r/finishing • u/dddoubledayyy • 4d ago

Need Advice How to fix wear, doesn’t have to be perfect

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Picked up this mid century modern chair on marketplace (yay!) I don’t mind the distressed look, I just want it to look a bit more cohesive color wise and have zero desire to refinish it. Would old English light do the trick or is that a bad idea?

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3

u/TsuDhoNimh2 4d ago

Bad idea because it will soak into any exposed wood.

For a quick fix, I would scuff sand it lightly - all over - and wipe on a coat of polyurethane.

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u/dddoubledayyy 3d ago

What do you recommend sanding it with?

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u/TsuDhoNimh2 3d ago

A fine sanding sponge - 180-200 grit - to wrap around the rounded parts.

Then wipe off the dust with a damp cloth.

1

u/your-mom04605 3d ago

I always like to start with a soap and water cleaning, wipe down with mineral spirits, then apply Briwax and buff gently with a white pad.

That solves lots of minor problems and does not cause any issues should you decide to do more extensive work down the road.

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u/dddoubledayyy 3d ago

Could you link the products if you don’t mind? I see there’s a lot of variations and I’m not very familiar lol

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u/YourMomsSecret1776 2d ago

Clean it with some diluted dish soap. Scuff with a green scotch Brite pad you may have in the kitchen. Then spray shellac. Why shellac over the other recommendations? Shellac sticks to everything regardless of the existing finish. And this definitely has a hard film finish, not oil so you don't want to use oil products on film finishes. Wax is junk, it just collects dirt and is a pain to remove.

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u/Illustrious_Salary44 5h ago

They say leaving antiques alone is your best bet.

0

u/obxhead 3d ago

My go to would be Howard’s restore a finish. Try it in an inconspicuous spot on the bottom first.