On Dec 12, 7:48*am, "HeyBub" wrote:
I've got a bedroom suite, thirty or more years old, whose finish (whatever
it is) has turned, um, "sticky." As a consequence, it hold dust like a
flocked Christmas tree!

I could, and probably will, refinish the four pieces, but curiosity compels
me to ask what IS the original finish and what caused this condition?

Thanks in advance for your best guesses.

This happened to our Varithane(sp?) finished floors, too. Took about
25 years but... turned into a real disaster. Finish just kept getting
sticky and/or gooey. We were told when we did the finish to watch out
for that, that the finish would go 'bad' in 20-25 years. But, at the
time we did the floor we thought that time length was a long ways
off.

Can't remember the name now, we used something like Homer Formby's
'refinisheing' Simply wipe over the surface and it did something to
the finish that repaired the floors enough to get by until we moved.

Be very careful about refinishing furniture. If the furniture has
antique value, it will destroy that value. If the furniture is in
light, then refinishing can produce a 'watery' look, where the sanding
makes the surface unlevel and the finish shines like a wind-driven
water puddle looking very bad. You've probably seen that finish
repair on the concert string basses - they look all shiney and new,
but ruined.

If the furniture is flat surface sand with a SOLID flat block to avoid
uneveness. Don't use electrical tools, do it by hand. It's the only
way to preserve the flatness - unless you have a milling machine that
can handle it.