Patio corner refresh

PROJECT:

Rescue tired, unused corner of the patio. I wanted it to have a bit of character and intrigue, so I decided to do up a small raised deck and use it as a coffee/tea or even a meditative corner of the patio

The idea was to enclose part of the space as a secrfet doorway to something beyond

Looked around for a door but the ones I found were too big for my tiny backyard, so used old pair of long windows instead that I got from Reverse Garbage, Marrickville, Sydney. These had an ugly paint on the frame and the glass had an ugly huge packing tape marked X on it that needed to be scraped out. This was the hardest part of the project, as you can see used Windex, Liquid sugar and a heavy duty glue remover and scrubbed the ugly tape marks off for about 2-3 hours!!

Looking about ok after all that scrubbing, needed one more final wash and scrub and looked much better!! Was worth all the scrubbing and scraping though!

So then I proceed to sand the frames lightly and then painted a dark stain on it. After the dark stained dried I then proceed to sand it down again around the edges or spots you would think the frame would naturally flake to give that realistic distressed old wood look

Then I chained the “doors “that are really windows to the colorbond fence to give the impression of a half opened door like so

And now that tired corner looks interesting with the half opened doors leading to the main feature the hanging red basket with the red Mandevillea  Gaint Crimson and the green wine bottles adding to the whole set up. I particularly wanted to have a small seating with a backrest so that it becomes a book nook but for now have settled for a cushion thrown on a painted tin storage box! I even set up a new pallet deck and sanded that down nd polyurethaned it to give it a fresh swanky look!

How to Varnish timber slab coffee table top in easy steps

The project: 

A coffee table with a timber slab top and plumbing pipe frame to sit the top on

The hardest part was to find the timber slab that I really really liked for the project

I had already built the base for my coffee table project: a plumbing pipe framed body.
After lots of research on the net, I finally shortlisted a few timber slab suppliers in NSW, VIC and QLD, Australia
Finally chose suncoasthardwoods.com.au from Queensland, Australia and hunted down the best piece with the help of the helpful staff there.
I chose a 1770mm long, 750mm wide to 1000mm at the widest, 50mm thick beautiful Australian Bloodwood timber slab. Read all about the beauty of Australian Bloodwood here:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corymbia_terminalis
Next was to get it shipped to me and for me to cart it from the warehouse at work in my little Honda hatchback

The following are the steps I followed to varnish my timber slab

WARNING: Do Not attempt this if you are an impatient person and obsessive. I'm both. And I did spend sleepless nights obsessing about dust and streaks and varnish residue! Varnish is not easy to work with and I found it the most challenging of all the projects I have done so far and this includes building furniture, quilting, sowing and baking. Those were cake walk compared to this. 
Read blogs and other experiences people have had with varnish, respect the ones who do this fora living or are passionate about it, as they are indeed artists who have passion, patience  and perseverance. A good clean one is this one: http://www.wikihow.com/Varnish-Raw-and-Unfinished-Wooden-Furniture, some other ones were

1. I rested my slab on the frame and worked on it while in-situ in my lounge room. So yes, I did the unthinkable I sanded my slab inside my home. The good thing was I could monitor the environment really closely and keep it virtually dust free and no major temperature variations!  
2. This is how my slab looked like when it came to me, I had the sapwood removed and had it dressed and sanded down almost ready to take on varnish straightaway. The first image is of the top of the slab that would be the top of my coffee table and the one below is the reverse side of the slab. Notice how sharp and rough the edges are
   
   
3. What you need: Good quality varnish Bondall Monocel Marine Grade clear timber Varnish, 500ml tin,( you will need 2 of these and as I did I used up 3!) mineral turpentine, a clean plastic wide mouthed container (not too deep), disposable paint gloves, dust covers, dusk mask, safety glasses, tack cloth, a clean used dishcloth, vacuum cleaner, mop, dry and clean 2 1/2 inch brushes, rotary sander, 80 grit, 120 grit. And then 120 grit, 220 grit and 320 grit sand blocks, Trojan or 3M
4. A bit about choice of varnish: I bought the varnish that the timber merchant recommended: Bondall Monocel Marine Grade clear timber Varnish, 500ml tin from Bunnings. 
5. Then the next part was to look for the brush. I drove myself crazy researching different kinds of brushes, I trawled through all possible forums and blog threads on this topic and a large percentage of people who professed the use of natural hair expensive brushes made of badger hair and other exotic creatures, while I did hunt for it I was reluctant to pay the $40-$100 price tag for a single brush that then had to be thoroughly, diligently and expertly cleaned after each use! however in my eagerness I did buy the highest quality I could lay my hands on. I trawled through some shops and eventually picked up the most expensive one from Bunnings, but it still was the most expensive synthetic hair brush. I bought 2! So armed with these and my regular standard ones that I usually dispose off after use I set about my project.
6. First things first, after my slab was brought in from my backyard (my husband and daughter and I brought it in, it weighed a ton!) I then went about setting the room for sanding. Moved all the smaller furniture and cushions out and dust sheet covers everywhere
7. I started with the edges and used a circular sander to really sand all the rough and sharp edges. For the top of the slab though as it was well machine sanded already at the timber merchants, I just hand sanded it with 120 grit sponge sander, jumbo Trojan.
8. Day 1: Sealant coat: I sanded down surface lightly with the 120 grit (as I had already sanded down well the previous day),then removed dust covers, vacuumed all around thoroughly, mopped the floor around with a damp mop, vacuumed surface of the slab, wiped down surface with the clean used dishcloth, then finally wiped down with tack cloth:tip: do not wipe down too hard as the tack cloth varnish can come off and stick to the surface, ran my hand through the surface and when satisfied that it was totally dust free went to start applying the first coat or the sealant coat. Followed the instructions on the label of the tin, for thinning the varnish down for the first sealant coat. The first coat goes on really easy as it is thinned, I learnt later during the varnish job not to work the varnish too much and just use the tip of the brush to lay the varnish in strong single motion strokes and work quick. TIP:Don't leave worktable once you have started to varnish, don't take calls and don't work with the fan on or the doors and windows open. Most important no direct sunlight on your piece while you are on the job!
   
