[noremf]

Henry wood finish

It is toner poly. One of only a very few mass produced commercial stocks that using poly. It is a fairly thin coating and "polishing" it out to try and make it something it is not could reduce areas to such a thin coating that from a practical standpoint would offer little or no protection to the wood and allow contaminants like the synthetic "citrus oils" etc in formulations like Howard's Feed and Wax, to enter the wood and then you would have a much more difficult task to refinish. The factory topcoat is not robust.

I would not advise putting any topcoat over the factory finish as it will probably not "stick". If you want a different finish I would say IMO and IME that you need to take off the factory finish and start from scratch.

I would also not advise using Howard's F&W because of the "Citrus Oil" in it or any other that advertise lemon oil or orange oil etc. They are synthetic "oils" made from Mineral Oil/Kerosene/Turpentine and a fragrance and those "chemicals" can and have really screwed up a finish OVER TIME and are not recommended or used by fine woodworkers. Fine being the definition of the wood, not necessarily the woodworker.

If you are not gonna refinish completely then a good paste wax will help some but you still will not get you the depth you might want. Will make it look "shinier" but not deeper.

noremf(George)

 

[noremf]

Since you are gonna "play" anyways

Well, if the original finish is a poly, then I see no reason not to just apply gloss coat of poly on top of that. There is no way I am going to strip the finish off the wood as that is just too much effort and nasty, caustic chemicals. I can always test whatever spray coating I get on another stock to be sure it doesn't attack the finish of this stock. I have several that Henry sent me when I was try to get some fancy wood.

If you have a heat gun and a couple of spare stock pieces you might want to try taking off the poly with the heat gun on one of the spares you ain't gonna use anyway. Using low heat, heat up a small area until you see it blister then scrape it off with a plastic putty knife. Don't get the knife next to the heat source cause it will melt. DO NOT IMO AND IME USE A PROPANE TORCH unless you gots lots of experience with em. Burns wood before you even notice.

BEFORE you start, regardless of what you do, wipe down the wood with Mineral Spirits and let that dry overnight to make sure you have any waxes or lanolin from you hands etc. off. Don't want that stuff on there before you add another layer of the topcoat.

Often, but not always, the poly will simply come right off and you don't have to use any strippers, don't have to sand it and it won't change the color of the wood underneath so unless you want to, you don't have to add color.

Since you are gonna play with it anyway, and extra 15 minutes, if'n you got a heat gun is worth the effort IMO.

I have done this a bunch of times on furniture as a few stocks cause like you, I am not a big stripper/sander/coloring fan unless there is no other way.

If you are just gonna add another poly topcoat then you can use Synthetic Steel Wool, not the metal stuff, and make sure you rough up every square inch and have at it. Don't think you will have any bonding problems if you get it all "scratched" up. The metal stuff can often leave really small metal "threads" in the finish which show up like black pores when you add another topcoat. Not always but why take the chance when there is a better way.

Not talking about Brillo Pads or anything like that. The synthetic stuff is inexpensive, comes in a variety of grit and looks like this.

http://www.thebestthings.com/newtools/norton_synthetic_steel_wool.htm

Other brands like 3M etc. Sold at box stores like Home Depot or Lowe's. Thinner pads are better cause you can conform to the countours. Useful around the house after you get done with your stock.

noremf(George)

 

[noremf]

Good luck

Roughing it up with the synthetic steel wool and cleaning with spirits is good advice. As I have no heat gun, that step is not an option for me.

Well 2 out of 3 ain't bad. Still get both of us in the Hall of Fame. Good luck.

noremf(George)