Expert: Eileen Cronk - 2/20/2005

Question
Hi Eileen, I was wondering if you might have some suggestions for me. I've recently purchased an old cherry wood bedroom set that has a lacquer finish, however, I cleaned it with a all purpose cleaner containing ammonia, and what I thought was doing a great job, now realize it was stripping some of the finish. The stain is still in excellent shape, is it possible to re-lacquer the finish? Some blotchness is on some of the drawers and will not buff out....HELP!

Answer
Hi Shelby
Nice to hear from you.
I am surprised this has happened.
Is it possible the finish was already off, and your cleaner just removed wax and buildup?
This of course is me assuming that the cleaner you used said it "was safe for finished wood surfaces".
However..you have this problem which needs to be solved.
At this point I will assume (again:-), that all the dirt has been removed from the piece.
I would try wiping on some low lustre tung oil (available in small cans at the hardware store).
Try a small area that does not show to test the result.
Just wipe on with a rag and let dry.
See how it looks.
This will be much easier than laquer, but yes you can certainly do that too.
Hope this helps
Regards
Eileen