Formbys 30013 Furniture Refinisher, 32-Ounce

I started with an antique sideboard about 5 feet long and 2 feet deep- has 2 cabinets with doors and 2 drawers with tortoise-shell veneer and lined with velvet; top drawer has the original wooden pull-out dividers for silverware. Lots of detail in the legs and scrollwork and the thing was almost black in appearance; in fact you could not see the tortoise-shell veneer in the beginning. I bought six 32 oz containers and the 16 pk of 4/0 steelwool and started to work on it one morning about 6am and was finished with the dirty work by noon. When my husband got home at 2pm I had already rubbed it down with orange oil and bees wax and it is now the color of honey. He could not believe it was the same piece until he saw the mess outside that I had not cleaned up. I have used this product for years and always been proud of the results, which make me appear to be an expert refinisher. Its messy but the results are lovely and you avoid loosing precious detail in the wood that sanding can cause.

Good old Formby's... been using it for many years. Every now and then I try something else and immediately regret it. You'd think I'd wise up LOL! I recently purchased a lovely antique cherrywood end table. I knew I had to stock up on my Formby's Refinisher... I wasn't going to risk causing harm to the beautiful table.As expected, this refinisher did not let me down. It melted the old nasty and gnarly finish right off. I gathered up plenty of steel wool and went to work, I had on my good thick gloves, properly covered my work space floors and in no time at all that little table was stripped clean of every bit of the old cracked urethane that a novice woodworker had applied to this charming table.When expecting fine results, always use Formby's... you will be very happy you did!

WORKS GREAT BUT VERY EXPENSIVE

I've been neglecting some of my wood furniture, some of which is hand-me-downs and has been in the family for a long time. I've been wanting something that isn't as rough as a chemical stripper, but will also not require sanding. Both are messy and tedious. I found this and through brand recognition, decided to give it a go.The first thing I used it on was an old night stand I acquired 13 years or so ago, no idea how old it is, but the finish seemed to be an overdone amber shellac finish, or potentially (shudder) an all-in-one stain and finish. It had no patina, it was just a putrid shade of orange-brown. I tried the product on this, as directed. As I rubbed the steel wool, the finish began to gum up and loosen and I could see raw pine slowly start to surface! It was rather effortless, no need to really scrub. Just keep applying, as it seems to evaporate or get soaked in by the old finish pretty quickly. Once I had raw pine, I "cleaned" up the grain by taking a towel with some of this and rubbing with the grain, and once it was dry, the pine looked almost new. I proceeded shortly thereafter with a fresh coat of Zinsser Bulls Eye Amber Shellac (excellent for pine) and had a nice patina. After two coats of actual amber shellac, it is starting to look like a workable, presentable piece of furniture. Old, old shellac finishes are usually easy to identify by the alligatoring, almost like it's been burned. Ever live in an old townhouse or rowhome and see that black, alligatored trim and doors? Yep, that's 100 year old shellac.So, I took this can of Formby's up to the attic, where I have an old entertainment center that I've been neglecting. We've had it maybe 20 years, I've had it maybe 15 of those years. Other than the occasional (annual) rubdown of lemon oil that didn't last long, I rarely even looked at this, but the sun sure did, and it was starting to show. It had what I think was a semi-gloss lacquer on oak plywood that was more worn off than intact. I began with this, rubbing the steel wool and what was left of the finish came off almost instantly. Although it isn't intended for paint, it did remove some drips. With a little labor, I got a bare oak surface. Through no fault of the product, the wood was so dry that it drank this as soon as I put it on. I'm currently waiting on the first coat of golden oak stain, as this old oak plywood is going to need some TLC.Give it a try. Make sure you have some steel wool handy, as thicker finishes will undoubtedly clog it up. The odor is.... well, strong. But, it fades somewhat quickly and seems to leave behind some sort of a perfume scent. This is much better than chemical strippers, laying on thick coats of it, and tearing up the grain and patina of the wood with a plastic scraper and trying to pick old finish out of intricate parts, and then having to sand. It's also much better than trying to sand down a piece of furniture, where you will have an inconsistent grain and run the risk of sanding through veneer. Another bonus: if you have any old brushes that have dried finish on them, you can work this on with it, and it will clean the brush at the same time!Just beware - this will likely take your finish down to bare wood. I haven't tried it on anything that's been stained, so I can't testify to its ability to remove stain, but I really think that the only way to do that is by sanding.

It did a great job of removing the old lacquer and paint from a cabinet that I was refinishing. It is a messy process however. It took an entire can to finish a cabinet for a table radio so if you are finishing a large piece you will probably need several cans, and it is expensive. Make sure to wipe off any lacquer residue when you are done or it will re bond to the wood.

I used this years ago on an antique sewing chest. I recently inherited my grandmother's furniture. I used in on a table that came over from England in the 1860's with my great-grandmother. My mother was a lover of plants but, unfortunately, she watered them over many pieces that have water stains all over them. I did the top only as the legs were fine. The piece came out lovely with all water marks removed. I will use Fromby's Tung Oil over the weekend. Can't wait!

Product worked very well. It removed the old finish without damaging either the wood or original stain. Be warned however, It takes a LOT of the refinisher to get all the old finish off. If you don't get it all off, you will regret it. I found the best way was to loosen the old finish with liberal amounts of the refinisher using steel wool, then wipe with clean cloth. Maybe more than once. Finish by going over the surface again with refinisher and clean steel wool to get any remaining old finish. The refinisher is highly volatile so be sure to wear a first class mask.

I've used this product for years where I don't want to totally strip or sand. There are four levels of restoration that I will do on quality, old furniture: 1. Clean and maybe wax. 2. Use Howard's Restore a Finish 3. Use Formby's Refinisher. 4. Strip, sand and refinish. I always try to use the lowest level possible to try and keep antiques close to the original state. Sometimes touching up with color pens and waxing gives the best results, but I would always try this Refinisher before sanding if there is no significant damage to repair