cando4te

I have a maple kitchen table from 30's with a light orange finish. I'm not sure what the original finish was but I know the table was maintained with an oil of some type. Long story short - I sanded the top of the table which is now white. Does anyone have thoughts on what type of finish would produce this color?

firehawkmph

More than likely shellac. Mixes with alcohol, comes in different shades, and was very popular back then.
Mike Hawkins

rrich

While amber shellac will give the color that you describe it is doubtful that the original finish was shellac. Based upon the fact that the table was maintained with oil, the original finish was probably oil.

To restore the finish and color, I would use Boiled Linseed Oil. The BLO will add a yellow warm color to the wood. Usually the more coats of oil, the darker the color will be.

The old adage, once a day for a week, once a week for a month and once a month for a year will hold true for your table. The bad news is that you removed about 70 years of "maintenance" and it is going to take a long time to restore the original color.

If you are going to cover the table with polyurethane as the protective coat, then a base coat or two of shellac (amber) will probably give your the color that you are looking for. I would not use shellac as the final coat for a dining table. Heat and too many common liquids can damage a shellac finish.

__________________
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Rich (Tilting right)
Huntington Beach, California
Remember that when we have the "BIG ONE" everything east of the Rockies falls into the ocean.

cando4te

Thanks for the reply. I went with the oil finish, BLO & turpentine, and this brought back some of the color. I'll keep working down that path to bring back those 70 years maintenance.

Will the oil finish alone stand up to water and low heat?

What is the difference between applying an oil finish hot or cold?