The top of this mahogany chest of drawers has worn through in spots (see photos). I don’t know whether this is the original finish, I would guess the piece is 40-50 years old. Is it possible to fix this without refinishing the whole top? Thanks.
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Replies
From an armchair guess, the finish looks brittle, like shellac or lacquer. It's easy enough to sand off with a RO sander or similar, restain and refinish. Not really a problem.
Expert since 10 am.
I have that exact chest with probably that exact problem. If you look at the entire top there are other little places where the finish is cracking. If you really want to do it right I would strip it and refinish the top entirely. It is a clear finish and will not be a problem at all to remove. You can test with denatured alcohol to see if it is shellac, but somehow I doubt it is. It really wouldn't even take a very strong stripper which will preserve the patina of the wood.
If you sand it, you will remove the patina and I believe you will then have a problem of having to match the finish.
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