I hate to show my ignorance, but, what does "overcoat" in describing furniture mean? I've noticed the description on some high end auction houses, when they describe the condition of some pieces of furniture. One auction house described one piece of furniture as having "possible partial and very light overcoat"
Any thoughts on the subject would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, in advance. Tim

Tim,

From what I understand that means that someone, sometime has put a coat of polyurethane over the original finish.

I have a Stickley library table that I'm using as a desk. It's got a really thick overcoat on it. I decided that that made it perfect - for me at least, I'm prone to dumping coffee everywhere in the morning while I sit at the computer.

Lauren

Where did you happen to find such a nice item? Thanks. Tim

I found it locally,in North Portland. An eBay auction that was "pick up only".

It is very small but still would not fit up the steep stairs in my little bungalow. We had to take the top off to get it up there. The printer fits perfectly on the shelf underneath.

I saw one exactly like it at the Seattle Bungalow Show this year. The other one had hammered hardware so I suppose that the knobs on the drawer are not original. I'm still looking for the perfect replacements.

Lauren

i suspect that your overcoat is a reasonable one. some were applied quickly and far too liberally. you sometimes see drips and missed spots - it is a mess.

in most cases, the elite collectors will not take on a piece with a shiny overcoat or one that has been refinished - overcoat statements are for a specific audience

overcoats can be one of several things lacquer, shellac, as well as polyurethane. They all shine a piece up but take away from the figuring of the fumed oak and tung oil

anything that drives the price down on well made pieces is fine with me -

getting the overcoat off without stripping the wood is another story

Good Morning All,
Since I do quite a lot of refinishing or refurbishing I can tell in an instant that the over coat is either lacquer or poly and by this reason.
Lacquer will come right off if you use denatured alcohol, where poly will scrap off in thin layers of curly film.

Personally, I detest polyurethane but instead I use Minwax Tung Oil which will give you great protection against spills and finger print smudges. As a general rule I will use from 5 to 7 coates and finish with a good coating of Johnson's paste wax buffed to a nice satin finish. Also there are cases where some one over coate a piece by applying it directly over that old finish without properly preparing the patina of the original finish.What a mess that turns out to be.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones