Just because a piece of furniture is old doesn't mean it has to be done away with. What may have been a pair of sofa tables that have given great service to the family are cast aside because they show signs of use. In some circles old pieces of furniture are actually prized, I believe they are called antiques. So, why follow the trend of tossing a piece out if it just has a few scratches or scuffs? Instead, why not give those sofa tables another life? It may not take as much as you think.



When starting this endeavor you should understand that the worst-case scenario is that you will have to refinish your old sofa tables to make them look new again. But the real solution may be much easier.

Start with a good cleaning. While you may begin this by dusting or using a damp cloth, eventually you need to work up to a real cleaning solution of part furniture cleaner and part water. As you go over the surface of the piece, look for any of blemishes and work on them. They will not all come off instantly, and some may need a little more attention. That is when you can pull out a piece of steel wool or a metal brush. Put solution on that as well and gently work on the marks that are more difficult. You don't want to scrub so hard you go through the finish and start to scratch the furniture. Be patient. After a few scrubs, wipe the area dry and look over the work. Repeat as necessary to get all the dirt off the piece. If you have a very ornate piece of furniture, you may have a tough time getting into some of the decorative grooves. It's time to get a new toothbrush, and use your old one as your new cleaning tool. The bristles of a toothbrush can often get into these tighter spots and help you break down that stubborn dirt. If there are areas in these decorative carvings that are not cleaning as you had hoped, you may need to get a toothpick or other similar small pointy item to flick the dirt out of the tight spots and then go over the area again with the toothbrush.

You may realize that as you are cleaning your sofa tables they are not as bad as you previously thought. Some of those marks and lines you thought were dents and cracks may really just be stains, pen marks, and other blights on the surface that made the piece look more worn than it really is. At this point you will need to carefully assess the sofa tables. Their problem may well have been a lack of cleaning and attention. If they look good enough to use now, put them back to work in your home. If not, you can still go to the next level, purchase a stripper, and strip the sofa tables down to their base woods and refinish them.