On 18/01/2011 20:13, Andy Dingley wrote:
On Jan 16, 4:09 pm, wrote:
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?

Bennett's "Discovering and Restoring Antique Furniture" is about the
best general how-to
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/030434740X/codesmiths
Most antique restoration books are _not_ to be trusted, especially not
for wood finishes.

The "steam ironing" technique is worth trying for dent removal and
some scratches, so long as you're already having to deal with (white)
hot water rings.

It isn't an antique so I believe the finish is likely to be lacquer.

There aren't any rings - just scratches on the (rather nice) table top
and on the chair legs. From the figuring it must be a veneered top.
I'm starting to think that this may not be a DIY job ... but I need to
find-out about the compatibility of different finishes, and also how
much a restorer would charge.