Hi everyone, new to the forum here and seeking some advice. I recently found a lovely dining table at a thrift store and would like to refinish it. I have no real experience with this kind of thing so please bear with me if some of my questions are foolish! The table is teak veneer, Danish modern from the 1960s. It has quite a few rings, scratches and stains on it, and an area where the finish seems to have been worn off (photos linked).
Photos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1g7uV33S74XzJLzkNJTVI6C3IhWbzJTwq
1. How should I go about removing the existing finish? I believe that it is just teak oil but not sure. I have an orbital sander but I’m not opposed to the idea of sanding by hand if there’s a risk of wearing through the veneer.
2. How can I remove the dark stains? There are dark blotches on the tabletop that I’d like to remove; I assume they won’t sand out. I’ve read about using oxalic acid to remove stains like this; would that be a good solution? Would another product be better?
3. How should I finish the table? The table currently is very susceptible to scratches and water damage; ideally, I’d like a surface that I can dine on without a tablecloth and not have to be too precious about it. I like the look of the current finish: it isn’t glossy and shows off the beauty of the wood, but at the end of the day, I want a table that I can rest a glass on without a coaster.
Thanks for reading! Please let me know if I’ve missed any relevant details!
John
Replies
This is a very nice piece of furniture. I have refinished several of these, say dozens if you include other small tables and the teak interior in my old boat. The main chalenge is to not sand through the veneer. Being an authentic 1960 table, your chances are good as the veneer in those years was thicker than the paper thin veneer of later years. Nevertheless, minimal sanding will help. I would start with stripping the finish with a conventional paint stripper, again to minimize sanding, this will also remove most stains. a good clean-up with mineral spirits and sanding can follow. The stains look superficial and should sand away but if they dont after light sanding, oxalic acid may be ok but others can suggest proven solutions. As for sanding, always use a block and follow with increasing grits, say 120-150-180-220. For finishing , my everyday table has 4 coats of Danish oil from Circa, if has an almost varnished look and since the kids are grown up and gone, is all I need. Early in the days of waterborne finishes I refinished our cheap teak kitchen table with Varathane water soluble varnish and it stood-up to the abuse of raising a family . Nowadays I would use General finishes Enduro-var or High performance clear for that purpose, make sure you clean with acetone or alcool just before applying the finish, teak has a oily substance that needs removing prior to varnishing.
Somebody really hated this table. To echo what Gulfstar said, teak is one of the oiliest woods and may give you fits. I work solely with oils so I gotta warn you. If the surface is oiled now you have a different problem. Oils soak into wood maybe making it necessary to go deeper than you want to get to raw wood. So be careful.
If you decide to re-finish with oil, try wet-sanding with it. Start with 800 grit wet/dry sandpaper and progress up to 1200. On Highland Woodworking's site there's a great article on it by Alan Noel in their library section.
Mikaol
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