The bigest problem is the "something on it already" Not knowing what's on it makes refinishing either a gamble or strip and start from bare wood. I wouldn't encourage either approch until the piece no longer looks suitable for display. Dos it look bad?

One of the worst jobs I had to do was a woman who had a new table and decided to change the sheen by "adding some poly." By the time I got there about 1/4 of the table top had peeling poly. I sanded the rest before even attempting to strip it.

Poly doesn't adhere well to other things. And almost certainly what is on there is not poly.

The basic question is why do you believe you have to add something to it to seal it? Is it old or new?

I would like to seal it because I have an old smaller table that I stained and then coated with a product called "Liquid Plastic" by (I think) Minwax 20 years ago, I think. I am unable to find that product now, and am not even sure what it was That table held up beautifully. This table is something I bought cheap at a consignment store. It's in good shape and I'd like to keep it that way without having to keep a table cloth on it. You can see a small dime sized area or two where the veneer is very slightly raised probably from water damage.

Just a warning: If anyone has ever used Pledge, or another furniture polish containing silicone oil, almost any finish will have adhesion problems and will quite likely fish eye. Even stripping and refinishing won't get rid of moderate to heavy silicone contamination. When I am stripping and refinishing and see this has happened, I spray on two coats of dewaxed shellac to seal in the damage, then proceed with whatever finish on top.

But if you are determined to top coat, the existing finish is lacquer with a very high probability. Adding another coat of lacquer will bond with the existing finish ( assuming no contamination and that the underlying finish is not gummy or flaking off). Do a good cleaning with both Dawn and water and naphtha or mineral spirits. Then you can brush on {{!gwi}} But do try in an inconspicuous area first before starting front and center.

Here is a link that might be useful:

This post was edited by bobsmyuncle on Tue, Mar 18, 14 at 17:06