toner sprays

[Patricia Paris]

hello guys. i finally found some time to start working on my old radio cabinet thats been sitting in my garage for months... Thanks to the advice I received from Wes, Norm, Steve and Byron its looking pretty good so far. :D

i got the veneer glued down nice and smooth and wound up going with the formby's refinishing formula and it really did the job. it fixed the deep scratches and the severe water damage to the top and bottom.

there is still a nice mahogany color on the piece but i did lose a lot of color. there must have been toner used on it for shading that the formbys removed. i'd like to replace some of the depth to the piece so it doesn't look so flat. can i get some advice on using toner sprays? it seems that h. behlen has a large variety of shades etc. has anyone used this brand before? Can overspray be wiped? can you still see grain through it? also the front doors all have a nice flame pattern veneer that i love the color of and now that they are nice and clean i'd like to save. i was thinking that if i used a laquer toner spray to do some highlighting can i finish up with a few more coats of clear laquer for the rest and on top of the toner laquer? can a water based poly go on top of laquer as a last step? does anyone have any sure fire methods for finishing 40s mahogany pieces?

tips, suggestions are appreciated. thanks, patty :)

[Steve Schoene]

The Behlen sprays have been used by some serious restoration people, but not by me, so I can't offer guidance on this. Just be sure to practice on scrap before the actual project.

[Jim Becker]

can a water based poly go on top of laquer as a last step?
Why do you feel this would be necessary? Lacquer is a wonderful finish and unless you are going to be using this cabinet as your kitchen table or walking on it...skip the poly. IMHO, of course. (I suspect there is a good chance that the original finish was shellac or oil based varnish)

The specific answer to your question is yes you can after a light sanding to give some tooth to the surface, but it will be hard to do that if there are any details other than flat surfaces.

[Patricia Paris]

i was thinking about topping with poly since we were going to be using it as a table/liquor cabinet. (the radio is long gone - its just an empty cabinet). I wasn't sure how laquer alone would hold up to potential spills, etc.?

thanks,
Patty:)