Hi, I recently bough a table at Structube(made in India) which had a finisher already. I don't know what finisher was there, but the wood was not as bright as I wanted and it became much brighter after I applied my finisher.
How I did it: I sanded it(lightly) and covered with Varathane premium diamond finish water based interior. I applied 3 coats with sanding between coats. It looked very good. We waited for a week before we started to use it.
After 1 week of very light use it became very-very scratched.

Please advise on what do to create a strong scratch-resistance surface.

I plan to sand it and cover with (?) Arm-R-Seal Oil Based Topcoat or anything you will recommend.
Thank you , Helen

Hi,

This issue is that the original finish is not compatible with the varnish applied.

To remedy the situation, you will have to completely sand the table to remove everything. Starting with an 80-grit sandpaper and finishing with a 120 grit. The table must be down to bare wood.

Once this has been done, then the Arm-R-Seal gloss can be applied, carefully following manufacturer instructions.

Hope this helps!

Hi,
Thank you very much for the quick response. I have another question - is there something for wood finish - similar like a primer for painters - some kind of glue type varnish that I can apply to a surface that is finished with unknown substance before I apply Arm-R-Seal or something else.
I ask because I can sand the varnish I applied, but it is not that easy to sand the finish that was on the table. It seems that is sitting very deep into wood and in addition it has some coloring to it as well. I am not sure I can sand all the old finisher off.
Thanks,
Helen

Hi,

The previous finish appears to be an oil finish. The only way to remove an oil finish it to sand it all off.

Yes it does take some elbow grease but it can be done using the 80 grit paper then 120 grit paper.

Kind Regards,