Carpentry and Woodworking - Is there a way to replicate old varnish?

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BJ New York
01-16-09, 10:21 AM
I am in the process of refinishing a 100 year old sideboard. I have removed about 90% of the old varnish - as you are aware the dark varnish really seeps into the wood. I was wondering if there was a way to replicate the old dark varnish instead of trying to remove all of it as it's quite impossible. Any suggestions would really help as I'm now at a standstill on how to continue. Thanks

marksr
01-16-09, 02:25 PM
I'm not sure I understand:o

Oil base finishes will naturally darken the wood they are applied to and will yellow/amber as they age.
BJ New York
01-17-09, 07:24 AM
I guess I didn't explain myself - this piece has several different types of wood so it was varnished very dark, I plan to do a dark stain but in looking at the samples the darkest color would be ebony and I'm not sure black would work. I like the rich color of the old varnish and I'd like to find something that would bring that back. Thanks

marksr
01-17-09, 08:23 AM
Stain only works on raw wood so any areas that you haven't removed the previous finish won't accept the stain. Using a tinted poly might be an option for you. It can be applied over sealed wood. A lot of attention needs to be paid to the application. Because it's a clear that has been tinted, any runs, lap marks, puddles,etc will be darker and thin areas will be lighter. Tinted poly must be applied evenly!
BJ New York
01-17-09, 09:28 AM
OK, that makes sense. Besides sanding (which I'd rather not do) how else can I get the stain that has seeped into the wood out? I have found that when you sand old pieces it seems to loose some of the look. Do you agree? Thanks for your help!
marksr
01-17-09, 04:54 PM
There isn't any way to strip off a finish that doesn't involve sanding. You can chemically strip off the majority of the finish but the last step will still require sanding.

You can take a wet thinner rag and wipe over the wood - while wet, that will approximate the color the wood will be with varnish/poly applied.