Originally Posted by path49

Charlee, what do you mean by "gray areas"? I'm asking 'cause I refinished that same cabinet for my 403. Mine was a REAL mess when I got it. There were thick sloppy layers of varnish over dirt. Someone replaced a screw on the right front leg with one that was so long it was sticking out the side. Veneer peeling with a gummy glue just rubbed on top to stick it down(?). Unbelievable mess!

Anyway, it took a lot of work (stripping, filling, even some false graining) but it looks really nice now. I finished it with tung oil, buffing with fine steel wool between coats. And after the 2nd coat, the left front leg developed some light whitish-gray streaks. I've refinished a lot of furniture & NEVER had anything like that happen before...kinda looked like it was waxed over a damp spot! I had to buff them out & blend stain over those spots twice before I got rid of them. I was thinking that there was some kind of filler in the wood that stripping & sanding didn't remove...& that it reacted either with the tung oil or the mineral spirits that I wiped it down with after buffing with the steel wool.

Like I said, I've been around refinishing forever...my folks collected antiques. And, I've redone a lot of pieces myself & I've never had this happen. When I saw a mention of gray areas on the very same cabinet, it made me wonder if the same thing happened to you.

By the way, I think your's turned out great!