Fish eye problem

[Jack Lemley]

Hi All,

I am refinishing an antique coffee table. I stripped it w/Citrus Stripper,
sanded w/220 orbital and then applied my 1st coat of Minwax Polyshades. The
top surface of the table was one huge fish eye. I know that fish eyes are
contaminate related such as silicone, wax, etc. I then mixed some fish eye
eliminator w/the Minwax and that reduced the incidence of the fish eyes but
still a bunch of them. Any suggestions on how to proceed at this point?

Thanks,
Jack

[P. Fishbein]

Short of stripping the table and starting over, you might consider:
• Cleaning the daylights out of what you now have. Since you have used
polyurethane, you might be able to use just about any solvent and mild
detergent you like. Some auto parts supply stores sell a cloth that is made
to remove silicone contamination if you think that is the problem.
• Applying a sealer coat of dewaxed shellac. This is best done by spraying
since brushing might stir up any remaining silicones or whatever is causing
the problem.
• Sand the finish level and go at it again with some finish containing fish
eye destroyer. This may have to be repeated multiple times.
The problem is very likely remaining wax from the stripper but you
probably know how the piece was maintained better than I do.

Good Luck.

"Jack Lemley" <jackleml...@cableone.net> wrote in message
news:t1fpqk4...@corp.supernews.com...

[Frank Weston]

If you were spraying a finish, there are ways to work around fisheye. In
your case (I'm assuming you are brushing on a finish), the only way you're
going to get decent results is to strip the table and start over.

Fisheye eliminators are probably the absolute worst thing to use. They work
by adding enough silicone so that the reduced surface tension that is caused
in spots by silicone contamination is uniform everywhere. The problem is,
now everything you used is contaminated with silicone, so you'll have to
discard it all. Do it, because you can't clean cups, mixing sticks,
brushes, rags, buckets, etc. adequately to remove traces of silicone.

Strip the table. Seal it with shellac. Spray on light coats if possible,
if not, rub on light coats. Lightly sand, then spray or rub on more coats.
Rub on one last thin coat of shellac, then finish as desired. Use thin
coats until you're sure the fisheye is under control. Don't brush on the
shellac, or even it will run the risk of fisheye. Stripping will not remove
the silicone contamination. It's there to stay, so plan on working around
it.

Frank Weston

Jack Lemley wrote in message ...

[jim mcnamara]

You got some great advice from Mr Fishbein.

One comment:

Fish eye eliminators usually contain silicones, so you have contaminated
your spray equipment with silicones. These can be removed from a 'clean'
sprayer with a VERY thorough cleaning in mineral spirits or turpentine, not
lacquer thinner.

jim mcnamara

[Snoid]

I use a wet rag to eliminate fish eye. I'm sure to put them out in the
trash, though, so they don't stink up the kitchen.

"Jack Lemley" <jackleml...@cableone.net> wrote in message
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