Re-finishing Danish modern furniture -- seeking quality recs

We have a Danish modern dining table, with leaves. We had it re-finished about ten years ago by Norman Benjamin, who I believe has since retired. The table now has some damage we may need to repair or have the whole table refinished. Does anyone have any recs for anyone who has done good work restoring or refinishing this kind of furniture? We’d like someone with a track record.

Many thanks.

slopefarm

in General Discussion 5 years and 11 months ago

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stevecym | 5 years and 11 months ago

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OP, if you attempt to repair this and it does not come out correctly, and i have shared most of what i know about spot repairing, and you wish me to sand this off to 220 and oil it, you are welcome to call me. i have a dust free sanding system, a “straight line” sander and all of the paper. Only if this is not a veneer though. i am not interested in working on thin veneers.

FYI; in addition to sanding woods, i sand a lot of metals to 1200 or even 2000 grit. metals require more control than wood and more even application of the equipment. i would treat this as though i were working with metal.

steve
www.thetinkerswagon.com

stevecym | 5 years and 11 months ago

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and, i read this: they sand this furniture to 220 (that does not mean the guy who last did this had). now here in lies the problem and this is why i told you hit the spot with steel wool if needed: i do a lot of this, not to this fine level (i do not sand anything to 220; its for furniture) and if i looked at this, I would not be able to tell if it is sanded to 180, 220, 320. and it will not hurt to sand something that fine if it will be finished with oil; you do not need a bond. the problem is, if you hit the spots with 220 and the last guy went to 320, the open grain will draw more oil in and it will look different. no lie; everything we do has to be sanded to the same level even when using clear finishes.

www.thetinkerswagon.com

stevecym | 5 years and 11 months ago

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and bob and OP: i often tell customers this: “it is much easier to repair a darker finish than a light one. with a dark one, if you go on too light you can keep going darker and darker until you hit your mark”. and with very dark work, if you are off a little, it is hard to see the difference.

stevecym | 5 years and 11 months ago

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and if you wish to try to work the wood a little in the spots without sanding it, op can try steel wool. start at the finest 4/0. I mean to get any soiling out.

stevecym | 5 years and 11 months ago

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and to compound the issue, when these go in wet, they darken the wood anyway. we keep a heat gun around to force dry these things when we are running color tests but again, that heat can damage that light wood. I would maybe add a tad of turps to the teak oil the first time. maybe. try it in a spot. it will respond better to the hair dryer.

fyi and this is unrelated to this issue but when we are treating damaged wood we mix linseed with trups 50/50. I only mention this here to let the wider community know that is common. op should not go near the table with linseed as I think it is darker than teak. I think.

stevecym | 5 years and 11 months ago

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I did check last night and what they say the originators of this kind of furniture used was teak oil. the OP would be better to try teak with nothing in it as once you add a dye or stain to anything, you can not back it up without using destructive methods (sanding) and that is troublesome on a repair. even the other oils might go too dark. I don’t use them for final coat finishing except on dried oak on furniture in my own house but I am aware that some pure oils vary in color from one to the next. if after trying the oil, the op may wish to consider the Howards.

I did want to plug the Transtints and other solvent based dyes as they are great and help a lot and most consumers do not know about them, though if I were a consumer, I would start with the Howards, yes. Abbot Paint carries these dyes. People do not talk about them, it is as if they are a secret.

is the first step in the howard’s process a clear oil? or is the kit premixed? then there is or was the Watco Line and they came dyed but I am loath to recommend that to the OP.

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 5 years and 11 months ago

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Whoops—HOWARD’S not Joward’s

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 5 years and 11 months ago

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I think you’re making things overly complicated Steve. I’ve found that -Jowards Restore a Finish works wonders on my own furniture and woodwork and is worth trying before anything more complex.

stevecym | 5 years and 11 months ago

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ok, something else, once oil is found, it can be tinted with something transtint and there is another brand available at abbot paints. they do mix the same in all oils. i am directing this to you bob because you sound like you like to do things and these tints can give color variations greater than what might be in the kit.

this is what i would do if i had this table and was resigned to paying to have the surface taken down: i would get teak oil and try that with no dye. even in a spot. if it worked, i would then oil all the spots, let it dry and then very lightly teak the the entire. this assumes that there are now real wear marks or physical damage. it might work. btw, i do not know what this stuff is sanded out to; it could be 240, 360, 400; because it is an oil that goes into the wood, they can sand this to 1000 and will not cause an over sand situation that allows for premature release of a varnish. with the tight grain of the wood, my guess is it is sanded out to perhaps 600; i have never used anything like that on wood (metals yes).

OP; i cal led Ray Warren. Seven one eight, eight two five, five six three one.

I do not believe he carries insurance and this does go against what i have been saying about selecting pros.

this is what ray told me. “if you do not land on the correct oil from the last refinish, you will have to do the entire top”.

stevecym | 5 years and 11 months ago

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bob, you are in the right direction and i have used a lot of oils – not professionally, but in my own house. oils are not like the dozen or so varnishes we use which all act pretty much the same and sit on the surface. so the op might find the right color but if the oil itself is not right, it could do something totally different in the repair area (i would not touch this with a 10′ pole). because oil is a real, natural product and is often from plants, each of them are very unique to the others. If i were the OP making this call, i would try to ascertain the original oil used and take what you are saying and make a phone call and see if the contractor can really talk to this. i am going to make a call and ask someone some questions and if he passes the litmus test, i will post his name.

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 5 years and 11 months ago

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Before doing anything drastic I’d suggest trying something like Howard’s Restore-a-Finish, in an appropriate color. The stuff works wonders. In any case the oil finish usually used on Danish modern furniture should be easy to touch up.

slopefarm | 5 years and 11 months ago

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Thanks, yes, we are not cutting corners. A real furniture pro with a track record with Danish modern wood furniture.

We know about CT in Branford Connecticut and we know about MOD (I think they are in Queens). But if anyone has had a good experience with someone in this area, that would be great to know.

stevecym | 5 years and 11 months ago

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and let me lay this up here from someone who does heavier wood work than this: if this has veneer on it, make sure you use a real furniture guy. someone who does work on solid wood like myself or works with heavy facing can go through that veneer. also, keep in mind people can repair finishes without taking the entire thing down. i have the name of a guy. it will take some digging and he too is about retirement age; lets see if other offer some names up.