Oak is porous.... and that original finish is down inside those pores.  
Deep.

Watco leaves a very thin topical finish.  But it penetrates like crazy.  
( it is also a lousy sealant.... it does not jump across the pores to 
bridge them.  A thick finish (varnish?) would.)

There are different shades of Watco, and it does cover itself.....  even 
after time has made the finish dry completely.

My first thought is to use a darker shade over your existing finish..... 
there is a Dark Walnut that may appeal.  ( I interpret Mission Oak as an 
almost black color,  The dark walnut is pretty close)

Other than that, it is a big job to remove Watco.... you will need to 
sand, sand,sand..... Stripper will probably not work. Stripper works on 
surface finishes, coatings if you understand my meaning....

Otherwise your idea to use a modern poly finish with color in it, would 
give you a different tactile finish, but as a topical, it would cover 
everything.

Note:  A good thick topical finish is a good thing on a surface that 
will be used a lot.... so that Poly finish may be the best, given the 
piece is probably used a lot........ and with liquids that are going to 
penetrate Watco.... and mar the wood.....


On 9/21/2020 5:22 AM, Scott Garrison wrote:
> Hello Galoots;
>
> Been a long time since posting but here goes. In 1990 I made a red oak
> coffee table and two matching end tables. It was early on in my woodworking
> so I was convinced by my local lumber yard to use oak plywood for the top
> banded by 3/4 inch red oak...so I did. I finished the project with a
> lighter oak color, say Golden Oak or something to this effect. The finish
> was Watco Danish oil. Decades later, i.e., now, I decided to change the
> tops and made those of red oak boards as I am no longer a plywood furniture
> kinda guy. SWMBO likes darker colors like cherry and walnut so I decided to
> buy some Transtint and use Jeff Jewitt's process laid out here for the
> Mission Oak finish:
>
> https://homesteadfinishingproducts.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/mis
sion_oak_9-2020.pdf">https://homesteadfinishingproducts.com/wp-
content/uploads/2020/09/mission_oak_9-2020.pdf
>
> The test samples on the underside of the new red oak worked the way
> anticipated, I didn't however realize the trouble I would have with the
> existing legs and aprons. I can't seem to do crap with these parts. I tried
> scuff sanding with 180 grit, saw that didn't work. I went down to 60 grit
> and am chewing the surface up but still don't seem to be getting bare wood
> capable of taking on the dye to any degree. I tried calling Rustoleum
> (current owner of Watco) but after 30 minutes on hold I was through with
> that. Realistically had someone answered they likely would have been
> younger than the table and would give me a canned politically correct
> response that would be another dead end such as use Watco's Furniture
> Refinisher.
>
> I have some "drinkable" stripper that I tried, 3M Safest Stripper - that
> was as useless as you know what on a bull. I read that you can't get
> Methylene Chloride any longer but there are enough arguments to the
> contrary that I can't really tell. Nonetheless all the info about it scares
> the living XXX out of me, even using outside.
>
> Is there anyway to get 30 year old polymerized danish oil out of red oak?
> If I can't truly get to a point where I can get a consistent darker mission
> oak-like finish on the legs and aprons I may go with a polyshades black or
> a few coats of black milk paint with BLO or the General Finishes ArmRSeal
> Satin Finish over the top of it all. Not what I wanted since the drawers
> are continuous grain with the apron, but that's life I guess. And I'm not
> even sure the polyshades will cover...haven't tried that yet
>
> HELP needed in Duluth GA
> Scott
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