Every cabinetmaker knows any piece of wooden furniture isn’t finished until it’s … finished. Whether a wood finish sinks into the pores and hardens or forms a film on the surface, it protects the wood ...

You may need nothing more than a thorough wipe-down, a few touch-ups with stain, and a bit of wax to restore the original luster. To revive an old, battered desk, we had to go through all four steps ...