Aquarium Stand Refinish

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dmolson21

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 9, 2008
32
0
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Indianapolis, IN
So I just picked this up off craigslist for $75. It held a variety of things, but I cleaned it up pretty good. It's sitting full of water now to make sure it doesn't leak because it had rodents at one time that chewed at some of the silicone, but so far it seems ok. Hopefully long term it will be good too. It came with filters and everything, but they need a really good cleaning. So the stand doesn't look to great right now and I want to clean it up real nice. Anyone have good advice/steps on how to refinish it. I'm on a pretty tight budget, and I wish it was black to match the rest of my furniture. But I also could just do a dark finish. Also, is there anything I should rinse the inside with to make sure the urine is gone from past inhabitants. Any help would be great. Thanks!

Full shot of the tank
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Shots of the stand
Front
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Back
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Clean with bleach and water mixture then let air dry to kill the bleach, be sure to use detox next fill.

The stand is real wood? will that paint come off I see easily? you could sand it and put on some varnish or polyurethane afterwards.

Other option would be to totally strip it, get some circa 1850, gloves, goggles, long sleeve shirt, bring it back to bare wood......take it from there....(stains, varnishes, etc)

Good luck on your project.

Oh and being on a tight budget, you can restore the stand.

look around the web for brushing techniques, (on oil based varnish will hold up better compared to a water based, in my opinion, but that could be a debate...so shhh) Test on the back side first, to get your technique down, as varnish can be and polyurethanes etc can be 'weird'. better to have the front facing upwards when doing it to avoid sags. But this means you could get puddles, light coats are better than heavy ones.
I restore different wood furniture and old wood electronics all the time, it very pleasing when you are done.

You should have fun!
 
I can clean it with bleach/water mix, what ratio should I use. What is detox that I should use for next fill, like an aquarium chemical/additive to clean the water.
The stand is real wood for the most part. The panels on the sides of the door, the back, and the sides of the stand are like cardboard covered oak paper or something.
Am I limited on the types of varnish or polyurethane to use, or is there any kinds that you recommend? Thanks again.
 
detox as in chlorine killer like prime, or whatever you may use, as for mixing bleach with water, i only use a few capfulls from the big bottle into a windex sized bottle, then fill with water.

I can show you an example of varnish on a radio I did, which was both real wood and veneer (which is probably what your panels are you are talking about) You have to be more careful with the veneered portions, they can handle a light sanding, but not too much or you might forever kill the color, just light enough to be sure your varnish grabs.

all around the grill is real wood, the strip under that is veneered. For sandpaper, 320 or higher only on the veneer. 220 to start on the real wood and finish with 320, just be sure all the old shine is gone and everything seems to look fairly even....

I lost track of this at or around 17+ coats of varnish with sanding inbetween....yes it was overkill. Anyways the product on that is Varathane Professional Clear Finish Clear Gloss 900(can states it can be used on floors, so it holds up to the job :) ). Be sure to buy a good brush, this will be your most expensive part, probably somewhere in the range of $20-30. A good brush will yield a great job. I should mention varnish will darken you down a bit,(even though the can says clear, well it is, but it is not at the same) which is why you should test on the back first. If you think it's too dark, first try a coat of shellac, then varnish(be sure to sand between your coats, it will make for a much nicer job, and bonds the coats better, and for some reason gives a better shine). Also this radio is from the 50's and was much rougher than your stand is...

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dmolson21;2622950; said:
Do you think that I could get by sanding it myself or do I need to get a sander?
Click to expand...

You shouldn't need a sander, I would just do it by hand, palm sanders are nice, but you can't use that on the veneer. So what real wood is there, just finish by hand. just sand everything out evenly, and be sure to sand WITH the grain, never against it, same should go for brushing. Also make sure the stand is clean and dry before sanding(free of wax, grease) if you find wax, you can clean with TSP then rinse of good. Try to not to make contact to what you have sanded with your oily hands.(no offence meant but touching it can be a bad thing, as everyones hand have oils in them that will transfer to the wood) Just do it with care.
 
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