Unfinished Projects: "Yes I Can!"

Okay, so I may have (yet again) underestimated the extent of my refinishing project. That's my modus operandi. I play Farmville on Facebook and immediately presuppose I can grow my own kitchen garden. Yes I can! I watch HGTV and assume that I, too, can refinish an oak table. Yes I can! Like
Wile E. Coyote I always take a big leap of faith--right off the nearest cliff. Naivete! Don't even get me started on the quilt scraps I have cut and buried in an bin somewhere.

But this is one project I have to finish...er...refinish. Once I sanded off the old varnish, which was minimal after so many years, I had no choice but to plow on, full speed ahead.

Did I mention that I come from a long line of woodworkers? That, however, is part of the gene pool in which I've only waded. The moment I opened the can of wood stain, I was back standing next to my father's workbench. I was only twelve years old. Dad and I were refinishing an old wash stand we'd found in my grandmother's attic. This was yet another 4-H project--(that durn 4-H always pushed me beyond my comfort zone.) As I recall, once I spilled varnish remover on my arm, resulting in a nasty burn, Dad pretty much finished the refinishing for me. That antique wash basin stands today in my foyer--a lovely reminder of my Dad's love and craftsmanship and the project I escaped we shared.

Zoom back to 2010. The stain went on easily enough. And the polyurethane flowed on with little effort. First coat done, and time for a walk with the dog. Two miles later I returned to find a strange bubbling on the edges of the table. Could the sun shining through the open window have caused the finish to blister? And what was that strange dimpling in the surface?

Panicked, I phoned my brother, the woodworking expert. (He actually swims in that part of the family gene pool.) The ratfink wasn't home.

"It looks like it lifted," declared my hubby later that day.

"Lifted!?"

"Yeah. You know--separated," he affirmed.

"Lifted?! Separated?!! Those are words you only want to hear describe a good bra!" I wailed.

"I think you're going to have to sand it down and start over," he advised.

GGGrrrhhhhh!!!

So today I sanded down the half of the table that blistered in the sun. And let me just say, that polyurethane is one hard finish. But I am nothing if not determined. Tomorrow I will channel my father and restain, revarnish! Yes I can! But not before I call the MinWax hotline.