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Look Before You Sand

The most common way to ruin a good old table is to reach for the sander before you have understood what you are dealing with. Every scratch, ink stain and softened corner is part of the piece's history, and a table that has been stripped back to bare, uniform wood often looks younger and cheaper than it did before you started. Restoration is about revealing what is there, not erasing it.

Begin by checking whether the top is solid timber or veneer. Look at the edge grain: if the grain on the top runs in a different direction to the edge, or if you can see a fine line where a thin layer meets the core, you have veneer. Veneer responds well to cleaning, gentle oiling and waxing, but it will not survive aggressive sanding — a few seconds too long in one spot and you will cut straight through to the glue line beneath.

Next, press your palm across the surface and feel for movement. Rock the table gently. Loose joints, wobbling legs and lifting veneer should be dealt with before any finish goes on, because oil will creep into open gaps and stop glue from taking later. If you find small, perfectly round holes with a dusting of fine powder beneath them, treat for woodworm before you seal the surface.

Finally, test an inconspicuous patch — the underside of the overhang, or a corner near the leg — to see how the existing finish reacts to white spirit. If it softens and smears, it is wax. If it dissolves quickly, it may be shellac. If nothing happens, you are probably looking at a modern lacquer or varnish, which will need stripping rather than simply refreshing.

Gather Your Kit

You do not need a workshop full of machinery. A modest, well-chosen set of tools will do a better job than an impatient hand with a power sander.

• Sandpaper or sanding pads in 80, 120, 180 and 240 grit
• A cork or rubber sanding block
• A cabinet scraper, if the finish is thick
• White spirit, methylated spirits and clean lint-free cloths
• Boiled linseed oil, or raw linseed oil if you are happy to wait
• Beeswax, either as a ready-made polish or as a block to melt yourself
• A soft brush and a vacuum with a brush attachment
• Fine wire wool (grade 0000) for working wax into grain
• Rubber gloves, and a lidded metal tin for oily rags

Clean Before You Abrade

Grime sits in the grain and dulls everything. Wipe the table down with a cloth wrung out in warm water with a drop of washing-up liquid, then dry it immediately. For greasy patches around the edges where hands rest, white spirit on a cloth will lift the residue without wetting the timber.

If the surface has a thick, crazed varnish, a cabinet scraper used with the grain will remove far more, far faster, than sandpaper — and with less risk of clogging. Work in long, light strokes, keeping the scraper almost vertical, and stop as soon as you see bare wood appearing. Methylated spirits will soften shellac finishes so they can be wiped away, but work in a ventilated room and in small sections.

Sanding Through the Grits

Sand with the grain, never across it, and always with a block behind the paper to keep the surface flat. Start with 80 grit only if the wood is genuinely rough or heavily marked; otherwise begin at 120. Change the paper as soon as it stops cutting — worn paper polishes rather than abrades, and burnishes the surface so it refuses to take oil evenly.

Move through 120, then 180, then finish at 240. Between each grit, vacuum the dust away and wipe with a barely damp cloth. This raises the crushed fibres, and the next grit cuts them cleanly. Pay attention to edges: it is easy to round over a crisp corner in seconds, and no amount of oil will bring it back. Where the table has carved detail, fold the paper and use a fingernail rather than sanding flat.

Once you are at 240, wipe the whole top with a cloth dampened with white spirit. It evaporates within a minute or two, but it shows you exactly how the grain will look under oil — any remaining scratches will appear dark and obvious. If you see them, step back a grit and repeat.

Feeding the Wood

Boiled linseed oil is the traditional choice: it penetrates, darkens the timber slightly and brings out a deep, honeyed warmth. Apply it with a cloth in thin coats, working with the grain, and leave it for twenty to thirty minutes so the wood can drink. Then wipe off every trace of surplus. Oil that sits on the surface turns tacky and attracts dust. Leave each coat for at least twenty-four hours before the next, and build up two or three thin coats rather than one heavy one.

Important: linseed oil generates heat as it cures. Cloths and rags soaked in it can self-ignite. Lay them flat outside to dry, or seal them in a lidded metal tin — never bundle them into a bin.

Raw linseed oil gives a finer finish but can take weeks to harden, so it suits furniture that will not be used for a while. For a daily-use table, follow the oil with a beeswax polish. Melt one part beeswax with three parts white spirit over a gentle heat, let it cool to a soft paste, then rub a thin film into the grain with fine wire wool. Leave it twenty minutes, buff hard with a clean cloth, and the surface will feel dry, satin-smooth and faintly fragrant.

Living With It

An oiled and waxed table improves with use. Wipe spills promptly, use coasters for hot mugs, and avoid leaving wet glasses standing overnight, as the ring will sink into the timber and be very hard to lift. Re-wax every three to six months, or whenever the surface begins to look thirsty and pale.

If a scratch appears, rub it gently with fine wire wool and a little wax; minor marks often blend away completely. Deeper dents can sometimes be raised with a damp cloth and a warm iron, applied carefully, before re-oiling that patch. Treat it kindly and the table will quietly outlast most things you buy new.