I've sanded the finish off of some knotty pine door and window trim that was installed in 1981. It looks pretty good in general, but, there is some blotching where I sanded deeper in order to remove dents and gouges. I'm wondering if you might have some interesting finishing strategies for reducing the visibility of these blotches?
The tricky part is that I'm planning to keep the finish as honest as reasonably possible to the wood. I'm not planning to stain at all. My current finish plan is to do a few coats of clear Zinsser Seal Coat shellac as a sanding sealer followed by a few coats of Waterlox Satin Finish. Though the wood isn't special per se, it seems to be an older growth variety and I like its vintage quality. I also don't want a yellow finish or for it to darken much at all if I can help it.
I know that I'm asking for a contradictory things (keeping it light, natural, and showing off the natural wood well while also trying to minimise these variations), but I'm curious if you have any interesting solutions or ideas?
I feel like the obvious solution is to use a light gel stain. Do you think I could dilute a gel stain and very subtly add a little tone? Or is this likely to become uneven?
Maybe I could add a subtle pigment to the finish?
I know that I could also sand more, but I'd prefer not to do that if I can help it. I like the look of the slightly sun-aged wood (though maybe some of that is simply old stain?) and I'd rather not sand sand too deep and create more inconsistencies in the surface.
Thanks in advance!
Here is an example:
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Originally Posted by Jim Becker
