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Old 22nd Jul 2019, 1:28 pm   #1
EF80TVVALVE
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Default Teak cabinet refinishing, advice sought

Hi All,

I'm just about to go ahead and refinish this record player cabinet. It is covered in a very dry Teak (Yes, proper teak!) veneer, not the sort of 60s/70s plasticcy printed stuff but a very nice veneer. As it is so dry it has started to splinter around some edges so I am going to buy a sheet to cut and fill in these missing areas as I would like to leave as much of the original stuff as possible.

Now I am thinking of what to refinish the cabinet with once it is stripped down and ready for a new finish. I've photographed the better parts of the cabinet as I would like to be sympathetic and try to get as close of a match to the original finish as possible, that way I can also leave the inside as it is, it has survived remarkably well.

It looks to me like the kind of finish you see on most of the upper end 60s/70s teak furniture where they were using real veneer, some type of matt(ish) lacquer that has a slight sheen but also keeps the grain of the wood close to the surface so it feels like smooth wood and not like a gloss finish over it.

Anyone know what to suggest for a similar finish? I was thinking a matt lacquer rather than a varnish but I'm not exactly sure what will give me the same effect.
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Old 22nd Jul 2019, 1:55 pm   #2
ColinTheAmpMan1
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Default Re: Teak cabinet refinising, advice sought

My father was a cabinet-maker and was decidedly sniffy about the use of teak in furniture. He was of the opinion that teak was fine for things like doors and door-frames, but not furniture. However, I believe that there is something called "teak oil" that can be applied to teak to give the finish that you might be looking for.
Colin.
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Old 22nd Jul 2019, 2:46 pm   #3
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Default Re: Teak cabinet refinising, advice sought

As Colin has suggested teak oil is the way to go. I refinished the badly water stained tops of some veneered (proper veneer) B&W speaker cabinets with teak oil after stripping and the result is indistinguishable from the untouched sides. The trick is to bulid up the finish with multiple coats applied with a cloth after each successive coat has dried. I did this over a period of days.

Alan
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Old 22nd Jul 2019, 3:29 pm   #4
stevehertz
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Default Re: Teak cabinet refinising, advice sought

I very much doubt that it would have been teak oiled in its day. It would have had some kind of lacquer or varnish sprayed on. Having done quite a bit of this work and experimented with various types of finish, I recommend using Wilko indoor satin varnish. Out of the tin it looks like thin cream, but it brushes on so evenly, no pulling, and it self levels to a lovely finish with minimal final 'titivating' required. That's the best way to make it look like it did when it left the factory. Others may suggest Teak oil, Danish oil, French polish etc and they all have their merits, pros and cons - and I'm not knocking any of them per se - but rest assured it would have been finished at the manufacturers by spraying with some kind of lacquer. Earlier stuff was usually cellulose based and later, polyurethane. But that Wilko stuff does a great job that will look original and is easy to apply. You will need about three or four coats and very little leveling between coats will be required.

The photo is of a hifi receiver cabinet that I re-veneered and used Wilko varnish to finish it with.
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Old 22nd Jul 2019, 3:29 pm   #5
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Default Re: Teak cabinet refinising, advice sought

As well as teak oil, there's also "Danish Oil" which tends to give a slightly more-hardwearing finish.
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Old 22nd Jul 2019, 3:34 pm   #6
stevehertz
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Default Re: Teak cabinet refinising, advice sought

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Originally Posted by ColinTheAmpMan1 View Post
My father was a cabinet-maker and was decidedly sniffy about the use of teak in furniture. He was of the opinion that teak was fine for things like doors and door-frames, but not furniture.
Colin.
Not a view shared by many I would have thought, teak is a great would for furniture. Then again, personal opinions I suppose.

http://www.mynewsdesk.com/id/blog_po...urniture-34467
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Old 22nd Jul 2019, 4:36 pm   #7
EF80TVVALVE
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Default Re: Teak cabinet refinishing, advice sought

Thanks for all of the advice, that wilko varnish looks quite good really, I have used their gloss finish in the past but it didn't give me the effect I wanted, maybe this satin type would be better. As for teak oil I did think the same, it definitely isn't teak oiled but I may have a play around with both finishes and order a large bit of veneer to repair the missing bits and try both finishes out on, that way I can get an idea of how they look without having to do anything on the cabinet.

