Table top restoration

[Dairedubh]

I have a few questions for those out there experienced in refinishing table tops.

A client has asked for their antique table top to be refinished with something more resilient than the previous French polish job they did 5 years ago. The table is used daily in an upscale b&b and has many scratches (some irretrievably deep) and water rings. I initially recommended a repolish but after i was rebuffed :lol: harder finishes such as a.c. lacquer and polyurethane.

I have since stripped back the polish and started to sand out the scratches to the best of my ability, I am conscious of not removing too much material however I have a spots and scratches that I can't shift.

I will attach a few pics below with the areas in question but my main question is what are the chances they will they react with an AC Lacquer or solvent based polyurethane finish and then if so what finish (or further action) would you recommend?

deep ding on the edging and also the edging itself, is it clean enough?

spotting on the wood no idea what it is and already sanded quite a bit with little change.


Thanks in advance
BD

 

[dzj]

How 'antique' is this table?
It's hard to tell just by the photos, but that looks like a rotary cut veneer top.
If so, then I'm not sure it's worth the bother. A proper restoration would probably amount
more hours than the table is worth.

 

[Dairedubh]

Thanks for the reply.

I think the table has seen a few restores over its life time. Currently only one leaf is made from a solid piece of mahogany, the rest is veneers over substrate.

As I mentioned the table is used every day in a b&b and the owners are just looking their a hard wearing finish. I was hoping to spray lacquer or poly but the pitting and marks are worrying. Any suggestions on a hard wearing and clean looking finish are welcome.

 

[CHJ]

As I mentioned the table is used every day in a b&b and the owners are just looking their a hard wearing finish. I was hoping to spray lacquer or poly but the pitting and marks are worrying. Any suggestions on a hard wearing and clean looking finish are welcome.

For a daily use item such as this have you considered a Hard Wax Oil, very easy and forgiving to apply, apply additional coats as necessary to get the build you want, if the surface starts to look grubby in the future due to misuse it can easily be cut back/cleaned and a fresh coat applied. The blemishes in my opinion are what they are and should be lived with, I would expect the polymerised oil skin to adhere to them, it's not as if it's intended to be a display item of furniture.

I have used it on cheap and cheerful coffee table sets and they stand use often without coasters etc.

 

[Dairedubh]

Thanks CHJ

I normally finish furniture in Osmo Polyx but i felt it might be less hardwearing than the client wants. It's a table used by residents in the b&b daily so it sees a lot of use by a range of different users.

I am leaning towards a wipe on polyurethane finish, as it's oil based I expect it won't react with any other oils that may remain in the wood.

If I spray polyurethane then it's solvent based and I'm less confident in there being no reaction.