FADING
You probably know by now that finishes of every type may fade with age. They may also become cloudy
or milky and have streaks or spots. You can frequently revive them. On varnish surfaces that have faded
or has streaks, use raw linseed oil and turpentine in equal parts. Rub this mixture on with a cloth or a
pad of 0000 steel wool. After doing this, apply a coat a thin varnish after wiping the surface dry.
Lacquered that has a fogged surface can sometimes be cured by rubbing with a polish cloth that is it
into a mixture made by adding two tablespoons of white vinegar to a quart of water. Then dry and then
apply a fresh coat of thin lacquer.
If you have a white ring or spots there are several mixtures, which can be used to remove them. All of
them all work some of the time, however, none of them or work all the time. I would suggest starting with
the mildest treatment and worked up to the toughest, and hope that you will find something that will work
to remove the spots. To try to remove the spots begin with a teaspoonful of butter and a tablespoon full
of cigar or cigarette ashes, never pipe ashes. Pipe ashes contain coarse dottle. Mix the butter in ashes
together and rub the mixture over the spots or ring with a soft cloth always rubbed with the grain of the
wood not round and round the ring. Tobacco ashes are an abrasive even milder than rotten stone, and
the butter is a better lubricant for them than oil or wax.
After you clean and wiped the finish and a butter/ashes mixture fails to remove the wring, moved up the
abrasive scale to rotten stone lubricated with light oil. The best oil that I have found is sewing machine
oil or automotive break-in oil. Do not follow the pattern of the stain or rings when you rub, always work
with the grain of the wood.
If the above did not get results, we will get tough. Try a paste of F F F-grade pumas stone and raw
linseed oil. Use the same procedure above on the rubbing style using abrasive mixtures. Using this
paste, you can't keep track of the progress you're making unless you clean the surface every now and
then. For cleaning, wipe away the paste with a cloth dampened with a few drops of turpentine.
If you find that none of the above mixtures work to get the rings, etc., you'll have to strip the surface and
refinish it. If any of the above processes were successful, clean the refreshed surface with a
turpentine-dampen rag; follow up by wiping with a dry rag, and repolish.
If you have white marks on a varnish surface it will sometimes yield to a rag moistened with lemon oil or
spirits of camphor. After the spots has been removed, wipe with a soapy cloth, then wipe with a cloth
that is soaked in plain water, and follow up with a dry cloth before repolish.
Stains caused by the ink scales, a magic marker is, and similar dye loaded liquids are usually not
removable. Some of the dyes found today strike to the finish and into the wood, and the only way to
remove them is the strip, bleach, and refinish.
If you have a wood finish that is alligatorered, or even the entire surface that has gotten pebble- rough
through aging or exposure to heat, they may also require stripping and refinishing. It might be worth a try