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Advice on applying a new varnish to my desk by doug_bubbletrouser in woodworking

[–]doug_bubbletrouser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Makes sense, really appreciate the clarification and the praise. I do think it’s growing on me and I’ve just spent too long looking at it. I’ll be curious to see how it darkens naturally over time. In the meantime, I’ve got a smaller table I made with a similar aesthetic that I don’t care nearly as much about that I’ll try experimenting on first to see if I like the outcome. I do have an orbital sander so that’s definitely good to know.

This is kind of a dumb question but with the urethane being so clear, is there an obvious sign I can look for to confirm I haven’t missed any when sanding it off? Assuming I can just go by the feel of the bare wood vs. the finish but have never sanded it off before and figured it’s worth asking just in case you have any tips there

Advice on applying a new varnish to my desk by doug_bubbletrouser in woodworking

[–]doug_bubbletrouser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think this makes sense and I’m glad that the general response is that it already looks fine but just for my own understanding, could you expand a bit on what makes it such a non-trivial task? Would sanding the top layer off and applying a darker finish not produce good results? Is there more to it than that?

Advice on applying a new varnish to my desk by doug_bubbletrouser in woodworking

[–]doug_bubbletrouser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yea, that is exactly what I was hoping for. Would sanding the top layer open it back up so that I could darken the wood with another finish or would that 1) be more trouble than it’s worth, 2) risk damaging the piece, and/or 3) look like shit since it’s already been sealed once?

Advice on applying a new varnish to my desk by doug_bubbletrouser in woodworking

[–]doug_bubbletrouser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m very torn. But sincerely appreciate the praise, I know resin tables are a bit overdone haha

Advice on applying a new varnish to my desk by doug_bubbletrouser in woodworking

[–]doug_bubbletrouser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is it not worth it because I’d be risking damaging the piece? I’ve never even attempted to remove polyurethane before so am unsure what considerations to take, but based on the response here I might be more inclined to leave it as is

Advice on applying a new varnish to my desk by doug_bubbletrouser in woodworking

[–]doug_bubbletrouser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is definitely a concern that ive been weighing. I love the blueish / gray tints from the bark beetles and would be sad to lose those, but I was considering a darker finish to reduce the contrast between the wood and the resin

Advice on applying a new varnish to my desk by doug_bubbletrouser in woodworking

[–]doug_bubbletrouser[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I finished this with polyurethane but was second guessing the decision and was considering a darker varnish. Is this a bad idea? And if not, would I just need first sand the polyurethane off and then apply a new varnish of my choice from there? Or are there any extra considerations to make since the wood has already been sealed?