But then why do they use maple for gymnasium floors? I put clear (best grade) maple in our kitchen floors in 1987. For many years, it held up well. In the last 5 years, they trashed terribly. Something oily left a big stain and many areas are big splotches down to sanded wood. After years of maintaining felt pads under the kitchen chairs, once we let up with the new pad routine, it was trashed. My husband hates them and is very reluctant to refinish them for our kitchen remodel. And I just can't find a satisfactory substitute. Tile and stone are hard on the body and dropped things. Vinyl doesn't last in our house and doesn't look as good as wood and I found it hard to maintain. I loved our maple for a long time but it's awful now.

Here's the update. I tried brushing on the lacquer thinner to smooth out the finish, and it just didn't work very well. Some of the deeper crackled areas smoothed out a tiny bit, but certainly not enough that I would put a new layer of finish on them. So, on to plan B and stripping the whole top off. I'm still undecided about a finish. I think brushing lacquer is going to be too fussy and error prone for me. I thought about lacquer in the spray can, but wonder how many coats that would take. I'm guessing a lot. I had almost convinced myself to buy the Waterlox, but I've seen the varnish in a few videos, and it looks really, really dark. And much too reddish. Since I'm only refinishing the tops, I think I need something that leans towads amber. After lots of reading, the Sherwin Williams product is out. Many more negative comments online about this product, particularly as a wiping varnish, so I'm not even going to try it. The Cabot's products available at Lowes are all poly or spar. Of the choices available locally, this leaves poly or Formby's. I know many people have an issue with Formby's over the whole misleading marketing of "tung oil" and all, but really, what about the product itself? Does anyone have experience with this? Application? Durability? What color is it? Repairs and touch ups? If I use a coat of shellac on the top after stripping, can I apply ANY finish on top of that? BTW, my set of unfinished chairs was delivered. The plan is to sand (gently), stain, assemble (with added glue in all appropriate joints), then finish. Any other suggestions or tips?

Before you do anything drastic, there are many common approaches to removing finish blushes. These are caused by moisture getting trapped in the finish. Everyone seems to have a favorite. Here are frequently offered ones, in no particular order. Note that some have potential to cause unintended consequences. Personally, I use the cloths because they have always worked for me, get immediate and visible results, and I can re-adjust the gloss level when I'm done. If I didn't have the specialized materials, I'd probably start with the mayonnaise or denatured alcohol. Heat Gently heat the area with a hair dryer to see if that drives out the moisture. Mayonnaise Smear mayonnaise on the spot, cover with plastic wrap and leave sit overnight. The next day, clean off and see if the spot is gone. It may require a second application. Some people report similar results with peanut butter or Vaseline. Stain and ring removal cloths Paint stores carry a yellow felt cloth that contains oils and a light abrasive. With rubbing, the oil displaces the moisture. Clean off the oil when finished. This may raise the sheen on flatter finishes. A similar approach is baby oil and cigarette ashes, gently rubbed in. Blush Remover / Blush Eliminator Professional touch up technicians have an aerosol available that's lacquer thinner in a can. Spraying on a light coat dissolves the lacquer and gives the moisture a chance to evaporate away before the lacquer sets back up. This is for lacquer finishes only. On mild cases, you may get a similar result by spraying on a light coat of aerosol lacquer, which are heavy in solvents. Denatured alcohol Gently pad a denatured alcohol dampened cloth over the spot in a sweeping motion. The alcohol is miscible in the water and they should evaporate away together. This is very effective on shellac finishes, but the alcohol is a solvent for shellac, so go gently. Aged lacquer is also susceptible to alcohol. Proprietary products Finish revivers such as Howard's Restor-a-finish can sometimes be effective at removing rings. Some of these products have methanol (an alcohol) or light mineral oil in them. If the finish is flaking off (lost adhesion), you will have additional problems and a more extensive repair or refinishing will be in order. Here is a bookcase that I did this year that had sat under a blanket in a leaky moving van for a week. It took about 20 minutes, including a new top coat. Before After

There are ways to remove scratches that really work. They are not DIY because the equipment is expensive and the operator needs training and a level of experience to do it right...but it is available and it beats replacing the glass. Some window cleaners like using 6" razor blades to "clean" glass. They also often have homeowners sign wavers against holding the cleaner responsible for scratches because the cleaner knows ahead of time that he will likely scratch the glass - especially if it is tempered. There is one particular cleaner who has a web-site and who brags about knowingly ruining entire households of windows - after having the homeowner sign his waver - and who then finds it interesting to watch the window company and the homeowner fight it out over who is responsible - amazing really. As he sits back and claims that he has the "right" to use a razor blade to clean windows - despite the fact that he knows ahead of time that he will damage the windows - because a razor blade makes his job easier. A copy of his "scratch-waver" is available on his site, btw, for other cleaners to copy. The glass industry strongly recommends using razor blades to clean glass. In fact, it can void a warranty. The 5 or 6 inch blades that the cleaners use are exceptionally bad because it is technique that often makes a difference whether the glass will be scratched or not and technique using those things often goes right out the window (sorry about the pun). Did the cleaners have you sign a waver covering scratched glass? If not, you may have some recourse against them. If nothing else, they may possibly have them pay for scratch removal but it may take a fight. You can find scratch removal folks in the yellow pages - some glass shops offer this service. Ask them what system they use. If their system uses cerium oxide or a material called trizact, then the system that they use will remove additional glass and will almost certainly create an unacceptable lens-effect in your glass. There are distortion-free systems available - but not ones that use either cerium or trizact that will distort the glass. And btw, the particular cleaner who apparently likes scratching glass...well, he sells a brand of scratch removal equipment on his web site...go figure. Finally, pass this information to your Marvin dealer. Have him contact Marvin for further action. It is very possible Marvin will say that they are not responsible and they will not become involved - BUT - try it anyway. Good luck