Splotchy antique finishes

[Matthew Joe]

Hello! I was wondering if anyone had some advice on how to refinish splotchy antique finishes, like those pictured below. It seems like the stained finish has chipped off over the years. I'd prefer not to have to sand and refinish the entire projects from scratch, but the solutions I've tried so far haven't worked well. I've tried both (a) staining the chipped off areas, and (b) waxing the projects with a dark furniture wax. Neither has made much of a difference.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Matt

[Todd Carpenter]

Hi Matt,

I'm afraid you're in for a refinish job. If you're really really opposed to this, here's some adivce I got from Antique dealer friend of mine: Sand it down with 220, and re-stain it. Then you'll need to top coat it to protect it.

HTH
Todd

[Neal Clayton]

matt, with the chipping like that i suspect the finish is shellac. there are a few things you can try, none of which are perfect unfortunately.

if you don't mind the finish being lighter, you can rub the existing finish with denatured alcohol. since alcohol is the shellac's solvent, it will do two things, first remove some of it, secondly blend the rest back in. this won't likely even it out entirely, unless you remove almost all of the finish.

secondly, you can apply more coats of shellac. since shellac builds a film adding more coats to an uneven finish will effectively even it after so many coats, but in your case it'll take quite a few and will darken it quite a bit.

a combination of both of the above might even it out entirely, but that'll take some trial and error.

the lighter pieces look like amber that has just darkened a bit over time. a mix of garnet and amber might closely match those. the darker ones will require a dye to match.

[Matthew Joe]

Thanks to you both! Neal, I tried your first suggestion last night on one of the pieces, and I think you're right that the finish is shellac. I rubbed for about five minutes, adding denatured alcohol as needed, and evened out the finish slightly. Unfortunately, only very slightly, so the finish is still splotchy.

If I have time this weekend I may try your second suggestion. I appreciate the help.