How to Convert from Watco Danish Oil to a solvent-based polyurethane finish?

[Linda Day]

I have an antique rosewood-veneered table that had acquired water marks on the top surface. A "professional" furniture repair guy was going to buff the top to remove the water marks, but he got carried way and sanded off the entire finish, down to the raw mahogany-plank substrate. Then he tried to match the color of the mahogany with the rosewood veneer on the rest of the table using multiple coats of red mahogany Watco oil. it looks horrible. I want to apply a paperbacked rosewood veneer to the surface and have been advised to start with a non-porous polyurethane finish on the table-top. What is the best way to go from Watco oil to poly? I don't want to try to sand off all the Watco, because the surface has already been too sanded and lost too much wood. The Watco was applied about a week ago.
Thanks for your help!
Linda Day

[Wayne Lomman]

Use stripper. It will remove enough of the oil to enable you to apply the coating you want. Good luck. Cheers

[Kevin Jenness]

If you plan to veneer the surface you need to sand down to bare wood, as flat as possible. This will probably entail sanding away the original veneer. Treat the top and bottom the same.Apply veneer to both faces, at a right angle to the substrate. Applying veneer over polyurethane is an invitation to failure.

If you want to apply poly over Watco, scuff sand and have at it. It should be thoroughly cured after a week.