Bubba wrote:
On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:58:48 -0800 (PST), ransley
wrote:

On Jan 24, 10:56 am, "Ray" wrote:
We have a rather nice mahogany dining room table that is beginning to need
refinishing after 30 years of reasonably careful use.

I'm thinkng of doing this job myself. I have a hand sander.

A few questions:

1. Do I need to remove the old high-gloss varnish before saning?

2. Is sanding likely to significantly change the color of the wood?

3. If it does, can I get a stain that will restore it?

4. After staining, should I apply several coats of high gloss polyurethane?

5. How do I prevent, bubbles, which I've gotten in the past when I used
polyurethant?

Any guidance appreciated.
Is it a nice table, is it veneer. Is sander random orbit. Without
seeing it cant say but a sander may ruin it.

dont pay attention to this rambling idot called ransley. He cant read
and cant comprehend.
Bubba
Bubba, you're becoming obsessed with Ransley. His message was clear to
me and he is right. Power sanders are bad news for good furniture for
a number of reasons.....easy to get swirl pattern or run dips in the
wood. An older table might be a little warped, which makes hand sanding
safer, again. Inexperience with p.s. can ruin good stuff. If the
finish is shot and the wood damaged, sand away.