Restored Telephone Table - After

The level of scratches and damage pretty much required stripping and refinishing this piece. I cringed the whole time I did it, wondering what kind of intrinsic value I might be stripping away, but in the end the aesthetic of this piece was more important to me.

I decided to experiment with Minwax's new line of stain/polycrylic combo finish that allows you to simultaneously lay stain and finish on a piece. I mean, the table cost me $2, so what did I really have to lose? For this project I chose a Mahogany color stain that would dry to a satin finish. This product is meant for quick projects where tone control of color isn't too important to the craftsman. If you're wanting to achieve a particular depth of color or grain-accentuation then approach your staining project the old-school way.

Anywho, for this project I'm feeling pretty good about the final product. The deeper tone really modernized the piece. The new brushed pewter handle was an exciting find. At first I was concerned it might be a bit to big for the scale of the table, but I think it turned out all-right. Again, IMHO, not too shabby for $2. :)