Furniture and Furnishings - to refinish or not refinish

I bought a wooden secretary at a garage sale. I want to refinish it to a dark stain, it is currently blonde. But when I looked closely at it there is the name Ethan Allen burned into the wood in the drawer. The piece is about 25yrs old. Would I be taking away from the value of the piece if I stripped and stained it. Will the Ethan Allen name still show afterwards??undefined :rolleyes:

By the time that acquires antique value, it'll have been in the family too long to sell, I think. But your sentiment is admirable.

Stripping won't harm the indented mark so long as you use sandpaper gently on a *flat* block, there, not steel wool.



I suggest you email the company; tell them what you have and what you want to do. They can point you to some darker finishes that should match anything you get in the future, or perhaps other older pieces.

They may also give you some excellent advice.

I would be wary of darkening this furniture, because if the folks who glued it knew it would end up blond they'd have tolerated some mess... which will *not* absorb a dark stain and so become visible as pale joints or even resistantly blond smudges.

Would I be taking away from the value of the piece if I stripped and stained it.
Will the Ethan Allen name still show afterwards?
1) No
2) Yes