Refinishing a light oak TV bench

[Andrew]

Got a 1.5 wide TV bench from the local BHF charity shop for £80.

Originally came from M&S, "Sonata something" AFAIK, and it is taller than most of the ones on sale, being 54 cm from floor to the underside of the top which means it clears the wall sockets and also has an overhang at the back so it can go flush against the wall.

It is solid wood, and *really* heavy so never had that central foot that cheaper chipboard/laminated varieties need to prevent sagging. having said that there is a slight sag in the middle but only about 2.5mm, so not noticeable unless you use a straight edge.

Big problem is that about a third of the surface, in one patch, the varnish or whatever has gone dull. I presume this was the heat of a CRT or Plasma TV over the years.

I found this site and the oak top looks quite similar to mine but she has used Danish oil. I'll use some 240 paper to remove the old finish, though I also have some very fine steel wool that I might try first.

What do other people recommend for finishing light oak ?. Local hardware store said to use Osmo oil but that is uber-expensive and the Osmo site seems to be for outdoor timber.

[Andy Burns]

I used the clear satin version of this on my butcher block desk

[nothanks]

gives good results. I would not use wire wool on oak because steel in contact with oak will create a black stain, and bits of wire wool are likely to get stuck in the wood. The easiest way to remove varnish is a hot air gun and then sand.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I don't thunk wire wool matters as you will be wiping the surface down anyway.

But on that first of all try wiping over with alcohol - it doesn't look like shellac, but if it is that kinda remakes the surface, and then try MEK or cellulose thinners or acetone, - that looks like cellulose lacquer and it may be that a bit of kitchen roll and cellulose thinners will pretty much dissolve what is there and put it to rights. Or simply paint thinned clear nail varnish or model aircraft dope on it and rub down afterwards If its polyurethane you are basically f***ed. Not found anything that dissolves it - so its back to bare wood and start again. Don't use danish oil - it stains it a shade dark. I had very good results with spray cans of cellulose lacquer or thinned model plane dope.

[Andrew]

Thanks. clear lacquer is not something I would have considered.

I have some grade 000-00 steel wool and tried it on one corner and it removed some very fine beige dust, almost like talc and left the surface much smoother and shinier.