General Finishes - Jiving With Gel Stain

Custom Roll Top Desk

jmoncada — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 05:15:25 +0000

Vicki's desk was the perfect size for her space and offered her tons of storage with a easy way to hide life's messy moments. But there was one problem, it was dated and tired feeling. She wanted a new look for her work space and it started with transforming this functional desk into a beautiful piece for her to enjoy.

We maintained some wood elements by refinishing them and the chair with a custom mix of General Finishes Brown Mahogany and Java Gel Stains. The body was hand painted in CeCe Caldwell's Seattle Mist with an antique finish. And to complete this transformation we added stunning new hardware from D. Lawless Hardware.

Products Used

General Finishes Gel Stain Brown Mahogany and Java
General Finishes High Performance Top Coat Satin
Cece Caldwell's Seattle Gray
Miss Mustard Seed Furniture Wax
Miss Mustard Seed Antiquing Wax

Cessna Mid Century Dresser

Jennifer Shinn Cahill — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 05:09:01 +0000

I was surprised to learn that early airplane builder, Cessna, turned to building furniture during the lean years after the war. Their furniture was commissioned by the US government to furnish base family housing. Employees of Cessna were also allowed to purchase the furniture. This 1948 Cessna dresser has a most interesting build. The frame and drawer fronts are wood, but the entire interior is metal - including the dresser back and metal tapered legs. The metal drawer construction provides for precision drawer closing and fit.

I fully sanded the wood surfaces and refinished the drawer fronts with General Finishes Java Gel. The body of the dresser was hand painted with five coats of Verdant by Sherwin Williams, sanding between each coat for a smooth, modern finish. Both drawer fronts and painted surfaces where sealed with multiple coats of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal Oil & Urethane topcoat finish and brass hardware stripped and polished for a shiny new lease on life

Products Used

Java Gel Stain
Arm-R-Seal
Sherwin Williams Verdant Green

Refinished Dresser

Lizzie Lou — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 04:44:05 +0000

This was a fun project. Great bones and curves. Sanded, stained with Gel stain in Java. Custom mix of Lamp Black and Klein Blue. Perfect in a little boys room.

Products Used

Java Gel Stain

Singer Cabinet revived

jtresor — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 04:29:22 +0000

From a lead based olive Greene to bringing it back to its original beauty. This piece was a charmer!

Products Used

Candlelite gel
Arm r seal

Classic Beauty Federal Sideboard

SandyDogStudios — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 04:15:58 +0000

Beautiful classic lines are accentuated by the use of Lamp Black Milk Paint and Georgian Cherry Gel Stain on this vintage sideboard. The Milk Paint was lightly sanded to let the red undertones in the wood show through. Original brass hardware polished up perfectly and adds a bright contrast against the rich stained wood tones. This classic piece offers plenty of storage too for either dining room or large foyer.

Products Used

Georgian Cherry Gel Stain
Lamp Black Milk Paint
Minwax Wipe-On Poly - Satin

Secretary

jtresor — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 04:12:42 +0000

Stripping off a pine tar varnish displayed a beautiful mahogany wood. Base coat with Georgian cherry and then blending in a layer of candlelite gel gives a warm tone to display the library.

Products Used

Georgian cherry gel
Candelite gel
Satin gel topcoat

The Librarian

tFFg — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 04:02:46 +0000

General Finishes Gel Stains are without a doubt, one of my favorite secret weapons!

They are probably the most versatile product I use... you can completely refinish bare wood, go over properly prepped existing finishes to completely change the color or even just freshen up an existing finish!

I purchased this 1960s card catalog at an auction. It had been used in a local University's Law Library for most of its life. The condition I found it in was overall very good to excellent... except for a few scratches on the body and a pretty messed up finish on the top. Example: water rings from plants and glasses and a bubbled chipping finish. Oh, and it had a big old cumbersome base on it! Lol

Wanting to keep the original look and feel as much as possible, my only intentions were to come up with an alternate base and to refinish the top. I knew General Finishes Gel stains would be my go to product, I just needed to pick the right color!

I took a couple of the original finished drawers into my local GF retailer and began sorting through color samples and how they looked on different woods. Even though the Golden Pine samples didn't actually match the closest to the drawers, I also knew my top coat would slightly alter the look of the new finish and I knew I could use multiple coats if I wanted a darker tone!

Once my new base/casters were installed and all construction complete, I sanded the old finish completely off only the top of the card catalog. Once I felt I had removed all the finish and blemishes I possibly could I dove right into staining. My instincts were right... the Golden Pine took exactly the way I hoped and I had the perfect match!

I applied the stain using a foam brush and even strokes in the same direction as the grain. I did half of the top at a time. Wiping the excess stain away and blending the lines with clean shop cloths as I went along. The results were amazing, but I didn't stop there. I used a very thin coat of the same stain to "refresh" the outer body of the card catalog... just enough to blend away some scratches and dings that happened with age. The slide out shelves were also given a freshening up.

Three days... yes, I wait 3 days before I top coat any of my GF Gel stains with HPTC due to the fact the stains are oil based and the top coat water based. With proper dry time I have never had an issue combining these products. I actually only Top coated the top of this piece, since it was the only part completely sanded bare and then stained.

This rare find, with local history and now a modern look didn't take long to sell at all. Definitely one of my favorite transformations to date!

Products Used

GF Golden Pine Gel Stain
GF HPTC Satin

New Lease on Life

Amanda Renfro Dillon — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 03:47:32 +0000

This beautiful but dated secretary came to us to find new life. We sanded to bare wood, to remove years of product build up, then stained with GF Antique Walnut Gel Stain and top coated with SW Kem Aqua Lacquer, sprayed.

Products Used

GF Antique Walnut Gel Stain
SW Kem Aqua Lacquer for clear

Waterfall Wonderful.

jtresor — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 03:45:34 +0000

Waterfall Bedroom Suite. Bringing this into the 21st century, Minimum stain, and allowing the grain of the wood to bling...

Products Used

Java gel
Arm-R-Seal
Lacquer high gloss

Bringing it Back to Life

The Repurposing Man — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 03:41:44 +0000

Since the veener was already in disarray on this 1940's dresser, I carefully spent sometime removing it so that it exposed the beautiful wood underneath. After a process of sanding starting with 100 grit, then to 150 grit and finally to 220 grit giving the dresser a smooth finish and accept the stain. I started with the frame and top using 3 coats of General Finishes "Black" gel stain, and then staining the drawers and main body with 3 coats of General Finishes "New Pine" gel stain. I saned the black to give it a light distressed look to it, and then completed the final process spraying 3 coats of General Finishes "Top Coat" clear satin to bring out the luster of both stains.The hardware was carefully cleaned and sparyed in a lacquer black.

Products Used

General Finishes Black Gel Stain
General Finishes New Pine Gel Stain
General Finishes Top Coat Satin