Haven’t been able to figure out the finish on these salvaged dressers. They are supposed to be from the 30s. Possibly oak. The finish
had no reaction at all to a spot test with mineral spirits. The top and side panels have a particularly rough, cracked gatorish texture. As far as restoration these need scratches/dings taken out, reattaching some veneers.
Questions for y’all:
Do I need to strip the finish on these?
How do I find out what the finish is?
Is there a finish you recommend if it does need a new one?
It would help if you post a full photo of the dresser. First impression, polyurethane clear finish on top of minwax stain. Strip an refinish but be careful on the sides as it appears to be veneer plywood thus the big stress cracks. Other scratches should come off in the process of the stripping and resanding.
You can probably tell the finish by testing in a lesser seen location. Start with alcohol and if it dissolves the finish, it’s shellac. Next is lacquer thinner to see if its…lacquer. Those two are relatively easy. If it’s neither of those, It’s probably going to be a urethane varnish, catalyzed lacquer, or something much more difficult to refinish. Then you need to dig deeper into how to do it. Go slow and be careful.
It looks like it was already refinished once. A handsome piece if you do a good job. The frame looks solid wood so you should be able to sand it once you remove the clear coat or just sand it to remove the finish. Again be careful with the side panels as im pretty sure they are veneer plywood. You have to figure out how thick the layer is before attempting to sand that part. You may have to chemically remove the finish and then use scrapers lightly to finish and repair the panels. The top may also be veneer plywood that is framed. So same thing as the sides. Or replace with a solid wood top. Once finished, i would stay away from oil stain and instead use a dye to make the quartersawn grain pop. Choose a more modern color or even make it black with India ink. If is too much for you, i maybe interested.
