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Collectibles-General (Antiques)/mahogany or rosewood desk

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Expert: - 6/23/2007


Question
i just bought an old (circa 1940's)mahogany desk. as per directions from dealer, i am cleaning it with murphy's oil soap and superfine steel wool, followed by lemon oil. there are some deeper scratches on the top of the desk and some water marks(left over from glass or something like that). is there a way to get these scratches and stains out? it is solid, but now that i am cleaning it, the wood seems to have a lot of red in it. please help. this is the first time i am doing this. thanks for your time. fran cimino

Answer
Hi Fran
Nice to hear from you.
No way to get these out short of refinishing the top, but try a bit more elbow grease on the water marks if they are not black. (If they are black they are in the wood and will need bleaching or sanding out.
Perhaps the scratch will be less noticable if you rub on a bit of red mahogany stain.
If you get the top refinished, all this can be fixed.
Good luck and good question
Eileen

Collectibles-General (Antiques)

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Eileen Cronk

Expertise

I can answer most questions about the repairing and refinishing of all your old furniture items (the things we call antiques). I can also give you advice on what wood items to choose and what wood items to avoid at auctions, flea markets etc. I DO NOT give appraisals on antiques as this is not my field of expertise.

Experience

I have been repairing, refinishing and of course buying old furniture for the past 30 years. On any given weekend I can be found at auction sales or flea markets searching out a good buy. I have taken several courses in this area over the years, but I find "Hands On" learning to be the best teacher. I can help you avoid the pitfalls and problems of this wonderful rewarding craft.

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