When my grandad was a carpenter he worked in Aras an Uachtairain (the irish presidents house), he brought this table home from there one day when he was in his 20’s because it was going to be thrown out, he did some repairs and salvaged it. But after being used for 60 years (which the first governor of ireland wrote on the table) and then being used another 40 years when my grandad got it, it was in pretty bad shape. My granny said i could do what i wanted to do with it, because she had no space for it and because my grandad passed away 2 years ago i couldnt get his opinion of how to restore it, but i took the plunge and decided to take the plunge. I first planed the whole table because the was such a heavy coat of finish on it, it would be impossible to sand. Then i sanded it to 320 and i have to say manhogany is one of my favourite woods to work with. Now it was time to finish it which i was really looking foward to. I started by putting on a mahogany stain. Then i made my own wiping poly by mixing white spirts (mineral spirits) and polyurethane together, I added 4 coats, sanding in-between with 320 first, then 400, then wet-sanded with 600 and then applied one more coat, and i have to say it is silky smooth and just looks beautiful, but i have to say restorations are tough and i realised you really cant rush when restorating. I took pictures in the order of the way i did it. Hope you enjoy!!!!!
