danish modern/teak repair

[brian dulisse]

my wife inherited a set of stacking wegner tables that are in terrible shape - see the picture below of the table top of the largest piece. don't be fooled, the picture makes the wood tone a lot richer than it really is. the others aren't quite as bad, but are still in bad shape. i've used a bit of denatured alcohol to clean off the worst of the dirt.

i don't know much about the finish - my wife tells me that when her folks bought the pieces, they were told to apply linseed oil, which they did. i'm guessing that the lighter colored blobs (most visible in the leftmost third in the picture, but all over the top) are moisture stains. i tried *very* light sanding (these are veneer tops, not solid), but that didn't help.

as you may have guessed, i know next to nothing about finishing - i've thumbed through flexner, but have not found anything that i am confident applies. anyone have any advice about how to proceed? i have no real hope of meaningfully dealing with the scratches and chips in the veneer; i'd be happy if i could minimize the visual impact of the moisture (?) stains.

thanks

bd

[Scott Holmes]

Alcohol is not the best for cleaning...

Wipe the surface with mineral spirits (aka paint thinner) this will clean wx and dirt from the surface to a point. It will also show you what the piece will look like with a finish on it. The scratches may be subdued.

I would use a non poly varnish. Sherwin Williams (at their paint stores) sells a nice oil based alkyd resin varnish called SW Classic Oil Varnish. Satin would be the traditional look for teak.

Or for a more in-the-wood finish WATCO Danish oil would be a good easy to apply finish.