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Lazyman
3340 posts
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in about 2 years
in about 2 years
Can I Refinish a Polyurethaned or Lacquered table top with Osmo Polyx?
A friend asked me to help him fix a live edge table that he is buying. I think it is monkeypod or suar. They filled a void in the top using saw dust and epoxy and it is pretty ugly. It sort of looks like someone sanded through the veneer to a particle board core so he asked if I could help route out the old fill and fill with a pigmented epoxy. Since we will likely have to refinish the top after sanding the epoxy smooth I figure we will be sanding and refinishing the entire top. I am not sure yet whether they used a polyurethane or a lacquer finish on it. If it is lacquer, it may be pretty easy to simply strip with lacquer thinner and refinish after the epoxy but polyurethane may be a little more labor intensive.
Anyway, we may end up having to completely sand and possible strip the entire top anyway so I started wondering if I could switch over to Osmo Polyx even though it had another clear finish on it before? I have never used Osmo but have been wanting to try it after seeing some of the projects posted with it. Does anyone else have any experience refinishing with Osmo after stripping another type of finish off? How does the Osmo do over epoxy fills? The wood has fairly deep pores and we may use a clear filler to level the surface before applying a finish. He would like to get a smoother and glossier finish if possible.
I appreciate any thoughts and advice you might have.
Anyway, we may end up having to completely sand and possible strip the entire top anyway so I started wondering if I could switch over to Osmo Polyx even though it had another clear finish on it before? I have never used Osmo but have been wanting to try it after seeing some of the projects posted with it. Does anyone else have any experience refinishing with Osmo after stripping another type of finish off? How does the Osmo do over epoxy fills? The wood has fairly deep pores and we may use a clear filler to level the surface before applying a finish. He would like to get a smoother and glossier finish if possible.
I appreciate any thoughts and advice you might have.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
4 Replies
yeah sounds like you need to sand down to bare wood again. then you should be able to use the osmo no problem. have fun buddy !
working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.
Curious why you would have to completely strip the surface?
I've poured a lot of epoxy, AND, relatively speaking, applied a lot of poly finishes. Regarding that:
- Rather than, for example, stripping a wood floor to raw wood, I'd just scuff it to allow a new coat of poly to go down, as the buffer between the wood and abuse. Epoxy would be no different, aside the fact I'd only need to apply enough to get a level coat and new cover over the existing surface.
The exception requiring more be done than scuffing the surface would be, if I needed to get a lot of dings and such out of the wood.
Epoxies and poly's play fine together. I use poly to seal wood about to have an epoxy coat applied (reduces the air the wood releases into the epoxy). I'd have zero qualms about applying polymerized hardening oil with resins, poly, over a table with epoxy on it.
I've poured a lot of epoxy, AND, relatively speaking, applied a lot of poly finishes. Regarding that:
- Rather than, for example, stripping a wood floor to raw wood, I'd just scuff it to allow a new coat of poly to go down, as the buffer between the wood and abuse. Epoxy would be no different, aside the fact I'd only need to apply enough to get a level coat and new cover over the existing surface.
The exception requiring more be done than scuffing the surface would be, if I needed to get a lot of dings and such out of the wood.
Epoxies and poly's play fine together. I use poly to seal wood about to have an epoxy coat applied (reduces the air the wood releases into the epoxy). I'd have zero qualms about applying polymerized hardening oil with resins, poly, over a table with epoxy on it.
A couple of reasons. First, after pouring and leveling the epoxy, I assume that I will probably completely sand through the finish in a fairly large area around it. I have had problems in the past repairing polyurethane finishes without taking the entire surface down to bare wood before reapplying. I just have not had good luck blending in areas where I had to sand completely through the finish. Since I originally posted the question, he also asked if we could sculpt the ends to make them look more natural. Right now they are square and we will probably use an angle grinder to sculpt them a little or at least ease the edge.
The other reason is that the current finish was not applied very well. The pores in the wood are fairly large he asked if we can make the finish look better. If I do end up completely stripping the finish, I will probably use a clear grain filler to get a smoother surface before applying the top coat.
The reason I considered a hard wax finish is that it sounds like it will be less work getting a nice looking finish. After watching a bunch of different comparisons, it seems that the hard wax finish may not be as durable as my friends probably want to so I will probably just to with whatever finish I determine it actually has.
The table was delivered yesterday so I will start working on it today. Hopefully, I will not destroy their new $2000 table. 😮
The other reason is that the current finish was not applied very well. The pores in the wood are fairly large he asked if we can make the finish look better. If I do end up completely stripping the finish, I will probably use a clear grain filler to get a smoother surface before applying the top coat.
The reason I considered a hard wax finish is that it sounds like it will be less work getting a nice looking finish. After watching a bunch of different comparisons, it seems that the hard wax finish may not be as durable as my friends probably want to so I will probably just to with whatever finish I determine it actually has.
The table was delivered yesterday so I will start working on it today. Hopefully, I will not destroy their new $2000 table. 😮
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
From your description, it sounds like you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain by starting from scratch.
Like I mentioned, above, I seal the wood surface before pouring resin. This solved a lot of problems, back in the day when I'd buy my 50-50 resins by the five gallon bucket.
I discovered, very quickly, air would get trapped in the wood cells, then wait to ambush me when the resin was setting and the air could move out quickly, even under the supervision of a torch.
Some of the good news is, a lot of that epoxy probably soaked in and will help solve such problems.
Like I mentioned, above, I seal the wood surface before pouring resin. This solved a lot of problems, back in the day when I'd buy my 50-50 resins by the five gallon bucket.
I discovered, very quickly, air would get trapped in the wood cells, then wait to ambush me when the resin was setting and the air could move out quickly, even under the supervision of a torch.
Some of the good news is, a lot of that epoxy probably soaked in and will help solve such problems.
