restaurant's wooden benches

[Jeffrey Abrams 14]

I've been asked to quote on restaining wooden booth of a restaurant. I'm not sure what the right steps would be in completing this project . First, the overall condition is good with the exception of where people sit. That area lacks stain and is lighter looking than the rest of the wood. The wood is very smooth which tells me there is a poly, varnish, lacquer or shellac over the top. I don't know how to tell the difference. Can I get away with sanding and then applying a new finish? Or do I have to strip the finish off and then reapply the new stain? I,m worried because it's inside and I have to worry about the cushions , floor and other surrounding that could protentially damaged. I don't think its practical to pressure wash in this setting.

Jumping ahead, if I get to this point what do I put over the top of the stain and how many coats?

[herbie1 14]

Jeff,

You are going to have to sand off the old varnish, stain and/or poly. Invest in either a belt sander or a orbital sander. Ask the restaurant if they know what was on the bench. I'm sure that they are going to want it to match all the other booths so they probably have this info. Typically application consists of one or two coats of stain (interior latex stain) and a coat of poly. Hope this helps.

Herb Hewlett

Herb's Pressure Washing

If it's outside and dirty we clean it

[Dale 16]

Jeffrey,

Try shaving some finish off and put it in some alcohol or acteone if its shellac it should dissolve..lacquer shouldn't dissolve maybe get gummy and bunch up..or try lacqer thinner, that should dissolve lacquer

[Paul B. 523]

I would consider 2-3 coats of poly (depending on how much time you have to get the job done), as this will increase the life of the finish. Very light steel wool (sanding) between coats.

This would be considered the same as furniture refinishing.

[Dale 16]

That'll work, but you might want to use something other than steel wool if you ues a water poly..it would probably be o.k. but the steel may stain with a water based if any breaks off..even very small pieces