I am working on refinishing two old 78 record player cabinets and there is a black finish around the base as well as covering the edge of the plywood top, to hide the fact that it is plywood. It is not a stain as it seems to be thick and not impregnating the wood. I cannot tell if it is a black paint of some kind or just black colored varnish as it is pealing off and flaking off like the rest of the varnish on the piece. Any help would be appreciated
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Replies
Someone will certainly ask this question, might as well be me.
Can you provide some photos of the problem area?
I agree with Jkatzowitz. However, you should use a chemical stripper rather than trying to sand the old finish off; especially if the wood is veneer (you know the top is veneer because of the plywood). What ever stripper you use should remove the black product what ever it is. Then you should consider replacing the black with a strip of veneer to match the other wood.
It is quite probably black lacquer given the age.
My general approach:
If it comes off with alcohol, it's shellac.
If it comes off with acetone, it's lacquer.
If neither remove it, then it's polyurethane or a conversion varnish.
If it looks like paint, then it's paint.
Of course, this is overly simplistic, but it does cover the overwhelming majority of commercial finish products that you see in real world furniture.