Say you have a solid wood vintage chair with a worn lacquer finish-- the lacquer's slightly worn on the legs, terribly worn on the seat. In fact, the seat's pretty much naked wood, at this point.
Is it necessary to strip the remaining old lacquer before refinishing? I was hoping to find a product that I could apply to make this look fresh & dewy for a while until I have the time (or inclination) to completely strip off the old.
Only completely refinishing will really do it, but...
try Watco Rejuvenating oil. I've used it lots of times and it really works wonders. I think it would be ok to use with a clear lacquer if you intend on redoing the whole piece later on.
http://www.woodnshop.com/Watco_Rejuvenating_Oil.htm
Do it once,
do it right ?
If you're planning to give it a new finish eventually, why wait ?
My experience with wood is that everything makes a difference -- and that you can't expect two pieces of the same wood, one with one kind of finish and the other with a different finish, can ever be made to be the same again. That is, if one part of this chair is raw and another has lacquer, and now you oil it, then the raw part will absorb oil and the lacquered part won't -- which will affect the way the wood accepts the new finish when you get around to stripping it.
The goal in finishing is to get an even job, and to get that the wood needs to be treated evenly all over -- including sanding, and any other treatment. So, I'd strip now, and get the wood back to a nearly raw state, and then proceed with the new coat(s).
But that's just me. Everyone seems to have different stories when it comes to finishing wood.
Restore-a-Finish
I've used Restore-A-Finish on a water bleached J16 rocker to great effect. That being said, the finish was slightly worn, but only raw in the edges of the armrests. When finished the rawness was still visible, but finished, meaning it doesnt look like a new chair, just an old kept-up chair.
Restore-A-Finish
Alright LS, I'm giving it a ride tomorrow. I've had a bottle in the cabinet for months now. We'll see what it can do. You and whitespike are quite high on it. I've got a few Nelson pieces I'd like to jazz up but I'll be testing it out on an Eames Aluminum Group table which has definitely seen better days to start.
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