How to Refinish Wood Furniture Without Stripping

Simplified furniture refinishing is exactly what it sounds like: a shortcut to quicky clean up a piece of furniture. In many cases, you can leave it right where it is, open the windows for a little ventilation, and spread a couple of painter’s tarps around it to protect the nearby floor and walls. That’s it.

Less than 30 minutes of work with a handful of products are all you need to produce remarkably good results. Below I show you the table on which I demonstrate just how easy this is. The table shown has a small reading light built in and a magazine rack below. The light pole blocks easy access to the top, which was damaged from sunlight, and rings from coffee cups and glasses. In other words, it’s a worst-case example. In many cases, the project is even easier than what I show.

The plywood top reading table has significant damage to its finish. As bad as it is, however, it’s still easily corrected with a few simple products and procedures. The rule of thumb in simplified furniture refinishing is to do as little as possible to turn the finish around.

Now let’s get started.

Simplified Refinishing Explained

First, let’s be clear. This isn’t a museum quality restoration. Nor is the goal to remove every blemish and all damaged finish. Strip-and-refinish is another process entirely. It’s labor intensive and very messy. In many cases, you can build a piece of furniture faster than you can do that.

Rather, the goal is to improve the existing finish, not replace it. It’s important to understand that.

One of the least invasive and most versatile refinishing products I’ve seen is Howard’s Restor-A-Finish. It’s a mixture of solvents and wood stain. It’s fairly powerful stuff, containing small amounts of old-school ingredients such as methylethyl ketone, acetone, and alcohol, so use it in a well-ventilated work area. If you’re sensitive to chemicals, wear a cartridge respirator with filters designed for solvents.

In cases where the finish damage is minimal, Restor-A-Finish—applied with 4/0 (0000) steel wool—may be enough to turn the furniture around. I like the Golden Oak shade of Restor-A-Finish. I find it’s the most versatile version. But, you can blend two or more shades of this product to get a final color that you like.

In most cases, after the Restor-A-Finish has dried (in warm, dry weather, this may be in as little 30 minutes), I like to apply at least one coat of oil-based Minwax wipe-on polyurethane (often, I apply several coats). The wipe-on version is an extremely thin formulation of the well-known finish, and it imparts a pleasing amber shade. It provides additional protection against wear and tear. Because it wipes on and dries very quickly, you can apply several coats in one day if the conditions are warm and dry.

The Specifics

Open the can of Restor-A-Finish and carefully pour out a small puddle on the surface. If you’re working in a clean environment (the furniture is left where it is and the surroundings are protected with drop cloths on the wall and floor) be very careful not to splash the material, lest it splatter outside the protected area.

Restor-A-Finish is rather thin, so pour out only small amounts at a time. You can always add more.

Next, slowly work the product around in small circles with light pressure applied to a piece of 4/0 (0000) steel wool.

You only need light pressure to apply Restor-A-Finish. There's no need to grind the material into the surface. Protect your hands with disposable latex or nitrile gloves.

Keep moving in circles with the steel wool until the entire surface is covered. Then gently wipe off excess liquid with a piece of soft cotton cloth

Work the entire area with the restorer, and spend a little extra effort where surface damage is the heaviest, such as around water rings or where the finish has deteriorated from sunlight. When the entire surface is covered, gently wipe away excess using a soft cotton cloth and allow the surface to dry. Note that a little of the restorer goes a long way. Don’t waste the material to the extent that it drips over the sides of the surface and down the edges.

When the Restor-A-Finish has dried, look for any uneven areas that need a little blending. You can try a second application of Restor-A-Finish (also, a lighter or a darker shade) but I like to apply a little oil-based penetrating stain. Because this is an oil-based product and is extremely thin, it imparts a very slight amount of color, without obscuring the wood grain.

Next, you may opt to blend out uneven tones with a careful application of an oil-base penetrating wood stain. Dip a soft cotton cloth into the can and work the cloth over the entire surface.

Use a clean, soft cotton cloth to wipe off excess stain and allow the surface to dry. Under ideal warm and dry conditions, this may be in as little as 30 minutes.

Wipe off the excess stain with a soft cloth. Remember, you will be applying a wipe-on-polyurethane next. By imparting slightly more amber tone, the polyurethane will also help blend in uneven colors.

Final Steps

Wipe-on polyurethane is the easiest form of finish to apply. It’s almost impossible to make a mistake with it. And even if you do make a small mistake (you miss an area). It’s easy enough to correct with a second or third application.

Begin the polyurethane application by pouring out a small puddle of the finish, roughly in the center of the surface.

Simply spread the polyurethane with a small piece of soft cotton cloth until the entire surface is uniformly covered. Once the surface is covered, stop wiping. The finish will settle out and the wipe marks will disappear. Let the finish dry, then repeat for a second and third coat, allowing each to dry before proceeding to the next coat. Applying more than one coat increases the durability of the finish while producing a slightly warmer and richer color.

You should be pleased with the results. With very little mess, expense and minimal effort, you have a dramatically improved surface.

Allow the wipe-on polyurethane to dry thoroughly. This may take a day or two, depending on how many coats you have applied. In the case of this table, going to the home center and back (roughly an hour total time) took longer than the application of the materials, which required less than 30 minutes.

Roy Berendsohn

Senior Home Editor

Roy Berendsohn has worked for more than 25 years at Popular Mechanics, where he has written on carpentry, masonry, painting, plumbing, electrical, woodworking, blacksmithing, welding, lawn care, chainsaw use, and outdoor power equipment. When he’s not working on his own house, he volunteers with Sovereign Grace Church doing home repair for families in rural, suburban and urban locations throughout central and southern New Jersey.