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Antiques! => Antique Questions Forum => Topic started by: modhar on July 03, 2011, 12:45:28 PM
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I recently got a apartment sized drop leaf dining table and a tea cart. The 2 different sources from whom I got them told me they are mahogany. But they look different. If anybody can identify the wood, it would be greatly appreciated.
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Table looks like pine from what I can see !! Tea cart has no close-up of the grain so I can`t tell on it !! Mahogany can be different colors from the finish used but the grain is a very tight, fairly straight, grain !!
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Thanks for your reply, I'm posting a couple of pics from different angle.
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With the leaves up on the tea cart.
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Do the legs with the metal feet belong with the table ?? Now I can see why they are different, the table has been totally stripped, bleached and refinished. I have owned and still do several of these pieces. They were made in the 30`s or 40`s and are Duncan Phyfe repros. I have never seen one the color of yours. Normally they are the same color as the tea table although I would not say that they were never that color,, you never know, but I doubt it. So they probably are both mahogany !!
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Thanks for your reply, I totally agree with you. After reading your post I took a good look and the under side of the table is exactly the same color as the legs, but the top is little lighter, although at the same time the pics, I think because of the light shows a greater contrast. Thanks for mentioning Duncan Phyfe, because that was what the seller told me exactly. The metal brackets that hold the drop leaves have "LARSEN" name on them. Thanks.
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The pictures are not clear enough or close enough to give a definitive answer in my opinion. The tea cart does not appear to be mahogany but finished to look like mahogany. The drop leaf does look like mahogany but the end grain and side grain would be nice to see to determine if it is mahogany.
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Thanks for the replies, I will try to take better pictures in daylight and post them. May be I should first buy a good camera, because the pictures posted were taken with my cell phone. Thanks.
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sometimes it is easier to identify the type of wood via a picture of the unfinished underneath side of the table top.
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Thanks Cogar, waywardangler and mart for your response. This is the closest picture I could reproduce of the grains and color.
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Hi cogar, I have tried to pics of the top and bottom to compare
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This is the picture of the legs
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These are the pics of top and bottom side of the extension leaf
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Still too grainy for me.
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I had also bought a set of end tables which I am planning to finish myself. As you can see from the picture there are a lot of scratches and little gouges, but nothing deeper than a mm. As you must have realized I am new to this and my understanding fom the internet is that I have to take the surface off with steel wool and then apply some sort of filler and the seal it and then polish it. Please guide me through this.
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Have you tried some Old English to see if the scratches blend in ?? You can also get a scratch cover stick at your hardware store that has a wax base to fill in minor nicks !! Your end table looks like the 60`s- 70`s French Provincial style. Many of those had a rather brown tone fruitwood finish !!
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I don't have any tools so I am planning to finish by hand. I found some steel wool but also a solution to strip the surface. But I am afraid to use the solution, what do you think? Is it easy and efficient to use the solution? I am posting the pictures of the products I found in a local hardware store, is this fine or should I use something else?
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Thanks mart, I found something in my local hardware store for filler, please take a look.
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Now please guide me through when I can use these following products. Thanks.
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Have you tried some Old English to see if the scratches blend in ?? You can also get a scratch cover stick at your hardware store that has a wax base to fill in minor nicks !! Your end table looks like the 60`s- 70`s French Provincial style. Many of those had a rather brown tone fruitwood finish !!
I couldn't find scratch cover sticks when I looked, may be I will try some other place. What do you mean by Old English? Is it some sort of oil like Tung oil?
Is there a site where they give you step by step instructions for some newbie like me? Thanks.
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Old English is a liquid furniture polish and scratch cover-up. It should be where the furniture polish is. The wax sticks are about the size of a crayon and they come in different colors to approximate finish colors. They should be where the refinishing/stain supplies are. Ask your hardware person. They should know if they have these items and where they are in the store.
If you have 60s-70s finish on that end table, more than likely it has some type of opaque, sprayed finish on mediocre wood. Refinishing it may not be prudent. I would not refinish that end table. Too much work for little return.
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Old English is a liquid furniture polish and scratch cover-up. It should be where the furniture polish is. The wax sticks are about the size of a crayon and they come in different colors to approximate finish colors. They should be where the refinishing/stain supplies are. Ask your hardware person. They should know if they have these items and where they are in the store.
If you have 60s-70s finish on that end table, more than likely it has some type of opaque, sprayed finish on mediocre wood. Refinishing it may not be prudent. I would not refinish that end table. Too much work for little return.
I agree with you, at the corners it almost looks like a fine layer of "something" is off. In this case, if I want to just spruce it up, what should I do? Can I apply the shellac after mild scrubbing with extra fine steel wool? Can I apply the "wipe on poly" on shellac to give a shiny finish or will it ruin it?
