A day in the life...

[Mendip]

^ Thanks Shutree, that looks like the exact same bottle I ordered from Lazada for 99 Baht. Hopefully it will arrive today.

I'll have to see if the wife has any lint-free clothing I can borrow. It won't be lingerie because Anna's taken care of all that.

As for drinks ring marks... I think there's two ways to go. Just forget about it and let all water stains, scuffs, dents, graffiti, etc be part of the table and it's aging process or try and keep it in perfect condition... in which case that first water stain really pisses you off. Like that first scratch on a new car when you go up against a hedge in a narrow lane to let a tractor pass.

Knowing my cohabitants, it will be pretty well impossible to enforce place mats and coasters so I'm going to just let it all happen (as if I have any say). My mum has a beautiful oak table back in Somerset which is in perfect condition... but it's been covered by a heat resistant cover and table cloths for the past 20 years and virtually no-one has ever seen the actual wood to enjoy. I think that's a shame.

Anyway, the culmination of the project is in sight. Tomorrow I'll start on the mahogany table with the Danish Oil. Can't wait!

[DrWilly]

Looking lovely mate. the next project might be painting that white wall...

[Mendip]

^ Yeah... that would open a can of worms. First one wall...

Anyway, who fancies trying out my Isaan Glory Hole? You gotta be tall, though.

[Shutree]

Anyway, who fancies trying out my Isaan Glory Hole?

Looks like ther's already a pecker in there.

[Mendip]

^ More than a pecker mate... that's a tookay.

[Shutree]

^ More than a pecker mate... that's a tookay.

Ah! I see it now.

[DrWilly]

^ Yeah... that would open a can of worms. First one wall...

Anyway, who fancies trying out my Isaan Glory Hole? You gotta be tall, though.

Jeepers! That escalated fast!

[Mendip]

Yesterday I finally had time to get the first coat of Danish oil on the mahogany dining table.

It makes such a difference.



I rubbed it on with a very old T-shirt I found. The cloth had to be lint free.



After just one coat the table is really starting to look nice.



But of course, this being Isaan there's always some unflushable turd in the toilet bowl.

This is the gardener's corner, thus named because this was the corner he took it upon himself to start re-coating the table with the same polyurethane finish that we'd just spent a month trying to remove. I assumed that he'd re-sanded down this area afterwards but maybe he just rubbed the polyurethane off while still wet? He's away at the moment but I'll ask when he gets back. The corner looked the same as the rest of the table until I applied the Danish oil.



After one coat of Danish oil the corner is lighter and shinier than the rest of the table and it looks to me as though the oil isn't penetrating very well. Maybe I'm being a bit anal but now it is all I see and it's really pissing me off. This corner has a completely different finish and looks completely different in the light.



My question is, would it be possible just to re-sand this corner to get below any influence from that extra polyurethane coat, and then patch it up? Or will it always show?

[DrWilly]

My question is, would it be possible just to re-sand this corner to get below any influence from that extra polyurethane coat, and then patch it up?

I think you might have to!

[Mendip]

^ Yeah, but that's the best scenario.

I don't know if you can patch with this oil like you can with emulsion paint of if you have to add an entire coat across the whole area, like gloss paint.

I'm hoping Barty stumbles across this thread again...

[Reg Dingle]

Thats fucked...stick a beer mat on the fucker and get a professional in

[malmomike77]

My question is, would it be possible just to re-sand this corner to get below any influence from that extra polyurethane coat, and then patch it up? Or will it always show?

yes but let the oil on the rest of the table dry and buff it, i'd probably paper over and tape off the part you aren't sanding as you don't want the dust to end up in the open pores.

[Mendip]

^ Thanks mate, that is what I shall do.

^^ That brought back some memories. I thought you'd be too young to remember that one.

[Barty]

My question is, would it be possible just to re-sand this corner to get below any influence from that extra polyurethane coat, and then patch it up? Or will it always show?

I must admit, I don't think I have had this problem before, but I would just sand it back and reapply the Danish oil. I think you will be fine.

