Indy Total Construction

Furniture refinishing includes three basic steps:

• Removing the old finish

• Preparing the surface

• Applying the new finish

Sometimes the old furniture finish doesn’t really need to be stripped off. A good washing with TSP will get the grease off. Then roughen the surface with fine sandpaper or steel wool and coat it with varnish or clear lacquer. Do not apply lacquer over varnish, paint, or enamel. It will remove the finish just as a stripper would.

There is no way to blend a new finish with an old finish. If the furniture is badly worn, you will have to strip the finish off the entire piece. You can do this by scraping or sanding for a long time. Or you can use chemical compounds, which work much faster. Chemical strippers soften and loosen the paint quickly, and when the paint is dissolved they will begin to work on the wood and glue. For this reason, you must apply a neutralizer as soon as the last coat of paint or varnish is soft. Then rinse off both stripper and neutralizer along with the old finish.

Always handle chemical substances such as stripper with great care. Wear rubber gloves and read all instructions carefully before you begin to work.

Apply the new finish with a brush or spray can. Practice on some old wood before you begin. Apply finish evenly. Several light coats are better than one heavy one.

After the furniture is stripped to the original wood, give it time to dry. Then sand to even off the raised grain.

If you want to change the color of the wood, add wood stain. Follow up with varnish or lacquer. Instead you may want to apply paint or enamel. Refer to Units 23, 25, and 26 for more information on painting.

Chemical strippers will remove old paint, varnish or lacquer quickly. Follow instructions carefully. If the stripper needs to be neutralized be sure to do so at the proper time. Handle chemicals with care.

Scrape off loose paint with a putty knife or spray off with a garden hose. After the wood is dry, sand down the raised grain.

Sometimes you can apply a new coat of finish without stripping the piece of furniture. Clean the surface and sand it lightly so the new finish will stick. Apply a new coat of varnish or lacquer. Do not use lacquer over varnish or paint or it will act like a stripper and cause the finish below to soften and bubble up.

Apply the new finish with a brush or spray can. Practice on some old wood before you begin. Apply finish evenly. Several light coats are better than one heavy one.

Basic masonry repairs include:

• Filling in dings in floors and driveways
• Replacing a block or brick
• Repointing mortar

To patch concrete first remove all loose material from the old concrete. Use a vacuum cleaner. Then scrub away any oil or grease with hot water and trisodium phosphate (TSP). Use a stiff brush. Protect your hands with rubber gloves.

After the concrete is clean, wet it. Fill in the patch. The best mix for patching concrete is one part Portland cement to three parts fine, clean sand. Add concrete glue to help feather out the edges of your patch and secure it to the old concrete. Leave a wet rag or gunny sack over the patch for a couple days.

Replace a broken or missing concrete block with the same mix. Chisel the old mortar away. Soak the new block in water for five minutes and wet the blocks around the hole. Trowel in mortar on all sides and set in the new block. You may have to take some mortar out little by little to make the block fit. Keep nudging the block with your trowel handle or a piece of wood. Don’t use a hammer.

Once the block is in place and aligned, tool the joint to match the rest of the wall. If the other joints are tuckpointed (grooved) make the new joint match. Wipe up any mortar spilled on the face of the block before it hardens.

Use a finishing tool to finish mortar joints after the mortar begins to harden.

When you replace a brick or block, trowel in mortar around the opening. Nudge the block in place with the handle of a trowel or a piece of wood.

To patch concrete, clean and wet the area. Fill in the area and feather the edges so the patch will stick.

Replacing a fired (red) brick is the same as a concrete block. But be very careful to match the color or your replacement will stand out..

Try not to spill mortar over the face of the brick. If you do, you can remove the stain with acid and a stiff brush. BE CAREFUL WHEN WORKING WITH ACID. Always add the acid to water. Adding water to acid can cause an explosion. Protect yourself with goggles and rubber gloves. Wear old clothing. Muriatic acid will remove clothes, eyes, and skin faster than it will remove the mortar stain.

Repointing is putting new mortar into joints when the old mortar is falling out. First clean out the crumbling mortar. You can make a tool for this by nailing through a block of wood until the point of the nail extends 1/2 inch. Slide this point along the joints and you won’t dig too deep. Then wet the bricks and flush out loose mortar with a good strong hose jet.

Mix no more mortar than you can use in one hour. If you are repointing a whole wall or chimney, use any color mortar. However, if you are patching only a section, take care to match the color of the old mortar. Don’t work with mortar when the temperature is below freezing.

You can make a tool to remove old mortar by driving a nail through a block of wood until it extends about 1/2 inch.

Applying the paint is the smallest part of a paint job. The real work is in preparing the surface and cleaning up afterward. Before you begin to paint:

• Wash the surface

• Remove any fixtures

• Fill depressions

• Sand smooth

• Prime the surface

First, protect furniture, floors, or shrubs with drop cloths. Knock loose dirt and paint off exterior walls with a high pressure hose. Remove all flaking paint with a scraper or a wire brush.

Interior walls that are already painted are usually washed with trisodium phosphate (TSP) and a stiff brush. TSP is a caustic powder that must be mixed with water (one tablespoonful to a gallon of water). Be sure to wear rubber gloves. TSP removes skin almost as fast as. it removes dirt and grease from old paint. Then rinse the walls with water and dry completely.

Fixtures are removed to make it easier to paint and to keep from getting paint on the fixtures. Remove switch plates only after the wall has been washed. After the switch plates are removed, you may find dirty rings on the wall. This should be carefully wiped off. Wring your sponge as dry as possible.

Most walls have cracks, nail holes, or dents. Fill them with wood putty,’ spackling compound, or another fill, depending on the material the wall is made of. Before applying spackle, wet the area. Build up the patch slightly above the wall. When it is dry, sand the patch until it is even with the rest of the wall. Old painted wood must be sanded smooth.

The final step, priming, prepares the surface for paint. Prime patches and seal wood knots with shellac or sealer. Use primer over new wood because new wood absorbs paint like a sponge.

Everything must be thoroughly dry before you begin to paint. There is a lot of work in preparing to paint.

Build up patches above the surface. Let them dry, and sand the patch flush with the surface.