Well, the aircraft stripper worked perfectly on my test ashtray handle I got from ebay. It has not damaged the actual veneer, so on this piece I am happy with the removal results.

Now here comes the challenge: As I wiped off the remaining loose varnish and ended up with bare wood, my paper towel I used became discolored. In other words, the wood was stained prior to varnishing at the factory.

Since the wood looks just like my untouched varnished back piece when wet, I was first wondering if just putting on the helmsman varnish would return the reddish tint. I did not. It made the burl look very pretty, but a more natural greyish color.

Enter the staining experiments: I cleaned up the piece again, and then tried red chestnut as a stain. Too dark, even with just a thin coat. Then I tried red mahogany - can't tell yet. The my hardware store suggested I try a water based varnish, since the piece looks closer to the finished piece when wet. Tried that - nice, but still not the same finish.

Does anyone out there know the right stain? The piece I am comparing my experimental finishing job to is completely free of any bleaching or varnish problems. I know because it is the back plate to the ashtray handle, and part of it was covered by the actual handle piece that was screwed on to it, i.e. the area never saw any sunlight!

__________________
Henry Bofinger
1989 560 SEL (black/black)
2001 Audi TT Roadster (silver/grey)