wood refinishing, help PARKS!

[nathan]

hi Parks,
hope you can help...i have some zebrano out of the 116 wrecks i have and am going to attempt to practice on some of this wood before considering my dads 114, or forgive me, the gold 6.9...

i tried your heat gun technique on the wood in various ways...i started to get a few bubble areas, even some lifting on the edges, but no technique seemed to work well?  mainly, i just ended up with black as hell lacquer that didnt peel easily?

could you give me some pointers?  im using a cheapo heat gun that cranks out a bit of heat, it has two speeds...i tried from 1 cm, to 5cm...am i too close?  are you trying to slow bake it to peel it off and therefore, do it best at a distance?

once this is done, do you very gently sand the wood veneer prior to lacquer replacement?
any help appreciated
nathan

[WGB]

The method I know (One of my Brothers-in-law is a French Polisher ) is to use paint stripper, Put on rubber gloves and when the stripper has worked rub it with steel wool dipped in methylated spirits.

The steel wool will provide all the polishing healthy wood needs. Be very careful with sandpaper as the veneer can be very thin.

Maybe we should do wood finishing 101 after we finish Welding 101.

Bill

[gregdeklerk]

Bill - don't you mean Spraying 101?

[WGB]

I'm still stuck on sanding 101 - but I'm waiting for my newly acquired Tennis Elbow to settle.

Bill

[nathan]

thanks styria, bill.

oscars post was bloody good from a few weeks back...i printed it all out and got very excited until last night when i had this - lets call it mordor black zebrano...not quite the look i was after...

bill, who said you could stop sanding and check the web - get back to work.
however, your point re the paint stripper sounds easier, i know styria said he was concerned it may stain the wood

i will report on future failure

[WGB]

If you use lots of meths it will not stain the wood but will clear all colour other than the natural colour of the wood.

Bill

[nathan]

thanks a lot for theinput Parks,
this helps a lot...my zebrano test bit is now in a colour of black beauty and shredded...i shall use another test bit!  im still intrigued as to how far one should apply the heat to the wood?

Bill, iread your email which made me laugh...aside from your crazy family history, i like the fact you have a stripper in the mix!

best regards
nathan

[WGB]

Hi Parks - when you say plastic I assume you mean the finish is 2 pack or do they actually heat fix a plastic layer to it.

Yes Nathan - my wife's first husband was a Cockney and their family grew up around the corner from the Kray Brothers so they all have a very colourful East London sense of humour. For some reason I have always got on better with his brothers than he did (He's dead just now - died two years ago but that's another story) - mind you I've also had to raise his kids and grand kids as well.

Bill