I have another query. I had a sapele wood staircase installed in my house. Builders (with little experience of wood I think) varnished it, possibly without cleaning it first, and there were ugly whitish smudges. They sanded the smudges off partially but the wood retains a patchy 'unwashed' appearance. Before varnishing it again (and possibly aggravating the problem) I thought I'd ask for advice. Peter
varnish on sapele stairs
- Thread starter Peter
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When you decorate a house for the first time, trying to find out what the previous owners or the builders did is like a CSI episode!
Those smudges could be adhesive, sealant or any kind of paint you can think of. You'll have to strip back to the bare wood to get rid of them if they're under a coat of varnish.
Sapele has quite difficult grain and if the smudges are in a place where the grain is interlocking, I'd use a scraper to get rid of them, either a cabinet scraper or a paint scraper, depending on how accessible they are.
If they've gone right into the grain, you might have to try a dab of paint stripper and an old toothbrush to get them out.
If you want to revarnish, I'd recommend an acrylic varnish.
Those smudges could be adhesive, sealant or any kind of paint you can think of. You'll have to strip back to the bare wood to get rid of them if they're under a coat of varnish.
Sapele has quite difficult grain and if the smudges are in a place where the grain is interlocking, I'd use a scraper to get rid of them, either a cabinet scraper or a paint scraper, depending on how accessible they are.
If they've gone right into the grain, you might have to try a dab of paint stripper and an old toothbrush to get them out.
If you want to revarnish, I'd recommend an acrylic varnish.
I would agree with Peter, strip back and start again is the best option, and usually a good sand down would help a great deal, this part of the process often gets missed in new houses, or so it seems to me. :roll:
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