Refinishing.

In woodworking, in particular cabinet making, refinishing refers to the act of reapplying the wood finish on a piece of furniture. In practice, this applies to the wood finish top coat. The top coat could be a variety of products such as paint, shellac (French Polish), lacquer, wax or even varnish. The restorer is traditionally aiming for an improved and renewed finish.

There are a great variety of both traditional and modern finishes, including the use of faux finishes. One interesting modern development in refinishing is the art of distressing or antiquing, making the finishes of pieces look older. Another development is the use of spray guns to finish furniture, a technique I use a lot, it gives an excellent, durable finish and would highly recommend this technique for refinishing modern and well used pieces such as dining tables and chairs.

While refinishing is often undertaken to salvage an old piece of furniture, in the case of antique furniture refinishing has been known to significantly reduce the overall value of the piece.