PREPARATION OF NEW SURFACES

Getting a surface ready for finishing is work which should be done with the utmost care when the finish is to be the finest possible and even for ordinary jobs. Unfortunately the price received for many jobs of finishing is so low that it is quite impossible to do more than the most rapid cleaning and sandpapering, so that is where the responsibility must be placed for many muddy, cloudy natural and stained finishes.

 

New Surfaces

Wood to be finished in natural or stained color is especially deserving of most thorough work in preparing it for the finishing process. It should first be dusted off with a duster brush or a broom in the case of floors. Then all spots of plaster, dirt or grease ought to be removed. Usually such spots will come off with a washing over with benzene, using a putty knife to scrape off as much as possible. If the wood is oak, walnut or other open-grain variety, be particular to remove dirt, lime and grease from the pores of the wood. When such spots are not properly cleaned, stain does not take hold and penetrate and the finish is thus spotty in appearance.

New surfaces which are to be finished with paint and enamel ought to be cleaned well, but there is no need to be so particular about light stains. All loose particles on the surface should, however, be removed.

New surfaces which show dark stains from rust or other substances should be bleached out in such spots before being finished in natural or stained colors. The bleaching methods will be found later on.

New surfaces after cleaning should next be sandpapered if the finish is to be natural or stain colors. This is not necessary for paint or enamel finishes. If water stain is to be used many finishers prefer to brush or sponge on a water coating before sandpapering. The water stain will raise the grain of the wood, making little wood fibers stick up all over. If the surface is wet in this way before staining, the water stain does not raise the grain so much and the second sandpapering is very light.

If the water wetting is not done before staining with water stain the sandpapering operation on some woods must be done so heavily that some of the stain color will be cut off the wood. This sandpapering operation on new wood before or after wetting should be done with No. 0 and No. 00 paper, depending upon the roughness of the wood. Sometimes it is well to go over the wood first with a No. 1 paper and finish up with a finer grade.

The cleaning necessary after sandpapering should be well done with a duster brush on ordinary jobs. On fine furniture and cabinets more effort should be spent to remove every particle of dust. In furniture factories the dust from sanding is blown out of the pores with compressed air.

Woods to be finished in natural color as light as possible, maple, birch, etc., are often bleached before any finishing coats of filler, varnish or shellac are put on. The bleaching raises the grain of the wood and a thorough job of sandpapering must be done after that process. The bleaching methods will be found later in this chapter.

New surfaces to be finished in natural or stain colors and which show cracks and holes should be filled to remedy these defects. Plaster of Paris soaked in water is preferred by many finishers for this filling because it will absorb stain and also will take on the coloring given by filler. Other putty does not absorb color. On stained finishes as a rule the putty is put into the cracks and holes after the stain is dry. After putty is dry it should be sandpapered down smooth and clean. Then the surface should be cleaned up around the repairs.

 

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