Saw something at the antique mall in Springfield that made me cringe...

I was walking through the big antique mall on Main Street yesterday, just looking for a piece to work on. I stopped at a booth selling a nice old oak dresser, but when I ran my hand over the top, it felt like sandpaper. Someone had clearly tried to strip it with a wire wheel on a drill, and they went way too deep... you could see the swirl marks cut right into the grain. The seller wanted $450 for it, but that top is basically ruined now and needs a full sand-down past the damage. Has anyone else run into this kind of 'restoration' out in the wild, and how do you even fix it without losing too much thickness?

3 comments

3 Comments

lilyfisher1mo ago

Is it actually ruined though? That sounds like a pretty easy fix with a belt sander. Just take it down until the marks are gone.

charles_kim1mo ago

I used a random orbital sander starting with 80 grit and it cleaned up perfectly without digging in.

murray.betty1mo agoTop Commenter

That belt sander will just make a bigger mess, @lilyfisher.