Restor-A-Shine

This is a fantastic product when used for its intended purpose. It works perfectly to remove light surface scratches in polyurethane or other wood finishes. It is not easy to use, because it takes some tough elbow grease to work it into the surface of the finish, "sand" out the scratches, and polish the finished area. This polishing compound is used in three steps. First, in the initial step as a liquid drizzled onto the area of the scratch or poured generously onto a soft cloth, the compound is worked over the surface finish where the scratches are located. Using a lite circular motion, spread the liquid over the surface, working it into the area of the scratch. Second, as the liquid evaporates it forms more of a paste. Now you want to switch from lite circular motions to heavier strokes directly over the scratches, working with the grain of the wood. This is where the compound does its job, by "sanding" the scratches out of the surface with the heavier pressure. There are fine abrasive particles in the liquid, and as the liquid evaporates the particles can perform more aggressively to sand out the scratches. Finally, as the paste is absorbed into the towel it leaves an oily residue that is tough to get up, but this actually has some light abrasive qualities that, when rubbed with a clean towel or buffed using a rotary buffer with a soft bonnet, will polish the surface to a bright shine. It takes a little practice to get this process down, but once you get the hang of it, the results are quite good. The one drawback is this "sanding" will leave some dullness in the finish that can be noticeable compared to the surrounding surface. While this is not that noticeable or objectional in most cases, further buffing will improve this greatly. If you are not satisfied with the final gloss this company also makes a companion product that will polish out the dullness, and return the surface to a brilliant shine. My experience was using the polishing compound on 35YO polyurethane hard wood floors. At this age and level of wear the result using just the Restor-A-Shine was a near perfect match to the original floor finish. I highly recommend this product for removing light surface scratches in wood finishes, but be prepared for some work and sore arms later.

PRODUCT: Howard Polishing Compound for Furniture OVERALL: This is a rubbing compound and not a protective furniture wax. That I applied after the buffing was complete. So I removed an old table cloth off my 60yo dining room table and realized it was there to cover years of wear. The original finish was unsightly and marred with a lifetime of scratches and abrasive scrub marks. (see photo) Before replacing the table cloth I decided to try buffing it out without removing the finish. Howard Polishing Compound exceeded my expectations. I was able to buff out every blemish leaving the table top looking like new. PROs: The compound (abrasive grit) actually improved the overall surface finish It buffs out scratches but doesn't leave any Tell-tale signs, even when it needed a 2nd or 3rd application. It leaves the surface finish undamaged. CONs: None

I am applying this stuff to a satin finish Martin acoustic. After applying 3 coats...took a long time, I am fairly happy with the results. I will likely apply a couple more. I really like the look and feel but it is uneven right now and needs more. Takes a lot of elbow greese. not sure how I will remove it if I ever want to but the guitar was getting shiny where I lay my hand anyway and I didnt like the uneven look. Expect to spend a couple hours by hand for the front of a guitar. I will work on my banistar with the leftovers...95%

Highly recommend this product to remove small scratches, scuffs, and white faded sports from wood finishes. I used the product on an old dining table and several pieces of furniture. It worked so well that I treated the spots my hardwood floors and they now look amazing. I applied using a high quality microfiber cloth. Great product to start with before you consider refinishing furniture or wood floors.

This isn't as great as some reviews make it seem to be. I used almost the full can and only saw a very small difference. I would recommend this only if you are trying to clean up very minor scratches or wear and tear. If you have a spot a table has worn down the finish on. this will not help all that much. Not terrible but not great.

My coffee table had some surface stains which wouldn't come out with any kind of cleaner. I was getting ready to sand and refinish it when I saw this product. It did a beautiful job at removing the stains and restoring the finish. To make it easier I bought some soft buffer pads for use with my orbital sander. Beautiful results.

I am a furniture groupie. Subsequently I never buy new, 'offshore' products. They're cheaply made and are never worth restoring. Only solid, choice hardwoods, hand crafted by American hands in this house! No flashy veneers over MDF or cheap 4-ply plywood! I have a number pieces of Conant Ball and Heywood Wakefield mid-century modern case pieces where the finishes have been marred by decades of neglect and layers of inferior furniture cleaning products (that product, I'm sure is the most common furniture polish known in this country and is the worst thing you can use), which left the finish filthy, dull, coarse and sticky. This polishing compound is the only product I have ever used that properly restored these surface finishes without damaging the original finish process. Although the process left many of the imperfections (patina) visible, the surface has regained it's glass-like touch, is perfectly clean and infinitely more reflective. As with any good cleaning/polishing compound, this process takes time, determination, patience and lots of elbow grease. If you follow through with the process, the results will astound you. This is not a 'wipe on and wipe off' dusting product. It is a polishing compound and requires working with the finish. Elbow grease is required because machine buffing would, most likely, damage the finish. If the finish is really dirty, like mine was, the rags (cotton) will not be reusable and will require proper disposal, as with any flammable and caustic petroleum distillates compound. Read the directions!

This did what I expected it to. I used it on a piece of furniture I was building. When you finish a piece of furniture and scuff sand in between coats of varnish the varnish will get sort of scratchy or cloudy looking, but it's necessary to take down the dust nibs and whatnot. Every time you apply a new coat of varnish, the wood look fantastic, every time you scuff it, it gets hazy. By the final coat of varnish, you might want to just use some steel wool to take down the final nibs. Of course you end up scuffing up the sheen by doing this. The Polishing Compound is the final step to end this cycle. I put it on after wet, scuff-sanding with steel wool then applied the polishing compound (with steel wool at first, though it doesn't specifically recommend this) then rub it in vigorously with a soft cloth. Then rub it in whats left with a clean cloth. Then a final rubbing with another clean cloth. Then another rubbing the next day. And you're good! It leaves a sophisticated satin sheen. I believe it contains a mild abrasive and leaves behind a thin coat of some kind of wax. I don't think this is a miracle product that is going to instantaneously save some trashed piece of furniture, but it can bring certain pieces back to life depending on the state of the finish.

Perfect finish, restored the shine brilliantly on a relatives 50+ year old furniture. After reading previous reviews thought I’d give it a go and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. Followed the instructions put it on with a cloth, and buffed it off and the results were fantastic. The side board and table were very dull and sticky will a build up of polish over the years and I didn’t expect much if I’m honest but the results far exceeded my expectations. I would definitely recommend trying on any polished furniture to bring it back to the original condition, fabulous product. The photos show a before and after results.

perfect quality and amazing product

good value does the job

Donne un bon coup de jeune aux bois anciens mais n'enlève pas les rayures comme promis. Je suis cependant satisfaite des résultats.

This product gives excellent results on real wood floors and d furniture. I live in a116 year old log home with old floors.I thought it would be impossible to refinish but the results are so much better than other brands I’ve tried. It requires a little more effort but well worth it.