Refurbishing a small mahogany bookcase

 I refurbished an old vintage bookcase that originally had a nice mahogany exterior with pine interior walls and shelves. ... The polyurethane sealer that had originally been used to protect the wood was not only deeply scratched, it had blistered, become discolored, and parts of it were gone.

I used a stripper to help remove the old thick polyurethane.

Applying heat to the metal blade helps remove the glued wedges.

Tools of the trade ...

Sanded and ready for the first coats ... then shopping for a new back board.

Applying amber shellac to the new back piece. 

I used mahogany stain to bring life to the exterior wood and applied layers of shellac to both the mahogany and the light pine interior wood, which made the surface of the bookcase so smooth that it felt like glass.

Vertical molding was used on front interior sides to make a smooth transition around the edges where the old clunky wooden wedges had been. I also used molding horizontally to cover the old chipped wood at the corner edges next to the shelves. ... The new molding accents the bookcase well, but it's the smooth, shiny surface that is especially dazzling under the light.

Shows previous old chipped wood edges.

The new wooden back piece shimmers under the light. Even the wood grain pattern seems to change, depending on the lighting and direction when viewed. As you can see in these five "after" photos on the right, the back of the bookcase looks different in almost every photo.

Restoring a heavily scratched bookcase

A homeowner bought an old bookcase and wanted it restored back to its original appearance. There were deep scratches and chips in the wood. 

I sanded the top of the bookcase to a smooth finish, erasing all scratches. 

I hand-sand all wooden furniture, even very large pieces, using a rubber sanding block or just sand paper by itself.

The damaged back wood piece needed to be replaced, and the top of the bookcase had originally been set too far back which caused continual pressure pushing the back panel out of position.

This small wooden support piece was also originally set too far back and was cut too long, but the support piece on the left side was the correct size and in the correct position. I removed the top of the bookcase, shortened and re-positioned the small wooden support piece on the right and set the top of the bookcase in the correct position. 

Side mortise shows how the shelves slide into place.

 Now, you can see the grain of the wood. Shows new smooth surfaces.

Finished bookcase! ... Better than new!

Vintage corner cabinet repaired and restored