Mimi's chairs and tabletop

stripping process

                                                                   


 I picked up these chairs up from

completed finish including a flat varnish top-coat

a long-time customer who was debating what to do with them. They were solid oak but had a heavy spattered paint finish on them. We looked at the other pieces in the room, flooring and countertops. We decided on a simple wash. A flat varnish is an imperative for a washed finish. Varnish does not increase in sheen over time--it dulls.









I stripped them and washed them using wire and plastic bristle brushes. The wire brushes do a better job of removing the old finish from the pores of an open-pore wood like oak and  still not scratching the oak like it might scratch a soft wood like pine .

Pieces in situ w/ fabric sample

  The picture on the below right is of a picture frame I refinished. The original finish wasn't off much but it was off. Based on the rest of the colors in the room ,
I changed the base color and re-glazed the piece.

detail of mirror frame

        

Various colored glazes in umber&ochre.

                                                                                                                                                               

 The top on the left goes on a table in the foyer. The original finish had yellowed quite a bit. I refinished it in a faux travertine to pick up the colors in the space. I topped it off with a water-borne flat varnish that doesn't amber nearly as much as an alkyd finish will.