Cabinet refinish

[Jcris]

Hey,
I’m thinking about refinishing some cabinets on a pair of bookshelf speakers. These are finished in a high gloss and while they look ok I would much prefer a matte finish. Please take a look at the pictures and advise on the best way to proceed. To be honest I’m not sure if I even should refinish them. I just bought these and won’t have them until later this week
Thanks

 

[dliscomb]

Assuming the existing finish is polyurethane, and if the existing color is already to your liking, then you can apply a coat of satin on top with little effort; no need to remove all of the existing finish if so desired. You will want to abrade the existing surface with fine steel wool first, so that the new coat will adhere properly.

cf. https://www.finewoodworking.com/forum/satin-poly-over-gloss

Kind regards,
Drew

 

[Jcris]

Thanks Drew,
Apologies, I don’t think I was very clear. While I don’t like the gloss finish, my main goal is to remove the existing imperfections. I’m not sure the pictures show it well enough. Would a chemical strip of some kind be necessary? Followed by a very light sanding, then just use a matte clear?
Thanks for your help
And thanks for the link

 

[dliscomb]

• I think stripping the wood will leave you with raw wood, and then a ton of work to get it back to this kind of finish. As mentioned in the linked article, generally accepted practice is to lay down 2-3 coats of gloss, and then finish with whatever is desired for the last coat (gloss, satin, matte, etc.). Since you already have gloss, the bulk of the work needed is already done; why re-do it?
• The long cracks won't buff out. after stripping, you would need to painstakingly fill them with very carefully tinted filler, in several different colors, judging from the pictures. it can be done, but it will take some time to get the filler the right colors to match the surrounding wood. and likely several attempts, if you haven't done this work before. think dental tools and 2mm micro-spatulas.
• It's hard to tell, but the bump/ding may need to be raised. in some cases, you can put a drop of water in the ding, apply heat with a cool iron, and the resulting steam raises the grain enough to "fill in" the ding. if it has not dented the veneer, then refreshing the finish will likely take care of that cosmetic blemish.
• Alternatively, a bit of basic furniture polish and buffing may hide that "bump" so that it's invisible from any distance over 24".

Realistically, I think you will be the only one who sees these imperfections, especially the veneer seams.

Kind regards,
Drew

 

[dliscomb]

by the way, no discredit to the builder whatsoever. getting book matched veneer edges mated invisibly is very difficult.

Kind regards,
Drew

 

[russc]

re the long cracks.
A dark fill would look very like a feature of the natural wood grain while a light fill as you can see just draws attention.
That's if you bother going down that route.

 

[Jcris]

Yeah thanks,
Haven’t quite decided yet
I’m planning on taking just the cabinets to a furniture repair shop we have here in town. Just to get an opinion
We’ll see