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<p>[QUOTE="verybrad, post: 192248, member: 37"]I am going to cut and paste some advice I gave in a different thread and add some additional comments.....</p><p><br /></p><p><i>I would start with a penetrating finish that will allow you to even out the color if necessary along the way. I like a tung oil varnish for this. There are several commercial products or make your own by mixing equal parts oil-based varnish, mineral spirits, and tung oil. Once the first coat is on (apply thinly with a rag) you will be able to see if you need to even out the color in any areas with stain. Because the finish penetrates, you can still do this at this stage. If you had used a poly or other finish that doesn't penetrate well, you could not do this. Once the color is to your liking, you can add more coats of finish. You can usually recoat with out it thoroughly drying but it should feel pretty dry to the touch. If the wood continues to soak in the finish and look dull, keep coating. This usually takes at least three coats of the oil-varnish mixture to get a good look but may take more. The final coat could eliminate the mineral spirits in the mixture but it is fine to continue with it as-is. Once thoroughly dry, top it off with a furniture paste wax.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>I might add that you could use straight tung oil or tung oil mixed with mineral spirits instead (Just a little mineral spirits will help the tung oil to penetrate more easily.) Neither of this should affect your original finish but you might want to test a small spot first. </p><p><br /></p><p>The addition of varnish gives it more of a top-coat finish that the table in the other thread needed. Your pieces may not need this as they seem to have a finish on them. The finish primarily needs to be rejuvenated. Tung oil will do this. Keep in mind that, the more coats you put on, the shinier the piece will become. </p><p><br /></p><p>I would not be opposed to using paste wax on this but would want to be careful about getting too much into the detail work. Paste wax can also be thinned with mineral spirits but needs to be heated to be able to do it. It is flammable so it is a tricky process and utmost care needs to be taken. It would probably just be best to work it into the wood with bare hands and a small soft rag where your fingers can not get in to.</p><p><br /></p><p>You mentioned some color variance. If it is honest wear from use where hands have rested for years, I would leave it as is. If it from damage, I would touch it up with stain. Once you get a coat of tung oil on this, you will be able to tell if it needs some color added in places. You may find that what you are seeing is more due to the wood drying out in places than any real damage.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="verybrad, post: 192248, member: 37"]I am going to cut and paste some advice I gave in a different thread and add some additional comments..... [I]I would start with a penetrating finish that will allow you to even out the color if necessary along the way. I like a tung oil varnish for this. There are several commercial products or make your own by mixing equal parts oil-based varnish, mineral spirits, and tung oil. Once the first coat is on (apply thinly with a rag) you will be able to see if you need to even out the color in any areas with stain. Because the finish penetrates, you can still do this at this stage. If you had used a poly or other finish that doesn't penetrate well, you could not do this. Once the color is to your liking, you can add more coats of finish. You can usually recoat with out it thoroughly drying but it should feel pretty dry to the touch. If the wood continues to soak in the finish and look dull, keep coating. This usually takes at least three coats of the oil-varnish mixture to get a good look but may take more. The final coat could eliminate the mineral spirits in the mixture but it is fine to continue with it as-is. Once thoroughly dry, top it off with a furniture paste wax.[/I] I might add that you could use straight tung oil or tung oil mixed with mineral spirits instead (Just a little mineral spirits will help the tung oil to penetrate more easily.) Neither of this should affect your original finish but you might want to test a small spot first. The addition of varnish gives it more of a top-coat finish that the table in the other thread needed. Your pieces may not need this as they seem to have a finish on them. The finish primarily needs to be rejuvenated. Tung oil will do this. Keep in mind that, the more coats you put on, the shinier the piece will become. I would not be opposed to using paste wax on this but would want to be careful about getting too much into the detail work. Paste wax can also be thinned with mineral spirits but needs to be heated to be able to do it. It is flammable so it is a tricky process and utmost care needs to be taken. It would probably just be best to work it into the wood with bare hands and a small soft rag where your fingers can not get in to. You mentioned some color variance. If it is honest wear from use where hands have rested for years, I would leave it as is. If it from damage, I would touch it up with stain. Once you get a coat of tung oil on this, you will be able to tell if it needs some color added in places. You may find that what you are seeing is more due to the wood drying out in places than any real damage.[/QUOTE]
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