Severe sun damage on old finish

[danceswithwindows]

Picked up some furniture for my sons room that (based on makers mark) was produced in the 40’s / 50’s. It’s in fantastic condition, except for some pretty extensive sun damage. The finish is quite hard and beads water very well. There is some alligator cracking but it’s only visible if you get super close.

I tried sanding a small section on the back of the nightstand, and quickly found out I was going to have a hell of a time getting this back in any kind of decent shape.

Any opinions on what I could do the lessen the white/bleached out finish short of sanding done the whole thing and starting over? I’m not looking for perfection by any means, but would like to see if you have any ideas or previous experience you could share in dealing with this kind of sun damage.

 

[pop-pop]

Old English (the antique dealers friend)

 

[danceswithwindows]

Old English (the antique dealers friend)

Thanks! I had tried some restore-a-finish, but the top coat is so hard that it just sat on top and did not penetrate / soak in!! But I’ll give it a try thank you!

 

[Graywolf]

That finish is more than likely a nitrocellulose lacquer. You can test that by picking a spot and applying some lacquer thinner give it a few moments and see if it’s sticky. More than likely the color was bleached out by the sun.

 

[Mark Fogleman]

To deal with the bleaching, you could use a toner. Mohawk has some choices. You'll need to top coat with a lacquer:
Mohawk Finishing Aerosols, Lacquers and Toners

 

[old and in the way]

DancesWithWindows:

I agree with Mark, toning or tinting would be a good way to restore what you have. You would need to dewax the existing finish, perhaps sand out some of the alligatoring, and start tinting. I have found the aerosols to be a bit much on the colorant; if you have access to spray equipment you might try to make a less intense toning coat using universal tints, if not, you may need to "sneak up" on the finish using the spray cans, lest you wind up with something that looks like a sunburst guitar finish. If the tinted finish is not smooth, you will probably topcoat it with clear anyway, so that doesn't matter so much.

If you can't identify the chemical nature of the existing finish, you might consider starting with a barrier coat of vinyl sealer or shellac. The worn edges can be repaired with colored markers after the finish is done.

FWIW. YMMV. Hope this helps.