Howard Products Restor-A-Finish, Wood Stain to Restore a Finish for Wood Surfaces, Golden Oak, 16 Fl Oz, Pack of 1

There are very few products that deliver exactly what the description or ad says. But this is one of those products. We have a 20 year old golden oak coffee table that was not waterproof finished and over the years showed wear, scratches and lots of white water spots or drink spots. I bought the Howard Restor-a-finish thinking what the heck I might try it and i’monly out $10 if it doesn’t work and I toss the table or have strip the whole thing. Amazing one wipe and the spots and uneven color was gone instantly. Now I thought too good to be true and as soon as the surface dries the spots will be back, but I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. The table looks like new and a keeper. Totally surprised this stuff really works. One caution to read the instructions and warnings carefully. I left the table outside for many hours and put the table in a bathroom with the exhaust fan until the fumes evaporated completely.

Nothing except total refinishing will make old, scratched, damaged furniture look new. But some products have the ability to make it look really good, and this one of those products. I used the suggested 0000 steel wool pads and poured the restorer on the pad. Wiping with the grain of the wood, applying various amounts of pressure depending on the severity of the damage. Once the first round was applied and then wiped off with a clear cotton cloth, I waited 30 minutes and repeated the process. Then did it again a third time. The product really works well, but again, it's no miracle worker. Several thoughts on the product. First off if the finish is chipped or gouged to bare wood, this will not improve that area. You need a furniture color pen to darken the wood, or use a filler and then a furniture pen and blend the area to match. Also start with a light color restorer, (I used the Golden Oak), and if that doesn't work as well as expected you can also go to a darker shade, but you can't go from dark to light. Finally the rags you use as well as the steel wool will be hazardous due to the solvent they retain. Rags with solvent can self-combust so please dispose of them properly. I suggest either soaking them in water before placing them outside in a closed garbage can or in a metal can with the lid tightly closed. I usually have a few empty paint cans from a big box store just for such purpose. The photos speak for themselves. A good product for easy refinishing to a much better finish.

Overall I think its a good product. I did have some issues getting it to cover a few light spots on a table top which I will need to buy regular stain and try to get it covered. On a scale of one to ten I would give it an 8 for coverage. It cleans up easy and besides the few spots on the tabletop it brought most of it back to life again. Good price over buying stain and less work to complete.

(Golden Oak color) Highly recommend this product! It shined up and restored some 2004 cabinets that have seen better days. They look 10x better now. The cabinets before applying looked so dry!!! Now they look like they had a rejuvenating day at the spa. Affordable and effective!

I've been a hobby refinisher of old (some actually antique) furniture for many years. I had mostly used three techniques: (1) strip/stain/varnish, or (2) soften/clean the old finish with a product like Formby's, or (3) fill, sand, and paint. Restore-A-Finish added a fourth option. You just wipe it on over the old finish. It doesn't strip it or soften it or cover it; it blends with the old finish, evening out splotches, white rings, and even scratches. I've been truly amazed more than once at how easy it is to work with and how well it works. It is now my first choice technique. In fact, my garage sale scrounging is now mostly focused on finding pieces that look like they will come back to life nicely with Restor-A-Finish. So far, I have four of the nine colors. It goes a long way, but I'm on m second can of Golden Oak. It's great stuff!

Excellent product! Easy to use and apply. We purchased a secondhand 40 to 50 year-old oak table and chair set. Thought I was going to have to refinish it, but this product did an amazing job. I would highly recommend. Before & after photos of the table surface.

I recently inherited a long neglected apartment in Brooklyn from a string of rotating new college graduates. The last to leave, left behind years of other people’s literal and metaphorical baggage. The worst of which, was in the kitchen. Before, I had been relegated to one sliver of cabinet, but now my world had opened up. After removing over five years of other people’s pots, pans, old spices, random nick nacks- I noticed that all the cabinets were sticky/tacky to the touch, and upon closer inspection, hadn’t been cleaned... maybe ever. So I set out to clean my wooden kitchen cabinets. I was able to get most of the sticky out (thick, black gunk) with straight murphy’s oil soap, the occasional blast of goo gone, and a ton of elbow grease on the really bad spots. But even though I used products that were “safe” for wood and a soft cloth, the grime was so thick and old and caked on, that once it came up- the cabinets were dull, faded, and some of the finish had worn off. And... honestly, still sort of sticky. I read a lot of reviews before I decided to buy this stuff. Ultimately I figured that nothing I did at this point could make my cabinets worse, and at under $10 a can I figured the risks were low. So I ordered this, some steel wool, and the wax & feed, as they recommend. All three arrived today and I immediately got to work. five hours ago, I would’ve told you that my cabinets were always going to look and feel like trash and there wasn’t anything I could do about it (I am renting the place after all). But holy moly. My cabinets look as good as new- if I squint. The parts where the finish wore all the way off are still lighter than the rest of the finish. I didn’t expect the product to completely correct this- but honestly it’s hardly noticeable now. Even my sole surviving roommate came home from work and couldn’t believe they were the same cabinets. Maybe the best part is that they FEEL clean! My god, finally. A fresh coat of paint on the walls, contact paper on the counters, stick-on backsplash tiles, and restor-a-finish, and my kitchen looks divine. I’m hardly ever compelled to write reviews, but I am almost in tears with how well this stuff works. I can’t wait to have people over to show them my new kitchen!!!

The first two photos are before and the last three are the afters. This product is so easy to use. No gloves, no strong odor and not hard work and really reasonably priced considering how well it works. You simply apply it to the .0000 steel wool pads and follow their instructions (which are basically a one two three). I did this hyge piece in about 2 and a half hours (maybe even less). I then followed up with their Feed and Wax product and you can see the end results are beautiful! I highly recommend this if you really don't want or need to actually strip your piece. At first I thought this would only be a temporary fix, but I did this on Saturday 1/4 and it still looks brand new. I have tried similar solutions but they only hid the damage temporarily (just evaporated) but this really goes into the wood like magic. If you try it, you will not be sorry

Me sorprendió gratamente el resultado, lo aplique en unos muebles de madera que el acabado estaba bastante bien sin raspones pero se veían algo sucios un poco descolorido y como que el dueño anterior quiso barnizarlos en algunas una zona sin el cuidado adecuado y sin terminar. Al aplicar este producto se restauro completamente el brillo, se le desprendió el barniz sobrepuesto quedando el acabado original, se le quito lo cenizo y los muebles quedaron como nuevos. El acabado no es aceitoso y no colecta polvo. excelente producto.

Plenty of similar products are in market.But I purchased RAF its a good product and reasonable price no smell just like a oil.Easy to use.surface carefull entire finish clean the whole piece you must remove all dirt .

Lo mejor que he probado para las maderas, las deja como nuevas muy recomendado, llegó en buenas condiciones

perfect and works great

Les devuelve la vida a los muebles antiguos