Expert: Jamie Yocono - 4/13/2008

Question
Hi, i have a jukebox. with a wood veneer.. there is a coating on top of the veneer.. thick.. and crackled ?  
im not sure if it is wax or a laquer coating.. guessing laquer...i want to remove it.. i tried Varsol.. paint thinner and 0000 steel wool but it takes about 15 minutes of rubbing to get a one inch spot down to the veneer...

any ideas ? thanks, mike at 740-638-5059  OHIOSEEBURGREPAIR.COM

Answer
Hi Mike,

Sounds like you have an aged surface finish on your jukebox, you could be right about lacquer, but it could also be varnish. There is a good product made by Formby's called Formby'sŪ Conditioning Furniture Refinisher.  It's sort of an all-in-one product, as it dissolves the old finish, and reconditions the wood all at the same time. If you cut and paste this link in your browser, you can see what they have to say about it on their website:   http://www.formbys.com/products/refinisher.cfm

Now normally, this won't give you the same result as what a deeper stripping and refinishing job would do. But if it isn't too bad, this product will work just fine for your wood. The good news is- you can probably find this at your local Lowes or Home Depot. In fact, I was just at Lowes today and saw this product, as I was looking for some paste wax and they were right next to each other!

The only alternative to this product could be completely stripping and refinishing the wood. Any good stripper will work, stripper works MUCH better than the stuff you tired, thinner and steel wool. It also sounds like you already know how hard stripping can be, and it doesn't seem like your piece is damaged (like with scratches or burns) so I think stripping it is a last resort.

I would try the Formsby product first and see how it works before you go to trouble of stripping and refinishing, which is a much bigger job.

OK, good luck, I hope this helps. Please feel free to write back if you have any further questions after reading this. And if this answer was helpful... please take a minute and rate my service. Thanks!

Jamie Yocono
Wood It Is! Custom Cabinetry
Las Vegas, NV
www.wooditis.com