Singing the praises of 'Polyshades' (Actually Polystain by Cabot.)

Bed & Breakfast / Short Term Rental Host Forum

Help Support Bed & Breakfast / Short Term Rental Host Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Morticia

Well-known member
Joined
May 22, 2008
Messages
17,771
Reaction score
685
I have taken all of the wood-framed bathroom mirrors down (including one ornate old mirror that used to be on a dresser) and restained them with Polyshades by Minwax. This stuff goes on over the old poly, no sanding required. I've put it on over furniture polish on a plantstand. The stand was horribly waterstained, this stuff covered it right up. Today I did the ornate mirror and a sidetable that is used in one room by the sink (where it is constantly getting wet). I'll do a second run tomorrow but it is amazing how much better everything looks with a fresh coat of stain and poly- in one step! (Low VOC, too, so I'm not running for my inhaler or getting wicked headaches.)
It's amazing how much cleaner, newer, fresher everything is looking as we take these old pieces and do very simple fixes on them.
We are seriously considering redoing all of the tables and dining chairs...4 tables and 12 chairs, not a small job. It's the chairs that need it most. Scratches from phones clipped to belts, shoe buckles and the top edges are really worn.
End of infomercial...I didn't do before and after shots, sorry.
Sorry, I make a heck of an infomercial if I don't even know what product I'm using...Polystain by Cabot, altho the Polyshades works well, too!
 
Good to know! Thanks for the "infomercial"! We have a couple of pieces we inherited in the second house that could use something like that!
 
I have a lovely coffee table that's been relegated to the garage because it got hand sanitizer spilled on it (resulting in large white splotches). Do you think it would work on that? It sounds fabulous!
=)
Kk.
 
I have a lovely coffee table that's been relegated to the garage because it got hand sanitizer spilled on it (resulting in large white splotches). Do you think it would work on that? It sounds fabulous!
=)
Kk..
YellowSocks said:
I have a lovely coffee table that's been relegated to the garage because it got hand sanitizer spilled on it (resulting in large white splotches). Do you think it would work on that? It sounds fabulous!
=)
Kk.
That's probably from the alcohol in the hand sanitizer. I'd check for solutions that work on alcohol, you may HAVE to sand that. But, if you're never going to use that table again because of the stains, give it a try.
 
I have a lovely coffee table that's been relegated to the garage because it got hand sanitizer spilled on it (resulting in large white splotches). Do you think it would work on that? It sounds fabulous!
=)
Kk..
Alcohol would do that to varnish (so that is an indication of what the original finish is. Alcohol won't hurt polyurethane, and will remove but not discolor shellac).
You can use polyurethane over varnish but you should do some sanding with fine sandpaper or steel wool to remove any wax or grime that would make the polyurethane not stick as well.
Of course if the hand sanitiser was not alcohol based and had water in it, then the white splotches might be an indication that the finish is actually shellac. If you aren't certain, an easy way to tell is to get some denatured alcohol (in the paint and hardware section of hardware store). Pour some on a clean cotton cloth and start rubbing the white stain. If the stain starts to disappear, then you are dealing with shellac and you can keep rubbing it with the alcohol and the piece will be like new (but may need another coat or two of shellac. And of course if you still wanted to use poly over it you could do that too.
 
I have a lovely coffee table that's been relegated to the garage because it got hand sanitizer spilled on it (resulting in large white splotches). Do you think it would work on that? It sounds fabulous!
=)
Kk..
Alcohol would do that to varnish (so that is an indication of what the original finish is. Alcohol won't hurt polyurethane, and will remove but not discolor shellac).
You can use polyurethane over varnish but you should do some sanding with fine sandpaper or steel wool to remove any wax or grime that would make the polyurethane not stick as well.
Of course if the hand sanitiser was not alcohol based and had water in it, then the white splotches might be an indication that the finish is actually shellac. If you aren't certain, an easy way to tell is to get some denatured alcohol (in the paint and hardware section of hardware store). Pour some on a clean cotton cloth and start rubbing the white stain. If the stain starts to disappear, then you are dealing with shellac and you can keep rubbing it with the alcohol and the piece will be like new (but may need another coat or two of shellac. And of course if you still wanted to use poly over it you could do that too.
.
I knew someone knew all that stuff! I watched someone testing the finish on a hardwood floor on TV and they did all that stuff.
 
Ugh...varnishing...I hate to varnish, but I have to lay a coat on everything at least once a year and if I let it get away from me, I have to take all the teak back down to the plain wood, acid wash it, and start all over. It takes about 10 coats to "get started." I hate the task of varnishing, but I love the results in a big way.
 
Back
Top