Restoring original woodwork in an older Atlanta home

CBy Carla Bingham, Painting and Restoration Guides Editor · Updated September 2026

Clean before you judge

Decades of cooking film, hand oils and wax make stained wood look darker and duller than it is. A gentle cleaner made for finished wood, used with fine synthetic pads, often changes the picture completely.

Clean a small, out-of-the-way section first. If the wood looks good once clean, you may only need a fresh clear coat.

Find out what the finish is

Older homes often have shellac, lacquer or varnish, and each behaves differently. A simple test on a hidden spot tells you which: shellac softens with denatured alcohol, lacquer softens with lacquer thinner, and varnish resists both.

Knowing the finish tells you how to repair it. Shellac and lacquer can be revived and blended; varnish usually needs a scuff-sand and recoat.

Recoat, revive or strip

The right level of work depends on how far the finish has failed.

Repairs that make the biggest difference

Dents, gouges and gaps at miters stand out more than worn finish. Color-matched wood filler, wax fill sticks and careful stain touch-ups blend most of them in. Missing pieces of trim can be milled or matched from salvage so the profile continues unbroken.

Water stains on sills and beams can often be lightened with oxalic acid wood bleach rather than replaced.

Lead-safe care in pre-1978 homes

In houses built before 1978, old finishes and any paint that was later put on the woodwork may contain lead. Testing comes first. Sanding is done wet or with HEPA extraction, plastic goes down under the work area, and cleanup uses a HEPA vacuum and wet wiping.

Chemical stripping creates less dust than sanding, which is one reason it is often preferred for woodwork in older homes.

When painting is the better answer

Sometimes woodwork has been patched, replaced in a different species or damaged beyond a convincing stain repair. In those cases, painting it is honest and practical. Before deciding, it is worth seeing a cleaned and recoated test section, because many owners are surprised how well old wood comes back.