refinishing 80 year old desk-bureau

[john mclane]

My wife inherited an old desk bureau (one draw folds down to a writing surfaces) that needs some work. Some of the draws are broken, back needs to be replaced but it looks like a relatively unique piece (supposedly from her great grandfather's in Maine). Today I made a replacement board and had to cut some funky rounded dovetails.

My biggest problem is the surface. It is not in awful shape and probably does not need to be stripped. I wanted to try gentle cleaning and then a refinish surface product like "Restor A Finish" from Howard Products, inc. and then follow with a oil wax mixture to get some sheen back.
Has anybody tried this product? or approach? I picked up a can from the local Ace Hardware.

Any other ideas short of stripping?

[Steve Schoene]

Since the finish is likely to be a lacquer the finish restorer will probably work to move around the original finish to clean it up and smooth it. But putting oil over it is a bad idea. Oil isn't designed to go over a film finish, it is intended to sink into bare wood to provide and in-the-wood finish. If you need more gloss (and the restorer may leave it shinier than you expect) I would apply a very hard top coat, such as shellac to bring up the shine.