I'm hoping Barty stumbles across this thread again...

I would be cautious taking advice from Barty. His entire knowledge of wood finishing could be written on the back of a postage stamp.

Here are my own notes for applying Danish oil. I copied it from a YouTube video a few years ago.

Sand the wood up to 220 – 240 grit.
Use a clean rag or paper shop towels. Have two or three on hand.
Prepare 600 grit sand paper into ¼ squares.
Shake the oil can thoroughly.
First coat. Apply a generous amount of oil to the rag and lightly rub it onto the wood. The wood should have a wet look. Let the oil soak for a about three to five minutes. Wipe off the oil with a clean rag. Don’t let the surface oil dry before wiping off.
Let the oil dry for a minimum of 4 hours.
Second coat. Apply a second thin coat using a clean rag. Leave for about three minutes and wipe off the excess oil.
Let the oil dry for about 4 hours.
Third coat. Apply a third thin coat using a clean rag. Leave for about three minutes and wipe off the excess oil.
Let the oil dry for about 4 hours.
Fourth coat. Apply a small amount of oil onto the surface. With the 600 grit sand paper, lightly sand the oil to create a slurry. Remove the excess oil with a clean rag.
Repeat the steps in the fourth coat until satisfied with the gloss.

Instead of rags, I use Wypall X60 paper towels.

[Bogon]

Is Korat Thailand's version of Liverpool?

Turn your back for 5 minutes and some rascal nicked the wheels?

[DrWilly]

Not to mention those weird knickknacks on the shelf...

[Mendip]

^ those 'weird knicknacks' on the shelf are actually world renowned pottery figurines from Dan Kwian, a world renowned pottery centre of excellence. Admittedly they did look better before all the cacti they held, died.

Many thanks to MM and especially Barty... they must use big stamps down your way?

I sanded back the corner to bare wood (I thought)...



Applied some Danish Oil, and it looks even worse.

I'm well pissed off... and am considering sanding back the entire table top again.

All this sanding could lead a grown man to cry... is there any precedent for that, I wonder?

[Reg Dingle]

Have you thought about a nice table cloth yet?

[DrWilly]

Didn’t know you were a connoisseur!

[Joe 90]

I reckon your figurines have given their appraisal Mendy..

[Edmond]

Have you given the missus the ol' line 'I'm gonna treat you like my big toe'.



'And bang you on the furniture.'


Can it fit in passport-run vans?

[Hugh Cow]

^ Yeah... that would open a can of worms. First one wall...

Anyway, who fancies trying out my Isaan Glory Hole? You gotta be tall, though.

Should fit Cyrilles head. The person on the other side wont notice any difference.

[Mendip]

I must admit I'm not really expecting anyone to stick their appendage through the entrance to the bird box... I couldn't even get the wife to stick her finger through and wiggle it today.

This tookay seems to have taken up permanent residence so I guess no nesting hoopoes or magpie robins for the foreseeable future.



As for the table... after sanding back the gardener's corner to bare wood and reapplying Danish Oil, I took a look this morning... and it just wasn't right.



No way am I going down the Midlands table cloth route so, as I kind of suspected would happen all along, I said 'fukkit' and started over again.

Another day spent sanding to take off the Danish Oil I put on last week and get back to bare wood...



Five hours later and I was back here again. I'm becoming quite the expert at sanding... if only there was a way to make proper money with a strip of sandpaper.



Once ready, I re-applied the Danish Oil following Barty's instructions. I worked from west to east to leave the gardener's corner until last, so at least I could enjoy the job through to the end, if the corner was still knackered.



The rich, luxurious mahogany colours were looking really good with the Danish Oil.



After leaving a few minutes and buffing up...

No gardener's corner! This table is starting to look really good and I'm well chuffed tonight.



I should get the four coats of Danish Oil on this week and the table back in the house by the weekend. It sits ten so all I have to do is make eight new friends before Saturday!

[DrWilly]

I kinda thought starting over was the only real answer. I also thought you might have avoided that. But you didn’t. In the end.

[Topper]

Nice Mendip!!!!!!!