Surface coatings in furniture are fundamental to the aesthetic and historic value of an object. Conservators strive to understand and preserve these coatings in the course of their work. Fluorescence microscopy is a significant practical aid, in characterizing transparent, translucent, and opaque coatings on furniture. This allows for a higher degree of accuracy in evaluating, treating, and representing furniture. A microscope with an epifluorescence attachment has been in use in Winterthur's Delaware furniture conservation laboratory for three years. A selective review of the several thousand samples studied since 1986 represents substantial progress in the conservator's ability to understand and care for historic surface coatings on furniture.