refinishing help

[Chad Fitzgerald]

im refinishing a kitchen table for me sisterinlaw, i mainly do new kitchens and furniture so i dont have alot of experience in the refinishing world.
she simply wanted it cleaned up and new finish as it was old and worn. not a complete strip.
cleaned it up, sanded w/ 220, applied new finish.
post catalized conversion varnish, sherwin williams. This is what i use on everything.
Problem: in places, basically where they usually sat(where the plates sat) the finish is orange peeling. i ahd warned her this may happen due to oils, grease, etc. and it did.
my question is, is there a way to "fix" this problem????
any sugestions will be very helpful. thanks
chad

[Pete McMahon]

"she simply wanted it cleaned up and new finish as it was old and worn. not a complete strip."

If only I had a dollar for every time I heard "can you just tighten this chair up?" In other words they don't want to pay to have it taken apart and done right.
If she simply wants it cleaned up suggest she use some soap and water, dry it well and then polish it with wax. Simple and done but not refinished, just dressed up.

You can't put a post cat finish over a failed finish. Strip it, wash it and refinish it if you want to use post cat.
Put post cat on that failed finish and you'll be doing just that. Might as well do it right the first time.
The main danger here is it's for a relative. Proceed with common sense and caution. You could bury yourself with that table.

[Howard Acheson]

I agree with Pete. What the customer wanted and what you did will generally lead to a bad short term result. Complete stripping of the top should have been the minimum. Kitchen furniture and cabinets are generally the most heavily contaminated items in the home. At the very least you should have used mineral spirits applied with 3/0 steel wool wiping off the gunk with lots of paper towels. Then apply a coat of dewaxed shellac to counter any residual contamination.

At this point, I would strongly recommend that you strip off the top surface of the table. Mask off the rest of the table to keep the paint stripper off. Use a stripper that contains methylene chloride carefully following the directions. Sand, apply a coat of dewaxed shellac and then apply your clear coat.

[Chad Fitzgerald]

this is just about what i thought i might hear. and she was warned this may happen, i made it very clear it may or may not work so im not too worried about it, and neither is she. all is good as far as that goes.
That being said, is there a prefered stripper that works "best"? Also this is a veneered table, any isues to be comcerned with there?
i spoke with her at our xmas and let her know the issues and she may just have me make a new table(which she knew may happen) but i am curious about the stripping.
thanks
chad

[Howard Acheson]

The stripper to use is one that contains methylene chloride. It will do the fastest most complete job. Follow the directions on the label.