I've a "piece of furniture" belonging to someone else, which I'm
supposed to be keeping until they buy a larger house. It's described
as a "court dresser", and looks vaguely similar to this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...c k4you.co.uk

Unfortunately, a Small Boy has scratched it with something. The
scratches haven't scored the timber, but have marred the somewhat
matt finish. The thing seems to be made of pale wood, with a dark
stain or varnish on top. The varnish is prone to flake, and it's
flaked off where the scratches are. I don't think it's shellac.
Neither does it appear to be polyurethane. This piece of furniture
may have been made between the '50s and '70s, as fas as my limited
knowledge of things like this goes.

What might this varnish be? How to repair it?

On Wed, 01 Mar 2006 13:48:09 +0000, Chris Bacon
wrote:

Blah blah blah

Chris Bacon wrote:
I've a "piece of furniture" belonging to someone else, which I'm
supposed to be keeping until they buy a larger house. It's described
as a "court dresser", and looks vaguely similar to this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...c k4you.co.uk

Unfortunately, a Small Boy has scratched it with something. The
scratches haven't scored the timber, but have marred the somewhat
matt finish. The thing seems to be made of pale wood, with a dark
stain or varnish on top. The varnish is prone to flake, and it's
flaked off where the scratches are. I don't think it's shellac.
Neither does it appear to be polyurethane. This piece of furniture
may have been made between the '50s and '70s, as fas as my limited
knowledge of things like this goes.

What might this varnish be? How to repair it?

Best fess up to the friend (see how good a friend they are) and hope
the insurance pay for it.

MBQ