resin because it can be very difficult to remove completely in the event of refinishing in the future.
- Penetrating resin should be applied to horizontal surfaces. So if the furniture has removable parts, remove them and apply horizontally.
- As always, if applying resin to stained or bleached surfaces, test in an inconspicuous spot first.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Furniture to be finished
- Tack cloth
- Clean brush or cloth
- Sanding materials
- No. 000 or 0000 steel wool
- Drop cloth
Steps:
- The wood should be properly prepared and sanded. Immediately before you apply the resin, thoroughly wipe the wood with the tack cloth.
- Apply the penetrating resin with a clean brush or cloth, covering small areas at a time.
- Spread the resin liberally, but evenly. Pay attention to the surface of the wood (some woods will absorb the resin faster than others. Apply the resin until the wood no longer absorbs it.
- Let it set for 30-45 minutes. Keep the surface wet during this time, applying resin to dry spots as they appear. The surface should be shiny. After 45 minutes, when the wood will not absorb anymore, wipe off the excess with clean, absorbent cloths. The surface should be dry, with no shiny or wet spots.
- Let this coat dry for 24 hours. If any wet spots appear, remove immediately. After 24 hours, smooth surface with steel wool and wipe clean with tack cloth.
- Apply a second coat; repeating the process.