LP Tribute refinish, take 2...

[DirtySteve]

I'm thinking maybe the wood is so saturated and swollen it revealed those spots and when it dries out they might settle back in. I put a lot of water on it in the last 24 hours. I swear, they weren't there until I did a couple of more tea washes this morning because I sanded the hell out of those places to get rid of the flaws before I started. I mean, that's one of the reasons why I sanded it down in the first place. I'm going to let it sit and dry out for a while to see what happens before I do anything.

 

[DirtySteve]

Ok, crisis averted and we're back on track now!

Now that it's set and dried all day I was checking it out and the dents weren't dents at all, just shiny spots were the dents used to be. I was running my finger over them and it's smooth as can be, so I took my scotchbrite pad and went at it, the spots went away in short order and it didn't take any of my tea stain off. Turns out what I was seeing as dark spots earlier were just dried buildup on top of the wood from too many tea washes. I just learned something new, cool! So I took a damp rag and wiped the whole thing down really good to get all that sediment off and voila, it looks great!

Dry...

Wet after wiping it down...

I'm still going to let it dry for a while before I start the next step, which is applying a few coats of Tru-oil to seal it up.

 

[fitz]

Ok, crisis averted and we're back on track now!

Now that it's set and dried all day I was checking it out and the dents weren't dents at all, just shiny spots were the dents used to be. I was running my finger over them and it's smooth as can be, so I took my scotchbrite pad and went at it, the spots went away in short order and it didn't take any of my tea stain off. Turns out what I was seeing as dark spots earlier were just dried buildup on top of the wood from too many tea washes. I just learned something new, cool! So I took a damp rag and wiped the whole thing down really good to get all that sediment off and voila, it looks great!

Dry...

Wet after wiping it down...

I'm still going to let it dry for a while before I start the next step, which is applying a few coats of Tru-oil to seal it up.

I think that tea stain is going to make a nice base color tone for the Tru-oil.
I understand the seal coats, but are you still planning to mix in some tint with the subsequent coats for a kinda fade / burst look?

 

[DirtySteve]

I think that tea stain is going to make a nice base color tone for the Tru-oil.
I understand the seal coats, but are you still planning to mix in some tint with the subsequent coats for a kinda fade / burst look?

Yes that's the plan, I'm hoping to get just a subtle burst. My biggest concern is getting a smooth transition from light to dark by hand. That's the reason I want to do a few straight oil coats first before I add color, that way I have a buffer layer in between in case I have to sand it back.

The tea wash darkened the maple more than I anticipated and since Tru-oil has a tint to it and will darken it some anyway, there's a chance that once I get a few coats on it I might like it without going any further. Of course I'll post pics along the way so you guys might help me decide. We'll see what happens, nothing is written in stone.

There's one thing for sure, whatever happens from here is going to be way better than it was before.