roll top desk

[turningfool]

heres a pic of my new(to me at least)..courtesy of freecycle..anyway..as you can see by the pic it has a few wear marks on the top of it ..the wood is sound and smooth but the finish is gone..come spring when i can get it outside i want to refinish it any suggestions on products to do so would be greatly appreciated

[turningfool]

by the way..its solid white oak..no particle board or veneer in this beauty

[IL Bull]

Do you ned to make a new drawer for the bottom left?

[SwampDonkey]

Strip it down to the wood and use a water based Varathane with a hard finish that won't yellow. Don't know how easy it will be to work on the roll top though. Could be a challenge. Do the ends come apart from the desk or are they jointed solid?


I was going to build one at one time. I changed my thinking and built my butternut desk. But, don't get me wrong I like your desk. I think they are a nice piece of furniture. I just have a lot more room on the desk and shelf system I came up with.

[Furby]

Freecycle has some good stuff once in a while.
Nice find! 8)

[Sprucegum]

That is a beaut! Lucky you for finding it 

Before refinishing its best if you can determine what kind of finish is already on there.
It looks quite shiny in the pic - is it varathane or varnish? If so you may be able to lightly scuff the top and recoat with a clear gloss.
It has a stain on it so be verrry careful sanding - or you may want to strip the whole thing and start over 

[turningfool]

bull..i have the drawer for it..will probably refinish only the top..everything else on it is in great shape including the roll top

[turningfool]

rolltop cover

[sgtmaconga]

looks great

[crtreedude]

I don't know much about these things so take whatever I say with a grain of salt. If you aren't trying to do the whole thing there used to be a product called Formby's which would allow you to sort of clean and refinish at the same time. I think it disolved the current finish and then let it set again. We did use it and it did look good. Surely not as good as a complete redo - but if you are only going to do the top, not a bad idea.

Nice desk by the way. I have thought about having one - sort of just roll down on all my junk when I don't want to see it!

[turningfool]

will probably go with the varathane come spring..so far i use it for woodturnings and rough out storage..what a waste huh... ;D  have tried formbys in the past and it works great on smaller areas

[Haytrader]

I'd give a hunerd for it in it's current state of disrepaair.
;)

[metalspinner]

That is a beautiful desk!  How is the roll top built?  Is it glued to a canvas backing or held together with an interlocking joint?

And what is this "Freecycle" you speak of?

[turningfool]

metalspinner..email me and i'll fill you in on freecycle..the roll top cover is interlocking jointed

[turningfool]

sanded the old finish off from the top of the rolltop..its gettin there..tis bootiful

[SwampDonkey]

Work away, long winter yet.