# Refinishing Dining Table



## JimDC (Oct 11, 2008)

About 30 years ago, my mother had the bright idea of painting our dining table blue. I own the table now, and a couple weeks ago I decided to strip and refinish it--get it back to its original state. Got the stripping done last weekend (a picture is attached, showing about mid-way through the job) and I need some advice about finishing. 

1. Can anyone tell me what kind of wood this is? I suspect cherry, but am not sure.

2. The stain under the paint came off unevenly, so its lighter in some places than others. Can I assume that the color will even out when I re-stain? Or do I need to strip it down to the bare wood to get an even color?

3. As this will be used as a dining table, I want a protective finish but I am not a big fan of poly. (I don't have small kids who will be killing it, so I don't need major protection.) I want the finish to look as close to "fine" furniture as I can get it, so I'm thinking about a brush lacquer in satin. Is this a good choice?

4. It has a few small gouges (probably from when I abused it as a kid) but nothing too bad. If I fill them with putty I fear they will stick out from the surrounding wood, so better to just live with the gouges. Is my thinking on the right track?

I'll appreciate any suggestions on these topics (or anything else you can think of).

Many thanks,

Jim


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## Shamus (Aug 22, 2008)

Looks like it may be cherry but would like another pic to be sure.
Is it solid wood or a veneer top?
I wouldn't fill the marks in the table, unless they are really bad, gives it some character for it's age. I have yet to find a filler that will take stain and not show up later without a bunch of fussing. Maybe someone has a suggestion or process for that. 

If you take any of the finish down and sand into the wood you'll have a difficult time keeping the color even. If solid wood then a re-stain will look better if you start from bare wood for sure.

I use lacquer but I always spray. I can't talk to a brush finish. Someone should be able to offer some thought on this.

Well that's my 2¢. 

Side note: I see in the photo you have a hot water tank in the same room. Is that a gas fired tank? Remember, the fumes from some chemicsl strippers, and lacquer are flamable. The vapor stays a foot or so off the floor and can easily catch fire/explosion. Stay Safe!

PS Nice work! It's always fun to see an old piece of furniture brought back to original finish. :thumbsup:


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## breakfastchef (Jan 14, 2008)

Check some of those gouges with a magnifying glass. Try to determine if the piece is veneered. If so, any kind of aggressive sanding should be avoided.

If the existing finish was not damaged during the stripping process, you could wipe on a stain to try to even out the color. If the existing finish is damaged, you might as well go for the full strip, but you may find it more difficult to get stain to take evenly. Tinting your topcoat may help to blend the color more evenly.

I have never used a brusing laquer, but I understand they include levelers to help eliminate brushstrokes. It may be worthwhile getting prices for a local refinisher to spray the table. 

For dents and gouges, lay a damp washcloth on the damaged area and apply high heat from an iron to the cloth. Check the damage often until you get a feel for how much heat and how long to apply the heat. The moist heat casues the wood fibers to expand. This method can help.


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## Shamus (Aug 22, 2008)

Quick follow-up, Steaming works great on dings and dents but do be careful with veneer. Personally I don't try to bring up veneer dings because you can loosen and raise the veneer too! 

Don't ask me how I know that...


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## Tony B (Jul 30, 2008)

*Probably Mahogany*

This looks like the typical Duncan Pfife table made in the 1930's. Some of the tops were made of solid Cuban Mahogany and some were made by veneer over plywood. Cant tell by the photo, but you should be able to tell since it is in front of you. My best guess is that it is veneer because the edge does not look routed. Again, cant tell much from the photo.
The legs are most probably made from Poplar.This was the way it was usually done back then and also by the photo.

To answer your questions:
1). Most likely Red Mahogany probably cuban.
2). The stain most likely wont even out unless you take all of the wood down to the same level. You may not need stain. Get a rag pretty wet with any thinner and make a nice wet wipe on the table top. That will give you a close approximation of what the finish will look like without stain. From the photo, it looks pretty red already.
3). Any table in use needs major protection. I have never used a brush lacquer so I cant comment. If you want a professional looking finish, you must spray. If you are capable of spraying, use a good pre-catalyzed lacquer or a catalyzed lacquer. It is stronger and more durable than poly. A cheap lacquer is one of the worse finishes you can apply and a good lacquer is one of the best finishes you can apply. Dont believe me? Look at all of the furniture in your house or in any furniture showroom and guess what the finish probably is.
4). your thinking is right on the money. As some have previously stated, a damp rag and a clothes iron will pull dents out of solid wood but might lift the veneer in plywood. Sometimes better left as is.

Getting back to the top for a minute. It almost looks like walnut in the photo. Back in the depression days. this was done quite often. They would use walnut and a red analine die to make it look like mahogany. Sanding will tell. The wood will either be redish or blackish.
You probably will have more trouble matching the legs than any other part. What also was done back then to make poplar match mahogany was to use a black grain filler and a red dye, combined, your eye saw red mahogany.


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## clockdaddy (Oct 12, 2008)

To add to Tony B's comments...Steaming causes another problem by also lifting stain from the wood. 
The wood on the top is Hondurus Mahogany and to achieve a proper "professional" finish will need to have the grain filled. This is done with a special type of substance that needs to be applied by a pro. 
A fabulous and durable finish can be applied using a rubbing varnish. Each coat is rubbed on evenly and thoroughly with a good sanding between coats with 300 to 400 grit garnet sandpaper. Never use steel wool. It embeds itself into the finish and in corners and cracks and will come out in subsequent coats of finish. A brush on lacquer is not easy to work with and is not durable. The first warm pan or wet glass on it will leave a mark.
Again, as suggested before, the quality of the finished product that you are hoping for is generally well above the abilities of the home refinisher because of the lack of proper equipment and finishing techniques. This one is for the pro's.

CD


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