My daughter has a dining table that was severely damaged by a well-meaning but inexperienced cleaning woman. I have no idea what she used to clean it, but the top is now a blotchy combination of dark walnut and, where it looks like all of the oil was removed by a harsh cleaner or solvent, what looks like completely unfinished wood. There are also a few dark stains.
I’d appreciate any thoughts on how to approach restoring this. The project is complicated by the fact that the table has three leaves that were not damaged. Because I believe it will be impossible to match the refinished top to the leaves, I think I’ll have to put the leaves in and refinish everything.
Should I try linseed oil and 0000 steel wool before doing anything more radical, or would that just be a waste of time and energy? What about sanding? I’m concerned about going through the veneer before I get an even color. The Fine Woodworking special issue on finishing and refinishing goes into the use of bleaches. I assume that would require getting rid of all of the color, followed by a walnut stain (and trying to come as close as possible to the color of the table legs and the chairs) and then applying oil.
I’m open to any suggestions. The table is a fine quality example of Mid 20th Century modern, and I’d hate to mess it up. Sorry about the length of this post, and TIA for any ideas.
Replies
First, I wouldn't use Boiled Linseed Oil. It offers zero protection and will darken over time. But you may be able to get a reasonable match with an oil/varnish mix, such as Watco. A light sanding (NO ROS) with 320 grit paper might help without having much risk. (This is applied the same as BLO, and looks very much similar, but offers a modicum more of protection. You have to try a small area to see what it looks like.) The dark stains may require a separate approach, possibly with oxalic acid. Dark stains probably can't be sanded out.
It might also help to know what the cleaning lady did. A bit of gentle interregation might be useful. Waterboarding violates UN protocols.
Do we really know what the finish really is? What if she wiped it all down with mineral spirits to see how everything might look after that.Gretchen
"The table is a fine quality example of Mid 20th Century modern...." If he is on-target with this statement, would it not be lacquer, just about guaranteed?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
This is a very good idea, I should have mentioned it because the mineral spirits wipedown offers a reasonable approximation of what would happen with an oil finish but at no risk.
I can't imagine there was a shellac finish. At least as long as "mid-century" refers to the 20th century not the 19th. And the original post speaks of an oil finish which I would think rules out an ordinary NC lacquer, which would be a film finish. Lacquer was typical of factory furniture, but there were lots of in-the-wood finishes on "modern" furniture--I own a piece or two that date from that period. Isn't that when "Danish oil" was born?
We should ask jwh2 to clarify what the finish is a little more. Perhaps the name of the manufacturer of the furniture would help too. And, figuring out what exactly was used that damaged the finish would help quite a bit I think.
Edited 5/23/2006 3:18 am ET by SteveSchoene
First order of business is to find out what the finish was. One possibility is that the table was finished with shellac and it was cleaned with an ammonia-based cleanser. Ammonia destroys shellac very effectively. You can test for shellac by wiping the table in an unobtrusive spot with a rag dipped in alcohol. If it's shellac, it will come right up.
If the table had a film finish before, I'd be hesitant to oil it as this might make it blotchier than it is already.
Pete
Ammonia (as in Mr. Clean, Dirtex) sounds like a likely culprit. It will remove both shellac and color, depending on what stain is.
All I can tell is my sorry experience. I was trying to refinish a glass cabinet maybe 50 years old. Using alcohol, I washed off shellac and set about bleaching dark, brown veneer (no idea what stain had been). 1st bleach (hypochlorite) didn't work well and neither did ammonia.
So, tried 2-step bleach, and it worked better but still left stain. Tried oxalic acid and saw a little more but not enough progress. Used swimming pool bleach (calcium hypochlorite??) and that finally purged last traces of color to get the pure white wood I wanted. Problem is, using all those water-based solvents blistered and delaminated the veneer, making the piece ready for curb pickup.
I will never bleach veneer again.
Edited 5/23/2006 1:39 am ET by DabblerBabbler
Edited 5/23/2006 1:42 am ET by DabblerBabbler
Edited 5/23/2006 1:43 am ET by DabblerBabbler
I think I’ll have to put the leaves in and refinish everything.