Thanks.
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I would start with the least intrusive course of action...Old English wiped on and wiped off. Then see how this table looks. In many cases that is all you need to do except maybe apply a light coat of furniture paste wax. If you have deep scratches, you may want to fill them in with a like colored wax stick first.
If the above does nothing for you, lightly cut the surface sheen with the steel wool and then apply your wipe-on poly. I do not see the need for shellac first. I have never used wipe-on poly but I assume this is put on and not wiped off to get the surface sheen you want? Do not shake up or over stir polyurethane as that causes bubbles in the finish.
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I would start with the least intrusive course of action...Old English wiped on and wiped off. Then see how this table looks. In many cases that is all you need to do except maybe apply a light coat of furniture paste wax. If you have deep scratches, you may want to fill them in with a like colored wax stick first.
If the above does nothing for you, lightly cut the surface sheen with the steel wool and then apply your wipe-on poly. I do not see the need for shellac first. I have never used wipe-on poly but I assume this is put on and not wiped off to get the surface sheen you want? Do not shake up or over stir polyurethane as that causes bubbles in the finish.
Thanks a lot, will try this weekend and let you know.
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I agree with Wayward !! He is exactly right !! But another course would be a clear acrylic spray if you just want to add shine !! It is almost foolproof as long as you stay at least a foot away from the table while spraying and keep your hand moving. It dries fast and is quite durable !! The modern finishes are very difficult to work with and like Wayward said,, there is no guarrantee that the wood is what it appears to be. I stripped a sideboard once that was finished like tiger oak !! I counted 3 different woods it was made of and not one was oak !!
Oh and I forgot,, you need to take those items back to the hardware store and get a refund. All that cost more than the tables are worth. You have three finish types ??? Can`t use but one !!
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Oh and I forgot,, you need to take those items back to the hardware store and get a refund. All that cost more than the tables are worth. You have three finish types ??? Can`t use but one !!
Mart is right. That can of Varathane, unless the price drastacilly dropped, must have cost you a pretty penny. It is great stuff though, you can brush it on or pour it on, ...... no hits, no runs, no errors, ..... and it is fast drying. It is a commmercial grade "top coat" finish and very durable. I once made my buddy a bar top for his bar, literally, a commercial bar that was bout 16+ feet long, and poured the Varathane on it and brushed it around until it was like 1/16" to 1/32" thick and let it dry. Iffen you open the can, don't be surprised, it will look like 1% skim milk.
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If you look at the pics, I think modhar took them at the hardware store. They are all sitting on hardware shelves or hanging pegboard with identical products in the background. I think modhar was getting some opinions before buying.
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Sorry !! Didn`t look that closely !! When she said "guide me through when I can use these products" I was assuming that she had bought them !!
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Yup, Waywardangler is right, I haven't purchased them yet, didn't know which I can or cannot use when I went to store, so took pictures to look them up online. I am going to take your advice and look for getting the Old English scratch cover and the just some wax up probably. Thanks everyone.
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Sorry !! Didn`t look that closely !! When she said "guide me through when I can use these products" I was assuming that she had bought them !!
Me either.
Actually I was surprised to see the Varathane, I was thinking that Min-Wax had bought them out because the Lowe's store in my area quit selling the Varathane brand and replaced it with the Min-Wax's "Polycrylic".
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You probably will not need the wax if it has a modern finish !! All it will do is sit on top of the finish and dull it !! Just use the Old English scratch cover. It is an oil type and will cover and shine it up a bit. If you want to touch up the scratched areas only after the Old English, Use a neutral paste type shoe polish ( I guess they still sell it ) and just apply with the fingertip to the scratched areas, let sit about five minutes and buff off. Try to apply the Old English one day and the polish the next day !!
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Mart, I believe you are contradicting yourself. If the finish is of a modern type, won't the Old English, being an oil type finish, just sit on top, dull it, and attract dust?
Wax is a polish used to add a thin protective layer above and beyond whatever finish is on an object. Cars with a clear coat are waxed. The clear coat is a modern finish. A dull polyurethane surface, when properly waxed, will brighten up and stay that way until the wax wears off or air qualities degrade it.
I do not understand your views on using paste wax, properly applied, to any modern finish.
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It depends on the finish !! If it has that slick, almost plastic finish, they used at one time, and if the product has beeswax in it, it only dulls and collects dust. Don`t know what the stuff was but it was very prevalent in the 70`s when everyone wanted a high shine !! You can see it if you look at the edge of a piece !! The Old English is a rub on - rub off so most that is left of it is a micro thin layer !! Much similar to any oil type furniture polish !! This has just been my experience with some of those pieces and I really can`t see enough in the pics to tell but I would just try one at a time. !! JMO
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Okay then I did not understand your original posting but I do now.