This piece belonged to a friend. The top had several large water stains and the finish was cloudy and very dark. We all suspected that the wood would be beautiful and the table had some really cool details. The client gave me free reign and it was on! Yeah!
The top of the table had several water stains and I thought about my mom's term 'the patience of a saint' as I carefully sanded the veneer to restore the top of the table to its natural beauty. My patience was rewarded with only the largest and darkest stain leaving a slight shadow of the damage.
Step 1: We carefully stripped and sanded the piece, working carefully on the veneer top to remove the damage and leave the veneer intact. Successs! We were able to remove almost all of the damage! Step 2: When I started playing with furniture and found out I could use blue and green and amber stain, I did a very happy dance. I love wood grain but find old finishes a little predictable and, well, boring. The Table inserts on the table legs were dye-stained with GF Amber Dye Stain. The Table legs were stained with GF Blue Dye Stain and the top of the table and the outside of the legs got a GF Light Brown Dye Stain treatment. We used just a touch of Ebony Dye Stain on the center medallion on the bottom shelf to add interest. (OK, I was showing off a little) Step 3: Top coat was GF High Performance Semi-Gloss in 3 coats with light sanding with #400 grit sandpaper between coats. The client was very happy and the table holds a place of honor in her living room. It put my shop-vac and sanding arm to the test. A job rewarding and well-done. It almost felt like magic.
