Restoring faded furnitures (e.g. rosewood veneer)

[Johan Andersen]

Hi,

How would you restore dark hardwood furnitures to original color?

I've been looking for some old furnitures, and among others I came by a dining table made of brazilian rosewood. However, the veneer and some of the solid edges has faded to a much brighter color.

Can the color of e.g. brazilian rosewood be restored without staining? I.e. does anybody know how _deep_ the discoloration goes? Of course I ask because it is very limited how much sanding one can do on the veneer.

Something just come to my mind: could the faded parts simply be _stained_ wood/veneer which has now returned to its original brighter color?

It is somewhat more simple with a pair of massive teak chairs that I digged out from a pile of scrap: Sanding, sanding and some oil finish. Voila.

I hope you have some suggestions on the veneer restauration.

Cheers, Johan Andersen Aalborg, Denmark

[nospambob]

[Johan Andersen]

Thanks for the tip! It is still quite new, that website, but I'll check it out. My medieval browser, however, could not digest all of that site. I'll try to look further at furniture related sites/groups, but keep your suggestions coming here, if you have any.

I just finished sanding my Teak chairs today. Smooth as silk! Mmmm. :-) For the oil finish, I made small tests: 1) Pure linseed oil a) just wiped off b) wiped off + sanding on wet tree 2) "Teak oil" (contains white spirit) a) and b) as above

--Johan

[Johan Andersen]

Thanks for the tip! It is still quite new, that website, but I'll check it out. My medieval browser, however, could not digest all of that site. I'll try to look further at furniture related sites/groups, but keep all suggestions coming here, if you have any.

I just finished sanding my Teak chairs today. Smooth as silk! Mmmm. :-) For the oil finish, I made small tests in a hidden spot: 1) Pure linseed oil a) just wiped off b) wiped off + sanding while wet 2) "Teak oil" (contains white spirit) a) and b) as above

--Johan

[Baron]

Veneer can be sanded but not too deeply. While a mild sanding may not bring it back to its original color, you should be able to get closer to the original. If you are not happy with the results you could then try using toned shellac or lacquer to get the color you would like.

Good Luck.