[ecswtrav]

Hi all,

A few months back I had some old pine cupboard doors stripped - In a tank. Since then I've hung the doors and spent a considerable amount of time removing the leftover paint and sanding down.
I decided on applying 3 or 4 coats of Liberon finishing oil with a coat or 2 of wax on top of that.
However, after sanding down the wood I couldn't help but notice that the surface of the wood seemed to be in different shades in places - almost in perfect shapes. I since applied a layer of oil to see how it would take and as I thought it highlighted these patches - as the pic attached shows.

Any suggestions what this is and how to get rid of it? Is it because the dipping maybe hasn't been neutralised properly in these areas?

Any solutions would be greatly appreciated. I'm a bit gutted at the moment as I was hoping I could bring these up real nice:sad:

 

[Steve Neul]

That is unusual. The only possibility is the wood is still sealed with something. The only solution is to strip those areas and do a more thorough sanding and re-apply the stain. Just doing spots I would use a methylene chloride remover. The sodium hydroxide wouldn't leave bare spots like that. If it wasn't rinsed off well enough or neutralized it would develop spots where it was leaching white powder. This sometimes occurs in cracks and crevices but not on open areas.

Since you are stripping with a lye tank be sure you don't strip any oak with it. The solution will make the grain crack wide open.

 

[ecswtrav]

Thanks for the reply Steve. The doors have only had one coat of finishing oil on. I assume by stripping you mean sand the oil off down to the original wood? I dont have any stripping gear myself other than Paint panther - a nitromors alternative.
I noticed that even when the wood was bare and I was rubbing down the patches were still visible. I'll rub the area down quite a bit more than I currently have and see what that brings. I thought maybe a wood bleach to bleach the rest to match it but I's rather not take the risk of wrecking it.

 

[mdntrdr]

There's definitely something still left on that door. I would take it back to the "stripper" and have her redo it. :smile:

 

[ecswtrav]

had a good sand down today - the patches arent budging. I think the wood seems bleached somehow. Looks like a may have to paint them after all which I didnt really want. I could get them re-dipped but I cant see the whole panels getting lighter somehow to match.

 

[Steve Neul]

had a good sand down today - the patches arent budging. I think the wood seems bleached somehow. Looks like a may have to paint them after all which I didnt really want. I could get them re-dipped but I cant see the whole panels getting lighter somehow to match.

If the lye stripper didn't penetrate those spots the first time it won't help to have it dipped again. It's time to try a different chemical. I would try Kleen Strip remover found at the box stores and walmart. The only problem is no remover, even professional ones work well below 70 degrees so this time of year may be a issue. It may just take some elbow grease by sanding, starting with coarse sandpaper to cut it. The only problem with sanding at this point is the oil. It will gum up on the sandpaper ruining it to where you will have to change paper a lot.

 

[Improv]

Looks like someone had a sticker there and there is some residual adhesive remaining.