Kitchen Chair Refinishing

[BrierS]

I have a reasonably decent (Temple-Stuart) hardwood, kitchen table/chair set. Over the years, some areas of the chairs have lost their stain/varnish (not familiar with these things). I would like to refinish them yet really don't want to completely strip them since most of the finish is still good. Anyone have experience and tips to offer?
Thanks,
Steve

[kknudson]

Tough call if you're not familiar but I can give you a quick note.

Depending on the age it is more than likely a urathane type finish, not actual varnish.

The stain provides the color, thats gonna be lots of legwork to find one that matches. Might be able to have some place mix custom colors.

Sand using fairly fine 220 sandpaper the damaged areas, then go a little finer too. Like a car, feather into the OK areas.

I like foam brushes, for staining and varnishing (varnishing used genericly for finish coat, urathaning just doesn't sound right).

Stain the area, also into the feathered area, wipe with a towel while still wet after you coat it, let it dry several hours / overnite.


Varnish several light coats versus one or two.

If you recoat within 4 or 5 hours just recoat. If you wait much longer very litely wet sand, 400/600 grit, and wipe it clean with a damp cloth. Let it dry an hour and recoat.

before the final coat, sand a little more aggressively and put on the final coat.

Some people will tell you to use a tack cloth, I've found them to be overkill.
Some people will tel you to use Steel Wool between coat. I MUCH prefer wet sanding.
There are some tricks and shortcuts, but they won't help much on a small job.


I'm no pro, but I've gone through gallons of stain and varnish over the years.

Take your time, patience, "hurry up and mess it up"

Maybe start with a little area not really visible

[BrierS]

Thanks for the step-by-step instructions. Based on what you provided, I really think I'll be able to make it through the project with adequate results. The ladies at the custom insulating glass where I work are great at matching colors of stains and have volunteered to make certain I am doing that part correctly. All of us bring in special projects to fill our flex break times and give each other a hand in doing so. I'll let you know how the project comes out.
Thanks again,
Steve