Q: I have a 40 year old dining table with much sentimental value. A refinisher ruined the reddish color many years ago. The two leaves were not refinished. I’d like to restore the entire table to its beautiful original color. The wood is in good condition but the color is blotchy. I believe the finish is an oil finish. How do I go about restoring the table?
A: That’s fairly simple; refinish it, this time correctly, including the leaves. You can do it yourself, if you want to get into a messy job and feel you have the skill to match colors, or you can take it to a refinisher that you trust to be able to restore its original beauty.
There are lots of reasons why a professional refinish job might disappoint, from miscommunication, through an attempt to do a job on too tight a budget, to simply inadequate skills on the part of the finisher. There are competent finishers out there should you decide you want the job done. Just be very clear about the results you want before you ask for a price estimate.
If you decide to do it yourself, get a good finishing book by your side and read up on the process before you tackle it. At very least that will help you decide if it is really something you want to do.
Gentle reminder: A modest donation to this finishing blog can keep it going to help others. Thanks!
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