Thursday, April 28, 2011

If It's Too Good To Be True...

I was hoping against hope when I decided to use Howard's Restore-A-Finish and Feed-N-Wax to gussy up my coffee table instead of refinishing it.


Sara at Russet Street Reno recommended the products so heartily, that I had my self almost convinced that they could erase all nicks, scrapes, cloudy finish, and flood damage done to our coffee table, making it look at though it was newly refinished.

The good news is that the table looks better, but let's be honest, we still need to bust out the sander and refinish the poor thing.

Here's the before:



You can see how high the Carmel River flooded in 1994 (I think). It always amazes me to think about it when I look at the coffee table, but since it wasn't my house that flooded, I think it would be better just to have an even finish...


I followed the directions on the Restore-A-Finish, which I got in "Walnut;" I used rags to rub the polish into the furniture and then I wiped it off a few minutes later with a fresh rag. I let the Restore-A-Finish cure for about a half an hour, and then I applied the Feed-N-Wax using the same technique with clean rags. 

Again, I wish I had some incredible after pics to wow you with, but alas, here's the finished product: 



You can see that the top of the table looks a little better, darker and shinier (maybe even a bit cloudier), but there's not a huge difference. However, the finish on the legs looks much more even. Look, you can't even see the flood line anymore! 

Was I disappointed that Howard's products didn't give me a completely refinished looking table? Yes. But I knew from the start that it was a long shot. The revived look of the legs, though, do give me hope that I can use these products on our other mid-century furniture that's in much better shape, with much more dramatic results. 

This dresser in our master bedroom is next on the list for a Howard's treatment. 


I think a little refreshing will have it absolutely popping again our new soft aqua bedroom walls. I'll keep you posted. 

1 comment:

  1. Hi there, I've tried this on a few of my mid century pieces and I feel the same way. It's better, but not perfect. I am your newest follower here from the Mustard Ceiling.

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