This countertop job won't be making me any money. Right now I'm hoping to just stay in the green on materials.
Original stripping then stain and partial finish to see it was too dark
2nd stripping to get it to a nice color only to see cloudy stripes show up going against the grain.
3rd stripping which I did with a heat gun and saved 1.5 hours or sanding but I needed more stain, stain base and gloss finish w/ catalyst. I changed tactics and filled the grain with a grain filler. Had to do a bunch of testing before I put it on the clients countertop. All worked out so now it's back to stained and I'm waiting for the stain to dry so I can put on the sealer.
No matter how I tried I couldn't get a picture that showed the cloudy stripes. But they were there.
Here's the finish that I removed with a heat gun
Here's after the first coat of grain filler. I could have used less
Here's the grain filler after a second round and it's sanded off.
And here it is back to stained. It has a sheen because the surface is filled.
The client texted and asked if I could install it Monday even though it was still a holiday weekend. Tried to call, no answer, so I texted her I had no good news and explained myself. The she texted back and I called her because I didn't want to leave it with a text explanation. Told her what happened and that I had no finish left and my supplier didn't open til Wed. And she was fine with it. Told me that if I didn't think it was good enough they would agree and then said this is why we come to you for our woodworking. Said that when it was ready it would be fine. Great customer.
One of the reasons I worked on Sun, Mon and Tues to push this along. But I could only get so far without the stain.
Gawd I hope it works this time.🥺
And this is why I don't do refinishing.