On 16/01/2011 17:24, Tim Watts wrote:
NoSpam ) wibbled on Sunday 16 January 2011 16:09:

Our dining table has suffered the ravages of family life for 20 years or
so and the top has quite a few dings and scratches. It's not
particularly valuable but the finish is very attractive so I'd prefer to
try to repair the scratches and refinish it - any suggestions about
where to get the necessary info?

Hi,

Solid mahogany? Or veneer?
Veneer - with some very nice figuring (it was a few hundred squid about
25 years ago

I got a long long with some *very* mild sanding of an oak veneered leaf
dining table I got for 25 quid (the danger was going through the veneer).

If solid, you can obviously take more off.

As to the scratches - will they sand out, do you want to fill them or even
leave them as a "feature of antiquity" (it's not as daft as it sounds).
I guess some will go with refinishing, a few ill need filling and the
rest can become a "feechur"

For filling - wait for someone else. There are certainly magic compounds but
I know not what to recommend.

What sort of finish are you after? Again, there are many choices, including:

a) Plain waxing (again, wait for someone to recommend the best) - not so
robust but trivial to repolish from time to time once the base wax is
established. Hardwood lab benches lasted for decades of abject chemical and
heat abuse by being waxed often. Howver, if you want a "pristine" look, a
waxed finish may mark quickly with spilt liquid or heat.

b) Oils of various sorts.

c) Varnish. Personally if going down this route, I wouldn't use polyurethane
- but rather something like Rustins "Bar Top" which has been recommended
here many times. Not so easy to apply but supposed to be the most *******
hardwaring finish available.

d) "Treatex" which is a proprietary blend of oils and waxes. I like it where
I want a non polished "real wood" look and feel (I used it on all my oak
skiting and architrave) - couple of coats leave the wood texture still
feelable but offers some protection. Easy to rag another coat on later. Not
likely to give you a traditional polished look.

At the moment I think it's lacquered - it looks too good to be 25 year
old polyurethane.

Having done a little investigation it seems that I would have to get
"all" the lacquer off if I was going to varnish or oil it - maybe that
will turn-out to be a piece of sandpaper too far. I've just seen some
very nice (and some not-so-nice) mango-wood furniture and the flexible
friend is tempting me to splash out :-(

Thanks for the info.