Is there a way to salvage my splotchy-stained table, or should I abandon the project altogether?
Asked by Gabriella Black 
6 months ago
Last Updated: June 11, 2024
I stripped the table, sanded it, and applied one coat of stain, but it looks really patchy. Do you think there’s a way to fix it, or should I just call it quits on this project?
It seems like the stripping wasn’t done thoroughly.
You missed some of the old material.
Let’s start fresh. It can still be saved. Remove all of that with chemicals. It shouldn’t be too difficult now. Use 150 grit sandpaper and restain as you did before. The tabletop seems to be solid oak and definitely worth the effort to get it perfect. Best of luck with it. You’ll appreciate taking on this challenge.
Thank you for your help. This is my first time using a stripper, so I will have to start from scratch. I didn’t realize that all of it needed to be removed.
After stripping is done, make sure to clean the surface with a rag soaked in lacquer thinner. This will help to neutralize the Stripper and prepare the surface for sanding.
I remember having a table similar to this one. The veneer on mine was incredibly thin, just 1/1000 of an inch thick.
I agree with others that it seems like you didn’t sand enough to fully remove the previous stain. While I haven’t personally used chemical strippers for this type of project, I’m curious about how effective they would be.
You didn’t quite strip it properly. Try using mineral spirits to remove any leftover stripper residue. If the color is uneven when wet with mineral spirits, that means the finish isn’t completely removed. To improve the effectiveness of the stripper, you can cover it with plastic wrap to keep it wet longer. It’s important to always strip the finish off instead of sanding it off.
You should strip it again, making sure to do a better job this time. After that, clean it with denatured alcohol, apply a prestain wood conditioner before staining, and finish with three thin coats of polyurethane.
When you strip it, make sure to sand it down. A little trick I learned for sanding is to use a pencil to make dark marks all over it. Start with 80 grit sandpaper and keep going until all the pencil marks are gone. Then, repeat the process with higher grits like 100, 120, and 150. You can go up to 180 or 220 if needed. ‘t forget to vacuum after each sanding. This should help you figure out how much sanding is enough, as I’ve had trouble with that in the past. Also, consider using a random orbital sander, which you can get for around $60 at Home Depot. It’s a game-changer!
Yeah, I agree that it needed sanding after stripping. You didn’t get it all off, and there may be veneer on top, so be careful.
Keep at it, this is all part of the learning process. It may take a few tries, but it will turn out great in the end. Just sand it down again and start fresh, using a palm sander.