9. Day 2: 1st coat. After 24 hours, follow the same process as before again sanding down lightly what I varnished the evening before, why sand down again? Sanding in between coats evens down the surface of raised or extra varnish spots, provide a tooth like surface for the next layer of varnish to cling to and also improves the character and smoothness and glassiness of the final piece, I didn't believe this till I was 4 coats down. Used the vacuum, dishcloth and tack cloth diligently again and then now opened the tin of varnish and directly used the varnish 100%, no more second sealant coats, this was all per my can of varnish instructions: Do as per the instructions on the varnish brand and type you choose. I used a cheaper brush for this coat that I chucked away.The first coat of 100% varnish was a bit tricky, you will learn by trial and error the thickness and the way you lay it: TIP: Use the tip of your brush to apply, pick up enough to coat in straight strokes for at least 20 cms (depends on how big your piece is though), follow the grain of the wood and never against it, do not work varnish too much, always work from the wet edges, work quick and get into a rhythm
   
10. Day 3: 2nd coat. Happy with my first coat, followed the same process of sanding, wiping down and then applied second coat of varnish. After I finished though I noticed  the varnish dragged at one spot and puddled up in another spot, I was devastated, but the thing that makes it hard with varnish is that if you find out within 5 seconds of applying the varnish that you have messed up, its is fine you can rectify it, any later than that and you are only making it worse by working the varnish too much. Anyway I found out after 10 minutes and I just couldn't do anything about it but wait for 24 hours. What is worse I used the expensive brush for this coat. The finish was great but the ruined spots stood out for me although my husband and daughter didn't even notice
    
    
11. Day 4: 3rd coat: Eager to start the sanding and get rid of the drag spot and the other dollopy spot, by this time notice the colour of the piece was turning a beautiful dark red/pinkish that is so typical of bloodwood I'm told! Repeat all the above but now used 220 grit instead of 120 grit, opened new tack cloth and got down to varnish 3rd coat. This time I worked well I thought, looked good but still needs at least another coat and I used the less expensive "chucker" brush, so no cleaning!! TIP: USE 220 grit before you put on the 3rd coat
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
12. Day 5: 4th coat After a couple of days rest I attack the piece again with fresh sanding with 320 grit this time and yes I need to tell you about the expensive brush. For the 2nd coat I used the expensive synthetic hair brush, the finish was great but the cleaning was awful as unless you know how or have the right comb tooth type contraption to take out all the varnish stuck to the brush it is never the same again once dry so for my later coats. Notice below how the 4th coat starts to look glassy, deep and rich.TIP: I just used the standard quality hardy synthetic "chucker" brushes (I called them so, as you can chuck them after use) Too easy, cheap, no cleaning, no mess and great finish) Use 320 grit before you put on the 4th coat
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
     
13. Day 6: 5th coat: So excited! I opened a new can of varnish to do my final coat, hopefully this will be the last. A couple of small issues and I still had to get my final coat on on my 6th one I thought
    
14. Day 7: Waited for 48 hours to do my 6th and my final final coat.How wrong I was about it being my last. I ran into trouble and the varnish carried streaks of hardened varnish, I dont know how that happened but it did and after I finished I noticed it, I was gutted. It could be that I did not stir the tin enough to mix the varnish or I re-used the expensive brush that I thought I had cleaned really well (I think the latter)
15. Day 8: 7th coat Didn't sleep well the previous night, waited for 16 hours before I had to re sand the areas with 120 grit and 220 and 320 grit trying to get those narrow hairlike  thickened varnish streaks off, tough job, thankfully they got off on most areas except one place where it was the worst. I did my best there and sanded the rest of the top as usual with 320, tack clothed the whole surface waited till dust settled and applied my seventh coat this time with my 3rd tin of varnish as you can see below the affected spot
    
    
16. Looks good, the shine and the texture everywhere except the 2-3 spots but then, hey life is not all smooth eh? The bloodwood is amazing and I love what it does to my living room, it makes it look bigger, makes it heaps warmer just in time for winters and most of all looks like a piece of art. Adding to the arty "gallery" feel that my home already has with sketches and paintings of my daughter that adorn the walls and other objects and plumbing pipe shelving units, pallet furniture and other hand crafted stuff made by me and my daughter (in fact one of her paintings is reflected on my coffee table top)
    
    
17. What would I have done differently? Would have started on a smaller piece and attempted this big piece till I had learnt a lot more patience! But hey, its not the end of the world and in a year's time I will be stripping it off and re-varnishing anyway :) At least now I am wiser

More pictures

WATCH this space for more after I have rectified those trouble spots too

TIPS: 

1. Start the job well rested, as your back will pain bending over at a stretch, do not rush it, let it flow,  Patience, patience, patience...
2. Use cheaper but new brushes only for each job, mix the tin well before start, straight flat strokes, 
   
3. Keep checking the previous stroke from the side where the light falls on the piece to correct quickly
4. DO NOT put on so many coats: 2 sealant and 2 final coats are good enough:) experts tell me
5. Leave a week between tha last few coats  (I learnt it the hard way)