Expert: Eileen Cronk - 5/19/2008

Question
the finish on the aromatic cedar chest is wrinkled,raised,and appears dirty.How can I restore the finish without losing the wood patina

Answer
Hi Jack
Nice to hear from you.
First you have to clean the area with mineral spirits.
Use a steel wool pad as a scrubber.
In this case with this wrinkled raised finish I would simply sand these areas smooth.
I do not think that a finish in this shape could be sucessfully re-amalgamated by anyone but a pro.
If you carefully just sand the raised areas you will not loose the woods patina.
The finishes patina is already ruined.
So do not penetrate to the wood with your sandpaper.
After the sanding you will need to apply a coat of finish.
I would do a test to see what this finish is if you want to keep as original.
Denatured alcohol will soften shellac.
Lacquer thinner will soften lacquer.
If neither work you will have a varnish or perhaps an oil finish that contains varnish.
If thats the case, you can wipe on a coat of tung oil.
And there is nothing wrong with wiping on the tung oil over the shellac or lacquer and by pass testing the finish.
Hope this helps
Regards
Eileen