Do it yourself

I doubt you're in a hurry, what with the current weather. Give me a few days; PC broke and I can't type a proper reply on phone =p

Quote: DRich

Speaking of do it yourself, has anyone here ever refinished a table or other furniture?

My wife wants me to refinish a dining room table with chairs and I have never done anything like that. I am also not what you would call the handy man type. The worst part is that she said that I can't sand it and that I need to use a chemical stripper because the wood grains all go in different directions, What I assumed would be an 8 hour project sounds like it is now going to be a 30 hour project. My worst fear is that I will screw it up and just end up having to buy a new one anyways.

If I was smart I would just buy the new one now and save myself many hours of frustration.

Seriously look into selling it, and putting the proceeds toward a new set, or hiring a professional. Just one chair could be two days work.

I redid an armoire, and it took three days, not counting the drying time for the stain and varnish.

Edit: My Key Piece of Advice: Block the "Home Improvement" channels to keep your wife from getting "inspired". What you see on those shows is not reality. They actually have a whole crew, with the appropriate equipment, actually complete the refinishing jobs the "host" starts. If you wanted to do the same, it would cost $30 for a heat gun alone. Scrapers, sanders, sandpaper, brushes, tape, filler, stain, varnish, drop cloth, gloves, extension cord... It is going to add up.

Quote: AZDuffman

Since this is already a splitting thread I will pile on.

Actually, I labeled it "do it yourself" for all-purpose do it yourself. (I may benefit from someone else's idea)

Quote: Ayecarumba

Edit: My Key Piece of Advice: Block the "Home Improvement" channels to keep your wife from getting "inspired".

Hah ha. Best and funniest advice I've seen all week.

When you check and the "great idea" is something you have to do, it's not always so great.

Quote: Ayecarumba

Seriously look into selling it, and putting the proceeds toward a new set, or hiring a professional. Just one chair could be two days work.

You'll only try and strip chairs once, then
you'll have learned your lesson. The easiest
to strip are oak dressers, all flat surfaces.
You have to do it outdoors, don't even
attempt it inside. The fumes are murderous.

Quote: rxwine

Actually, I labeled it "do it yourself" for all-purpose do it yourself. (I may benefit from someone else's idea)

Cool, didn't want to hijack. Kind of a good idea, who knows what the collective minds here could build or fix.

Quote: AZDuffman

Does anyone know the best product to fill smaller rust-holes in a vehicle? The body on the truck I recently bought is almost perfect except for two small holes about the size of your baby finger above the wheel wells. I probably have the skill to take some sheet metal and cover them then blend with filler but that will take three times the size as if there is a good fill product. They are just a touch too large for straight body filler. I need a filler material with "body" to it like fiberglass to build it up before I sand and blend it.

Whoopsie. Forgot about this.

If you have finger sized holes, what you really have are holes the size of a cheese danish. As soon as you put a wheel to it to prep it, it's just gonna disintegrate. And if you're gonna do it, you might as well disintegrate it to get all the rot out =p

I've used about three different brands of filler, and all three I couldn't distinguish from a lineup. They smell the same, mix the same, go on the same, dry the same, and sand the same. Just grab what's cheapest and giddyup.

Having built my fair share of bondo wagons, I'm not convinced that a backing is necessary, at least as far as durability goes. Whether you back it with solid fibreglass or just stuff newspaper in, the bondo is so damn hard it's not gonna be compromised by anything short of a vehicle strike. Both of the rear quarters of my race car were completely bondo; none of the incidental contacts cracked or chipped it at all. Only the big shunts and putting it into the wall caused them to break.

Were I you I'd not do metal. Whether you rivet it or weld it, there's gonna be too much labor involved with hiding and blending those connections. Fibreglass would be the high quality fix, but is obviously more of a process, both in labor and financially. Being adverse to newspaper stuffing, I'd probably use some sort of tape, assuming you have access to the inside of the panel and can affix it to the back. Even light masking tape will give enough to build off of, although due to its fragility, you'd have to do a light coat and let it dry before you really started packing bondo into and over it. A little bit of weather will eventually cause the tape to fall right off. Of course, there are super tapes that won't ever come off, like 100mph tape. That would obviously work just as well. In either case, don't rely on the tape to be what holds the patch in place. Make sure you extend the bondo patch onto the good metal so it's the bondo itself holding it in place.

Easy peasy. The hardest part will be sanding it smooth so it visually blends in with the body. I still haven't got that part down, instead just doing a job that's Good Enough ;)

Quote: Face

Were I you I'd not do metal. Whether you rivet it or weld it, there's gonna be too much labor involved with hiding and blending those connections. Fibreglass would be the high quality fix, but is obviously more of a process, both in labor and financially. Being adverse to newspaper stuffing, I'd probably use some sort of tape, assuming you have access to the inside of the panel and can affix it to the back. Even light masking tape will give enough to build off of, although due to its fragility, you'd have to do a light coat and let it dry before you really started packing bondo into and over it. A little bit of weather will eventually cause the tape to fall right off. Of course, there are super tapes that won't ever come off, like 100mph tape. That would obviously work just as well. In either case, don't rely on the tape to be what holds the patch in place. Make sure you extend the bondo patch onto the good metal so it's the bondo itself holding it in place.

Thanks for the reply. What it seems you are saying is not much has changed since 1993. I need to look at products, my dad keeps saying use "Tiger Hair" which I believe is just filler with resins in it to give body to the build up. I will probably try to find some free or cheapo bumper stickers to do the backing. Perhaps I will post a report card here when it is done. She is 13 years old but looks just 5 or so. I am going to try to make a decent job of it, not meatball surgery, and want to see if I have any skills.

One of the first jobs I had was body work, 1996. It's exactly the same =)

I think I recalled seeing bondo with "hair" in it. It was just fibreglass strands. I suppose it would give more strength, but I've never made bondo and thought "Gee, I wish this was stronger".

Just be prepared to do several applications. I doubt you'll be able to fill a hole with one big glob. Most likely you'll have to get a base, wait 20-30 minutes for curing, then build out from there. I'd plan for 3 or 4 of these coats. And make sure your spreader is hard, flat plastic. I used old credit type cards for little stuff, although a proper spreader is in order for larger jobs. It's much, much easier to do a smooth, shapely application than it is to go back and sand it smooth once hardened.

Quote: AZDuffman

Thanks for the reply. What it seems you are saying is not much has changed since 1993. I need to look at products, my dad keeps saying use "Tiger Hair" which I believe is just filler with resins in it to give body to the build up. I will probably try to find some free or cheapo bumper stickers to do the backing. Perhaps I will post a report card here when it is done. She is 13 years old but looks just 5 or so. I am going to try to make a decent job of it, not meatball surgery, and want to see if I have any skills.

I thought you had mad welding skills? Can you braze the whole thing like the old days and use coat hangers for the welding medium? Grind, sand, etc.

Great practice for when you begin tig'ing boat's and aluminum buss.