I'd say so also BUT how do you match the finish that is on the rest of the table? As in the legs and other parts?
I'm not sure if the wood solid or Ply but maybe experiment on the under side of the leaves?
First, thanks for all of your thoughts. As far as the original finish, Steve is correct. It is a Danish oil finish from the late 1950's. The theory that it was ammonia sounds like a good bet. We'll never know for sure because the table was in my mother's possession at the time, and it would be just about impossible to track down the demolition, er, cleaning woman.
As far as matching the finish goes, I know that I won't be able to get a perfect match, but because of the design of the table I think I can come close enough that it won't be too noticeable. There's some damage, both finish and chipping, to the edge banding so I've figured I'd probably end up having to replace at least some of that. Re-banding all of the pieces is starting to sound like a probability. Because the legs are set well in from the perimeter, that will help the mismatch problem.
Unless this information changes the advice I've received, I think I'll start by wiping it with mineral spirits as suggested to see just how bad it really is. That sounds like the option with the least possibility of doing further damage.
by wiping it with mineral spirits as suggested to see just how bad it really is. I sort of agree.. BUT I would finish off with a with a good wax to see how it looks.. But then there it this problem of removing all the old wax if not right? Ammonia?
No, no. No wax, especially at this point. And of course, to remove wax, it is naphtha or mineral spirits.Gretchen
wax won't make a significant change in appearance, mjust impact the gloss a little. NEVER use ammonia on finished wood. Its only use that I know is in chemically staining certain woods. To remove wax--use mineral spirits or naptha along with a lot of rubbing and many rags, changing the surface frequently so you don't just smear it around.
Gretchen and Steve,Hmmmmm. I kinda think WillGeorge may have been kidding about the ammonia since it may have been the original culprit, thus my remarks about finding the cleaning woman. And Gretchen, I'd like to remain faithful to the '50s oiled finish. It had made it through nearly fifty years of use with an occasional rubdown with BLO using 0000 steel wool when necessary to get rid of minor problems. That said, Steve's earlier suggestion to use Watco may be reasonable. I know it's been around for more than fifty years so it, or something similar, may have been the original finish.
That is fine. Use Watco or just an oil. But use coasters for sure. I thought you might like something a bit less care intensive. I lived through the "Danish oil" finishes also. Lots of white rings if you are lucky. If you aren't, they are black and you are looking at a complete bleach and refinish job. Satin wipe on varnish is not far off an oil "look".Gretchen
If it's that damaged I'd spend more time deciding on the new finish you intend to use and whether or not you have the capability, equipment, and know-how to strip what is left of the old and apply the new.
If you decide on lacquer I'd load it up and take it to a pro - leaves and all. There is nothing worse than a shade-tree lacquer job.
WillGeorge and BossCrunk,
I want to duplicate the original Danish oil satin finish, so I won't be using either wax or lacquer.
BTW WillGeorge, with regard to "But then there is this problem of removing all the old wax if not right? Ammonia?", too bad I can't track down the cleaning woman. I'm sure she could get it off. In fact, if you ever need to remove the epoxy paint from your shop floor I'm sure she has a cleaner that will do it! ;-)
You could apply a satin wipe on varnish finish and have some degree of durability to your table top. Oil will never be a durable finish.Gretchen
Sounds great. Danish oil will work fine. It is a very long-oil varnish. You can achieve some surface build if you choose to or stop at the third or fourth application and wax with a high Carnauba content wax. Wait a few weeks before waxing.
Thanks to all for your suggestions. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Oil/varnish mixtures are not the same as long oil varnish. The long oil varnish refers to the proportion of oil to resin as initital ingredients in the chemical reaction that creates the varnish. A oil/varnish mix takes two different compounds a varnish and an oil (plus some thinner usually), It should not be allowed to build a film on the surface because it will be quite soft. Not as soft as pure oil, but not nearly as hard as a varnish, even a long oil varnish.
Thanks Steve. I learned something today.
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