Refinishing a bunk bed

[dlminehart]

I have a 20-year-old bunk bed, well made from ash by Vermont Tubbs, that had its share of dings, scratches, water spots, etc. I've sanded it down and am about to refinish it. The question is, what finish, applied how?

Given all the spindles, wipe-on poly or spray poly seem the likeliest candidates. Given the abuse this bed suffered from my kids, I suspect it will require a pretty sturdy finish to hold up well for the next 20 years.

I want to use a clear, satin finish. I have the HF HVLP sprayer. Any suggestions, recommendations, cautions, or whatever for this application?

[cabinetman]

I would go for a cross linked waterbased polyurethane. It dries fast, and tough enough for flooring.
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[drumpriest]

Typically flooring resins are not as hard as furniture resins, because they must be allowed to flex. That could be an advantage here, as this is a bed, and some movement is probably expected from the weight it carries.

For a hard finish I've been spraying EmTech 6600 from target coatings lately, and it seems to work well, but I have not had 20 years to test the finish. It dries SUPER fast, so be aware of that.

They do have an interior water based poly that is supposed to be super hard, and I've heard good things on message boards, but have not tried it myself.

Cabinetman, would the General Finished high perf be the kinda thing you are suggesting? Again, I've not used that, but some friends have and hold it in high regard.

[cabinetman]

Cabinetman, would the General Finished high perf be the kinda thing you are suggesting? Again, I've not used that, but some friends have and hold it in high regard.

I will say that I find very little difference in most of the WB polys. Since I don't do more than a cursory test on the finishes, Of the ones I've tried, and GF was one, they all hold up well. Some of my friends that run shops that use WB all pretty much feel the same way.

Some of the initial differences may be dry time or flow out. Some work better with some thinning. The reality is getting the application process including prep and sanding down pat.

I've tried just straight WB poly's that finish as well as those intended for flooring. There are additives for flow, catalysts for crosslinking, and in the end there really isn't much difference IMO.

I can compare the finish to lacquer, which was my standby for many years. I tried WB poly when it first came out, and since then there has been great improvements. It's a very easy finish to apply...no blushing, easy clean up, quick dry.
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[dlminehart]

So, spraying waterborne poly is better than using a wipe-on poly? And General Finishes makes a good one? Significantly better than, say, the Varathane I can pick up at HD? If so, in what regard?

[dlminehart]

A related question: given I'm using a clear finish, and the original was done the same (though I don't know whether lacquer or something else was used), how important is it that I sand away all of the original finish before spraying on my new poly? Will any unsanded spots show up different from the sanded once I spray them both? I was pretty thorough, but not obsessively so, in my sanding.

[cabinetman]

So, spraying waterborne poly is better than using a wipe-on poly? And General Finishes makes a good one? Significantly better than, say, the Varathane I can pick up at HD? If so, in what regard?

I suggested the WB poly finish because you said you can spray. I wouldn't spray oil base varnish or oil base polyurethane. If you are queasy about spraying, you could make a wiping varnish from an interior oil base varnish, or oil base polyurethane. If it were me, I would spray WB poly.

A related question: given I'm using a clear finish, and the original was done the same (though I don't know whether lacquer or something else was used), how important is it that I sand away all of the original finish before spraying on my new poly? Will any unsanded spots show up different from the sanded once I spray them both? I was pretty thorough, but not obsessively so, in my sanding.

Since you don't know what the finish is, and it would be a PITA to sand off all the old finish, or strip the old finish, You could do as good as a clean up as possible and with sufficient applications of the finish, whatever what was there most likely won't be noticeable. Of course if you are concerned, then use a stripper, and then there won't be a question.
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[drumpriest]

Adhesion could be an issue, to me it change the question, if you don't know what is on there, it's risky. Something like EPL is known to bond with nitrocellulose lacquer, but I'm not sure if it'd stick to poly, so it's a tough call. Maybe do some tests?

[dlminehart]

Related to this same general subject: when General Finishes (or whoever) says that coverage is X sq ft per quart, and that one should use at least 3 coats, does that mean your quart will cover X sq ft at least 3 times or just once? I'm trying to figure out how much finish I'll need for my bunk bed, and this coverage issue can make a difference of 3x or 4x!