I'm guessing @kmealy will have some opinions on this one, and if anyone else has some suggestions I'd greatly appreciate it. I've been involved in this project:

And it has scratches, dents, and a gash, the gash is through the mahogany veneer table top, one of the extensions, and of course there are scratches all over the edge of the table, and legs, and they had asked if I can take a stab at repairing them. I have watched a few videos, and I really like that burn in melted wax method, and colored markers, and a little painting with a fine tip brush to take care of all kinds of various surface damage and defects.

Can someone suggest an over all furniture repair kit that I could purchase?

Repairing surface damage has always been intimidating to me, but after seeing some pro folks perform the task on YouTube, I feel a tiny bit more comfortable tackling the job. Of course the pro's like Keith Mealy are going to make it look easy, but at least I have an idea now and I can attempt it.

So, any suggestions to a kit full of repair supplies, if one even exists?

Thanks!

By the way, the kit can be a little comprehensive, I'll definitely use it in the future for our own furniture, and perhaps I'll tackle a few more repair projects for folks.

I have no advice on finishing the repairs.

One thing I noticed in the picks is the block of wood that ties the legs and dowels together. It seems to me that when the table is standing on its legs & with downward pressure on the table the blocks would move outward putting side pressure on the dowels which may have caused the damage.

If it were me I would attach a small block in-between the two leg blocks to eliminate that movement. Just a thought.

3 minutes ago, DuckSoup said:

It seems to me that when the table is standing on its legs & with downward pressure on the table the blocks would move outward putting side pressure on the dowels which may have caused the damage.

If it were me I would attach a small block in-between the two leg blocks to eliminate that movement. Just a thought.

That's exactly what I thought too Bob. Here is what I think happened, the table was fully extended out, or even just a section or two, there are four total, and the table was used without the screw in middle legs to support the middle. And yep, the table bowed down in the middle, the legs splayed out and over time cracked. I do have the middle screw in legs that are used when the table is extended, I think that as long as they use those, it'll be ok. I did opt for @Gerald idea of replacing the cracked and destroyed pieces with a turned copy, but with dowels integral to the turnings, not separate as the table was built. I think this will take care of your observation, again as long as they use those middle support legs.

Well, I have several levels of repair material.

• Wax sticks that I rarely use. They are soft and you can't really adjust the sheen well. They are also opaque, that doesn't always look good.

• Softer burn-in sticks. I use these in areas that are likely to get bumped such as corners. Also opaque.

• Hard resin burn-in sticks. These are my go-to. These, I believe are sold lacquer resin, though long ago they were called shellac sticks. In a normal work day, I'd use these several times. I actually did one job where I had about 100 spots to repair with these (kitchen cabinets that got removed and reinstalled). They come in clear and opaque in different colors. But these are probably the hardest to learn to do correctly.

• Epoxy sticks. Use for large areas of damage like dog chews. Fill, shape, and apply toner (finish with color)

Before I got in the business and got the complete set, I had a beginner's kit with an electric hot knife, about 18 sticks, and some lube. It was a Behlen Burn-in Kit,but does not appear to be made any more. I got most of my stuff from Guardsman, but its parent company, Valspar, was recently acquired by Sherwin Williams and at least part of their operation (their protection plan business) was spun off. Mohawk is now apparently the dominant player, but there is another one from Germany that has a different line of products.

The rule on burn-in repairs is four things: color, sheen, level, and graining

https://shellac.net/pages/burn-in-video

If I had large areas with scratches, like a chair that someone with riveted jeans sat on, I'd spray on some touch up lacquer, put on about 3 coats, let it dry for a few minutes, do some light sanding to level, and repeat until needed.

I did some looking. Rockler has nothing. Woodcraft has the burn-in knife like I use and sells individual sticks. I would say that 80%-90% of the time, I used clear amber colored sticks and I can't tell from their description if what they sell (individually) are clear or opaque. Will keep looking.

Youzha! https://www.dkhardware.com/mohawk-finishing-products-m310-9995-hard-fill-kit-product-9024630.html

On Guardsman's web site the products are low level DIY. I've asked if they still carry pro level products.

@kmealy , thanks for all the wonderful information and links! Appreciate it greatly sir! Today I'll take a picture of the big areas that need attention and show you, and maybe you can help me determine the best approach, and maybe even some color recommendations.

My kit, along with about 4 crates of toners and additional clear lacquers

2 hours ago, kmealy said:

On Guardsman's web site the products are low level DIY. I've asked if they still carry pro level products.

They have discontinued the pro level products and suggest Mohawk. Some Mohawk products are available at local stores and Amazon. Before that, they had local sales reps (sort of like the Snap-On drivers) I liked Guardsman because they were both very good and they had usually 4 levels of toners & markers that read like Light, Medium, Dark, and Extra Dark / Cherry, Walnut, Maple, etc. Mohawk has things like "Newport Ebonized Cherry" and "Colonial Maple" and makes it hard to know unless you have and use the entire line.

Guardsman was originally a stand alone company, then got acquired by Lilly, who then got acquired by Valspar, who then got acquired by Sherwin-Williams. RIP due to corporate CEOs.

Edited July 21Jul 21 by kmealy