Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Use your Murphy's Oil Soap and a clean rag to thoroughly clean the entire surface of the mantel. Depending on the pattern and design of your mantel, there may be several nooks and crannies to clean out. Scrub hard if necessary to clear away built-up dirt. Look the mantel over after a good cleaning to determine if you still need to refinish it.
Spray the mantel with furniture polish if you still see water spots or other stains. Often letting the polish sit overnight will bring a stain up in the wood. Use a clean rag to wipe the stain away after the polish sits. If the stains and dirt don't lift, or the integrity of the wood is still not coming through, then refinishing should be carried out.
Open doors and windows to ventilate your work area or, if the mantel is not yet attached to a wall, take the mantel outside for refinishing. Use the steel wool to add the furniture refinisher to the mantel, working in small areas. As you work the refinisher with the steel wool, they will erase scratches and foggy looking spots while softening the old lacquer.
Wipe away the dissolved old finish with a new rag before the refinisher evaporates. Continue working on the same spot and reapplying refinisher if not all of the old finish came up. More pressure with the steel wool can help work the refinisher and remove excess layers of finish.
Keep working the refinisher until all of the old finish has been completely removed. This may take some time depending on the pressure you use on the steel wool and the size of the mantel. Pay careful attention to small crevices where removing the old finish may be a little more challenging.
Look over the entire piece first to make sure all of the old lacquer is gone and then again to look for areas that need repair. If there are splits in the wood, or pieces that have broken off, seal the cracks and reattach pieces with permanent, clear-drying wood glue. Let the glue dry thoroughly, according to manufacturer's instructions.
Check your mantel to make sure all of the refinisher has evaporated. Take another clean cloth or rag and begin applying your polyurethane, following the manufacturer's instructions. Wait at least an hour, possibly two, before adding a second and third coat. Wait longer if your product specifies to do so.