Appreciation post: The old guy at the Tacoma flea market saved my finish last Saturday

I was stripping a 1950s dresser for a client and hit a stubborn milky haze in the old lacquer. Last Saturday at the Tacoma flea market, an old timer saw me looking lost at a tool stall and asked what was wrong. He told me to mix a 50/50 blend of denatured alcohol and lacquer thinner, then rub it on with 0000 steel wool. I tried it that afternoon and the haze cleared right up without hurting the wood underneath. Has anyone else found a simple fix like this for a problem that had you stuck?

4 comments

4 Comments

john_fisher1mo ago

Wait, you just walked up to a stranger at a flea market and he casually handed you a fix that actually worked? That's wild, most people just tell you to throw the whole project away or call a pro. I've been refinishing furniture for years and never would have thought to mix those two chemicals together on a whim like that.

gavin2282mo ago

That's awesome when the old school tricks work. My grandpa fixed a sticky drawer for me once with just a bar of soap.

ray6172mo ago

Man, I wish I had that kind of wisdom for my own messes. I tried to fix a squeaky floorboard last month and ended up making it sound like a dying goose. My solution was just to put a rug over it and pretend it never happened.

logan6582mo ago

Ever think those old tricks were just superstition? I used to roll my eyes at the soap trick until I tried it on a window that wouldn't budge. Now I keep a bar in the junk drawer just in case.