Hello,
a family member recently sent these pics and asked how they could repair this damaged finish on this furniture piece. They have indicated it is not scratched but that the finish has lifted/flaked been lost in spots.
I read with interest the posting and recommendation made by 'spanky' in another thread to correct the unevenness on another american made piece.
I was wondering if your thought this recommendation would be appropriate to use on this damaged surface?
thanks for your time /all comments welcome
"14-Jul-14
Oy.
It's most likely lacquered. All you have to do is wipe the lacquer off with lacquer thinner or acetone, which you can get at any hardware store.
Then oil as you wish. It will even out very nicely without adding color or using methylene chloride stripper or any of that stuff.
It's not a super quick fix but it's the only one that works in my experience when dealing with a worn lacquer finish.
posted by *spanky* "
Hard to tell
from the photos if it's a clear or toned finish. But, either way, I'm not sure that I would recommend that anyone inexperienced take this on without first having an expert provide an estimate.
Large household movers and those that specialize in fine art and antiques use them all the time to make on-site repairs. I'd start there for references in your area. You might be surprised at how reasonable the cost seems compared to risking making a mess of it.
Just a thought.
Removing all the lacquer isn't too
complicated but it would take awhile and it'd be a lot of work on a piece like that.
Re-lacquering, however, or stripping and re-lacquering only the damaged surfaces, is something a pro should handle. Acetone has very little surface tension and tends to run all over the place even if you work hard at keeping it from dripping. And it will destroy the finish within a second or two. You have no time to mop up drips off the parts you don't want to disturb. I will probably dissolve masking tape adhesive, too---so don't even think about going there! (haha)
Lacquer must be applied in a dust-free environment or you will get see every little speck of airborne dust in the finish. The dust-free finish is what you pay a pro to do.
In the other post I remember ...
In the other post I remember it was regarding how to even out the color on an entire face of a piece and I think that is where the confusion is.
You couldnt actually even out the finish with acetone on this. Acetone only works to strip a lacquer from wood and like spanky said it is very hard to control where it goes.
If you want to keep it, just try some restore a finish. If you want to sell it try restore a finish and if that doesnt work take it to a pro.
Sorry to have to disagree, juanearl.
This piece requires a specialist to make it right.
Really, it appears from the photos that it's probably a straight nitrocellulose or acrylic lacquer, which are relatively easy to repair for someone with the right training and equipment.
I would definitely not recommend applying an over-the-counter product designed for general use by homeowners as a cure-all. If any oily product at all gets under that compromised finish, it's done.
Edited to change methyl cellulose to nitrocellulose. Oops!
oh yea in agreement that it...
oh yea in agreement that it should be repaired by a specialist, and wanted to mention only applying acetone wont solve the problem. just throwing out options if the op doesnt want to pay to have it repaired or just wants to get rid of the whitening. restore a finish can do some awful things to a cracking finish.
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