I always wonder what they used on cabinets originally as quite often it was also mixed with the wood stain, I doubt there is anything out there that works the same way anyhow. If there is I'm still yet to come across it!
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Old 22nd Jul 2019, 4:51 pm   #8
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Default Re: Teak cabinet refinishing, advice sought

I don't doubt that a great deal of teak furniture will have been lacquer sprayed back in the day. However, for a really fine satin finish which also nourishes and preserves the timber the oils take some beating in my view. A final polish with beeswax also works well and adds further surface protection. Danish oil, teak oil and so called 'boiled' linseed oil are all basically similar in that they largely comprise linseed oil with chemical additives to enhance drying time whilst adding a degree of 'gloss'. Manufacturers' exact formulations vary. The oils are very economical in use, they are easy to apply and Wilko yet again is a good source.

Going off at a slight tangent the oils are also excellent for refinishing the end panels of transistor radios like Roberts and Hackers from days gone by.

Alan

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Old 22nd Jul 2019, 6:32 pm   #9
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Default Re: Teak cabinet refinishing, advice sought

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Going off at a slight tangent the oils are also excellent for refinishing the end panels of transistor radios like Roberts and Hackers from days gone by.

Alan
Yes - the front/back pseudowood panels on the Roberts R760 I acquired yesterday have come up rather nicely following a deep massage with Danish Oil. It's also what I've used on my R606 and R707.

My method is to apply it with a lint-free cloth using a circular rubbing-motion - then after a few minutes _rub it hard_ with a clean cloth - this removes any non-absorbed oil which can otherwise lead to stickiness (attracts dust/shows fingerprints).
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Old 22nd Jul 2019, 6:51 pm   #10
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Default Re: Teak cabinet refinising, advice sought

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Originally Posted by stevehertz View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by ColinTheAmpMan1 View Post
My father was a cabinet-maker and was decidedly sniffy about the use of teak in furniture. He was of the opinion that teak was fine for things like doors and door-frames, but not furniture.
Colin.
Not a view shared by many I would have thought, teak is a great would for furniture. Then again, personal opinions I suppose.

http://www.mynewsdesk.com/id/blog_po...urniture-34467
I think, Steve, that indoor items that look like teak may be veneered. This seems to be the case with all of the items mentioned here. True, it looks nice, so is good for veneer. Because of its durability, it is good for outdoor furniture that needs to withstand the elements.
My dad saw the veneered case of a P.W. Texan that I made and was quite sniffy about that. He was a damned good cabinet-maker, too, you should have seen him mark out and cut dovetails by eye. They were incredibly good, too!
Colin.
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Old 22nd Jul 2019, 6:59 pm   #11
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Default Re: Teak cabinet refinishing, advice sought

I hand stripped (cabinet scraper) a pair of 1980's veneered speaker cabinets last year, and refinished them with 6 - 7 coats of tung oil, initially diluted ca. 75% white spirit / 25% tung oil, working up to ca. 10% white spirit / 90% tung oil. Each coat took only minutes to apply by hand, just with a lint free cloth, followed by ca. 24 hrs drying time - the finish looks completely original. I suspect very similar to several of the other oils already mentioned.

I've also used the Wilko satin varnish Steve recommends (on his advice), for a different project, and can only concur with Steve's comments - it is an excellent varnish, and very easy to apply to a high quality finish. Of the 2, my personal preference would probably be the tung oil, as a more 'breathable' finish, but both approaches work very well.
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