I've got a vintage (don't know how old) Florence Knoll oval table that we bought a couple of years ago for our dining table. This weekend I tackled refinishing it. Unfortunately it didn't go too well. Long story short I think that in certain areas in an effort to eliminate some scratches I went through the previous owners staining/finishing, but not so far as to reach the substrate (I think/hope). We noticed that the areas with heavy sanding were lighter than the other areas which makes sense because in my opinion all the stain had been removed but we were slightly worried that the veneer may have been worn through. We decided to cut our potential losses and applied briwax as that was our intended new sealer. The areas with the heaviest sanding turned out to be darker than the other areas once dried and i think the rawer wood was absorbing the wax differently than the areas that might have a little stain left. In other words the table is not consistent in color. Ultimately I think the best option is go at it again and sand everything down to the same level.
Before we do that though and potentially completely ruin our top, I wanted to ask if anybody knew how thick the vintage knoll veneers were? I am assuming its a veneer based on present literature. Any chance it's solid wood?
I will try to post images later.
It doesn't take to much effor...
Veneers are normally .04 to .015 inch in thickness in my experience depending if it is peel and stick, wood backed, paper backed or raw. So its not that thick
It doesn't take to much effort in sanding through a veneer and once you do, depending on how severe, there is not much you can do besides some faux Wood painting, router out area and do a patch or replacing of the veneer entirely
But you will know when it happens and kick yourself in the ass for it as its very noticabule. I don't think you did this
Now if there is water stains that's different as you can't sand it out but can treat it to lighten the stains. There is different products out there
Also, if a finish wasn't completely removed in one spot and it was in another, the new finish will absorb differently so that might be what is happening. You really need to post pictures so people can see truly what's happening and give better suggestions from there
Hope the project comes out well and hope this helps
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