Expert: Eileen Cronk - 12/5/2007

Question
Hi Eileen,
(I live in California but my extended family is all in Canada--mostly Manitoba, Alberta, and BC--we moved to the states when I was 4)

I have a large solid oak dining room table, lacquer finish, light-medium oak, about 10 years old.  My kids have used ammonia spray on the top to the point where the finish is almost completely worn off.  It has flaked and is nearly down to bare wood.  Since the rest of the table and chairs are in great condition, I don't want to refinish the whole thing professionally.  I have experience working with wood and staining furniture, but I really don't want to get involved with lacquer.  I'm wondering if I could refinish just the top with a stain and poly.  What do you think?  I'm looking at this as perhaps a temporary protective measure. Would I still be able to have the whole set professionally relacquered after my kids leave home (12 years or so, unless they boomerang?)  Also, would you use tung oil on a table that is used nightly for eating?  Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated, eh?  (I thought I'd throw the "eh" in just for effect!)

Thank you kindly.

--Jackie

Answer
Hi Jackie
So nice to hear from you.
Wish I was down in California instead of the Great White North of Ontario. We are in a deep freeze here and the schools have been closed for two days.
So to your question.
You can absolutely strip the lacquer off, re-stain and apply poly. And you can absolutely strip that off down the road and re-apply the lacquer. But I'll bet you won't want to go back to lacquer if you apply this product...
http://www.minwax.com/products/protective/fast-poly.cfm
Jackie I have it on my old kitchen table and its the best wearing finish I ever had.
I have 4 grandchildren, three children and a hubby.
We congregate around that table for meals, playtime and craft time.
I stained, then applyed 3 coats of the finish.
More than 3 is not recommended.
While a tung oil finish is great, I would not use it on a table used nightly for eating.
I do have it on a large coffee table in front of the TV and you can imagine the workout it gets with my family, but still I would not use it for the kitchen.
The beauty of the tung oil finish is you can apply a coat whenever you feel like its getting worn.
Just a wash, and wipe on the oil with a rag. Its dry in no time. Its just like polishing your furniture really.
Well I must go eh?...LOL
Loved this question.
Kindest Regards
Eileen